In a country where the earth hides its treasures beneath its surface, those who chip away at its bounty pay an unfair price. As a pre-teen, his family could no longer afford to pay his $6 monthly school fee, leaving him with one option: a life working underground in a tunnel, digging for cobalt rocks.
The nation, fractured by war, disease, and famine, has seen more than 6 million people die since the mid-1990s, making the conflict the deadliest since World War II. But, in recent years, the death and destruction have been aided by the growing number of electric vehicles humming down American streets.
In 2022, the U.S., the world's third-largest importer of cobalt, spent nearly $525 million on the mineral, much of which came from the Congo.
Black-led labor and environmental organizers in the U.S. are working to build a transnational solidarity movement, highlighting the inequities faced in the Congo and connecting them to the African American experience, with social media amplifying awareness about the situation.
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