No One’s Best Friend

Throughout the 2000s, the issue of blood, or conflict, diamonds gained manifold and unique expressions in western pop culture. In 2005, Kanye West recorded the song “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” which won a Grammy award. The accompanying video attempted to depict the working conditions in Sierra Leone’s diamond fields and ended by urging viewers to “please purchase conflict free diamonds.” The next year experienced the release of the movie Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly. It captured, albeit through a Hollywood lens, the violence of the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone and the role of diamonds in fuelling that conflict. No less a persona than Oprah Winfrey featured the movie’s cast on her program, which undoubtedly introduced millions of her viewers to the issue. In the hip hop community, Chuck D of Public Enemy narrated a documentary entitled Bling: Consequences and Repercussions about conflict diamonds. Fashion...