U.S. Affairs

A Kinder, Gentler Imperialism?

Corey Walker — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:48:52 -0700

"Even those who do not share the views of the old generals and proconsuls of the U.S. world empire (which were those of Democratic as well as Republican administrations) will agree that there can be no rational justification of current Washington policy in terms of the interests of America's imperial ambitions. . . ."

Eric Hobsbawm

Frantz Fanon, Umaru Yar'Adua, and the ‘Workers' in the Niger Delta

Pius Adesanmi — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:32:04 -0700

Does anybody know President Umaru Yar'Adua's mailing address? I know he's in Aso Rock but what's the P.O.Box or the P.M.B.? read more »

Mugabe and Mubarak deserve each othe By Tajudeen Abdul Raheem

Guest Blogger — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:49:15 -0700

I skipped the AU summit in Egypt and did not feel guilty about it.

In the past 15 years I can count the number of times that I have missed the OAU/AU summits. And in the few times that I have, it was due to unavoidable circumstances.

The Poverty of Nationalism and the Zimbabwe Tragedy

PTZeleza — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:21:09 -0700

The tragedy of Zimbabwe and the misguided support some African intellectuals and leaders still give the Mugabe dictatorship as we saw today with the tepid resolution passed at the concluded AU summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egpyt betrays the current poverty of African nationalism.

Africa and the World React to Obama's Nomination: From Euphoria to Caution

PTZeleza — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:56:52 -0700

Africa and the world at large are reacting to Senator Obama's victory as the presumptive nominee in the U.S. Democratic Party electoral contest with mixed emotions. Parts of Africa have been gripped by Obamamania and many would like to believe it ushers a new day for the US itself and its relations with the continent, the ancestral homeland of the senator's father. Others contend it will be business as usual, that putting a black face in the White House will not change the imperial policies of the United States. Such views are heard most loudly in the Middle East. read more »

Senator Hillary Clinton's Presidential Entitlement: Echoes of the Mugabe Syndrome

PTZeleza — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:09:20 -0700

It has been a gripping, grueling electoral contest watched with bated breath by the nation and the wider world. The once inevitable victor, the long anointed leader, loses to an upstart, an insurgent candidate too young to have participated in the defining and divisive political battles of yesteryear. Change seems to trump experience, the future to overtake the past. But the trounced older leader refuses to accept the younger opponent's incredible, historic victory. read more »

HISTORIC: OBAMA U.S. DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

PTZeleza — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:27:17 -0700

Senator Barack Obama has done it! read more »

Hypocrisy and Double Standards: How Fox News and the Rightwing Mock the Constitution

James Thindwa — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:10:41 -0700

The sensationalist media inquest into Sen. Barack Obama's associations has cheapened the national debate. It has also exposed the hypocrisy and double standards of the conservative media.

Fox News, which has championed this "guilt by association," questions Obama's fitness for office because of his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers, a distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Memo to Gloria Steinem: How Many Cojones Make One Testicularly Fortified Woman?

Pius Adesanmi — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:14:28 -0700

These are definitely not the best of times for Gloria Steinem and the “gender trouble” radicals in her flock. read more »

Speaking Truth to Power: Obama and Race in American Politics

Cary Fraser — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:17:39 -0700

The eruption of race in the current American presidential campaign has been a reminder of its volatility in American history and politics. The decision of Barack Obama to run for the Presidency has seen him transformed from an African American freshman United States Senator to a national figure whose political fortunes have become tied to the possible transformation of American political culture and its life. read more »

The End of Politics: Lessons from the Wright Saga By COREY D. B. WALKER

Corey Walker — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:38:41 -0700

"Are the legitimate political institutions of our societies in a position to redress even the most perilous situations by democratic intervention in the process of actual decision making, as traditional political discourse keeps reassuring us, despite all evidence to the contrary?"

István Mészáros

African Humanity Under Siege: A Long History

Carina Ray — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:55:27 -0700

By now it is old news that Africa's supposed lack of civilization, history, and culture was conjured up to justify the enslavement, and later the colonization of millions of Africans. The venerable historian of Africa, Basil Davidson, summed it up best when he argued,

A Letter From A Sister Who's Trying To Be Brave

Wandia Njoya — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:46:44 -0700

I had promised myself that I would not write another piece on Obama because I don't care much for politicians and I care even less for American presidents. The possibility of having a black man in a white house in Washington DC hasn't changed my mind. However, I decided to betray myself when I belatedly stumbled upon Alice Walker's piece "Lest We Forget: An Open Letter to My Sisters Who Are Brave."

Oprah in South Africa: The Politics of Coevalness and the Creation of a Black Public Sphere

Zine Magubane — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:33:41 -0700

In a recent article, Tarisha L. Stanley asked the question: ‘‘Can a mammy be a mammy if she builds girls' schools in Africa?'' This simple question captures the complex range of issues raised by Oprah's philanthropy. read more »

The Politics of Jeremiah Wright By COREY D. B. WALKER

Corey Walker — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:35:17 -0700

"Stigmatizing the uncounted as backward, dangerous, etc., then, is the best way to ward off a more profound evil': the emergence of a popular subjective force that would be capable of opposing the sterility of comfortable self-perpetuation. . . .

Steve Corcoran read more »

Going to Meet Black America

Pius Adesanmi — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:24:15 -0700

I met black America for the first time in 2005, after three years of living and teaching in America, and one year before I returned to Canada. The long journey to this eventful meeting started in my father's library in Isanlu, a small town in central Nigeria. I came of age in Nigeria as the locust decades of military despotism and civilian kleptocracy set in, destroying everything including what used to be known as the middle class. read more »

Barack Obama and the Crisis of the White Intellectual By COREY D. B. WALKER

Corey Walker — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:27:34 -0700

After Iowa and New Hampshire the nation will now finally entertain the very real possibility of an African American president. Or rather, a president who happens to be African American.

Beneath Obama's Rebuke of Jeremiah Wright: Is A New Global Consciousness Afoot?

Steve Sharra — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:53:11 -0700

When I learned that the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Wright was going to give a speech at Michigan State University on February 7^th, I spread the word to friends and colleagues I knew would love to hear Barack Obama's pastor speak. Of the half dozen or so people I mentioned his name to, none of them had heard of the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, let alone his spiritual connection to Barack Obama. I prepared a question to ask Rev. Dr. Wright, but as it turned out, I did not need to ask the question. Such was the freestyle nature of the luncheon with Rev. Dr. read more »

Race, Sex, Power:New Movements in Black & Latina/o Sexualities Conference Opening Remarks By Cathy Cohen

Guest Blogger — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:34:20 -0700

Good morning, Buenos Dias! I am Cathy Cohen and on behalf of the planning committee I want to welcome all of you to Race Sex Power: New Movements in Black and Latina/o Sexualities Conference. We all want to thank you for coming to what we believe is an historic gathering of artists, activists, academics, individuals, groups, and communities to discuss the intersection and manifestations of race, sex, and power in its many forms in Latina/o and Black communities.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, And The Struggles Against Racism, Inequality and War By Marable Manning

Guest Blogger — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:46:44 -0700

4 April 2008 marks the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We still tend to focus our image of Martin delivering his "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial, at the 1963 March on Washington, D.C. However, civil rights was not the only issue that divided America in the 1960s. By 1966, U.S. military forces in South Vietnam amounted to 184,000; by January 1969, 536,000 U.S. troops were stationed in that country. For black Americans, the war had a direct impact upon every community. read more »