Overview

African Independence highlights the important role Africa has played in recent history and the significant role it will continue to play in the future of America and the globe. In a world where much of the power and wealth remains concentrated in the hands of a very few people, this book looks at how the history of African independence has touched all people-from refugees to heads of state. Author Tukufu Zuberi weaves exclusive interview excerpts and stories from many Africans he has met with old newsreels, current news and reports, and research into a larger narrative that takes readers through key events in African history and shows their importance today. The book provides context for understanding connections between events in Africa and the world, such as Nigeria's Boko Haram acts of war against the citizens of Nigeria and neighboring states, China's rise as the main superpower with the largest financial connections to the African continent, and the so-called war against terrorism. Zuberi is also the director of the documentary African Independence, which has won awards including Best Director and Best Documentary at the San Diego Black Film Festival, Best Director at The People's Film Festival, Best African Film at the San Diego Black Film Festival, and more. Both alone and together, the book and film offer a deeper understanding of Africa's central role in world affairs.

Full Product Details

9781442216419

Table of Contents

Reviews

My dear friend, former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, often quotes a familiar African proverb: 'Until the lion speaks, the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.' In African Independence, not only does one of Africa's lions speak, but he roars. Zuberi demands our attention by forcing us to see formerly obscured realities, and, in doing so, positions us to better understand Africa's future. This book is eminently helpful in putting Africa's past, present, and future in proper perspective. -- Ambassador Charles R. Stith, US Ambassador to Tanzania (1998-2001); founder and director, African Presidential Center at Boston University In this engaging and bold analysis of African independence, Tukufu Zuberi uses interviews, newsreels, and archival sources to understand the human experience in Africa and how Africans turned those experiences into struggles that changed their lives. The invasion of Ethiopia by Italy, as well as the exploitation of Africa by colonial powers for material and human capital for the war effort placed Africa well within the global currents of the twentieth century. Zuberi critiques the failure of U.S. humanitarian policies toward Africa and Africa's current partnerships with countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. A film completes this critically important study of Africa in the modern world. -- Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Vanderbilt University African Independence and its accompanying documentary film are indispensable for anyone who desires to be a truly well-educated twenty-first-century citizen. With critical sociological insight and rigorous historical excavation through time-from World War II to the Cold War and beyond-and across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Zuberi introduces us to the heroes and heroines of pan-Africanism and Africa's independence movements. This meticulously researched book reveals the contradictions that continue to obstruct aspirations for African liberation. Indeed, the evidence presented shows that Africa is 'once again locked in a death grip' of post-colonial and post-independence manipulations. This book illuminates not only how we are all implicated but that our own humanity depends on how Africa shapes the world in this century. -- Dr. Joyce King, Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Professor, Georgia State University African Independence reveals that the modern world cannot be understood without understanding Africa. Zuberi's remarkable access to African premier leaders is what makes African Independence a special book; it enables readers to view Africa and the rest of the world in a new and intelligent light. This book should be read by anyone wishing to understand the modern world and what its future is likely to hold. -- Aldon Morris, Leon Forrest Professor of Sociology and African American Studies, Northwestern University; author of The Scholar Denied: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Birth of Modern Sociology With interviews of key activists and statespeople as well as close-ups of daily life in several locales, Tukufu Zuberi's African Independence frames decolonization and formal sovereignty as both an era and a sensibility, encouraging readers to define for themselves what 'African independence' actually means for the continent and the world as a whole. This book and its accompanying film provide a valuable record of the aspirations, conflicts, and confluences among a diverse array of actors, providing an opportunity to consider the vast changes of both Africa and the world from the latter half of the twentieth century to the twenty-first. -- Michael Hanchard, Johns Hopkins University

My dear friend, former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, often quotes a familiar African proverb: 'until the lion speaks, the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.' In African Independence, not only does one of Africa's lions speak, but he roars. Zuberi demands our attention by forcing us to see formerly obscured realities, and, in doing so, positions us to better understand Africa's future. This book is imminently helpful in putting Africa's past, present, and future in proper perspective. -- Ambassador Charles R. Stith, founder and director, African Presidential Center at Boston University In this engaging and bold analysis of African independence, Tukufu Zuberi uses interviews, newsreels, and archival sources to understand the human experience in Africa and how Africans turned those experiences into struggles that changed their lives. The invasion of Ethiopia by Italy, as well as the exploitation of Africa by colonial powers for material and human capital for the war effort placed Africa well within the global currents of the twentieth century. Zuberi critiques the failure of U.S. humanitarian policies toward Africa and Africa's current partnerships with countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. A film completes this critically important study of Africa in the modern world. -- Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Vanderbilt University African Independence and its accompanying documentary film are indispensable for anyone who desires to be a truly well-educated twenty-first century citizen. With critical sociological insight and rigorous historical excavation through time-from World War II to the Cold War and beyond-and across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Zuberi introduces us to the heroes and heroines of pan-Africanism and Africa's independence movements. This meticulously researched book reveals the contradictions that continue to obstruct aspirations for African liberation. Indeed, the evidence presented shows that Africa is 'once again locked in a death grip' of post-colonial and post-independence manipulations. This book illuminates not only how we are all implicated, but that our own humanity depends on the how Africa shapes the world in this century. -- Dr. Joyce King, Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Professor, Georgia State University African Independence reveals that the modern world cannot be understood without understanding Africa. Zuberi's remarkable access to African premier leaders is what makes African Independence a special book; it enables readers to view Africa and the rest of the world in a new and intelligent light. This book should be read by anyone wishing to understand the modern world and what its future is likely to hold. -- Aldon Morris, author of The Scholar Denied: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Birth of Modern Sociology

Author Information

Tukufu Zuberi is the Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations and professor of sociology and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He writes and speaks widely about race, both in the United States and internationally. He is a host on the hit PBS series History Detectives and has been interviewed on NPR and other media all over the world.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available