Publication date:
01 August 2015Length of book:
210 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442216419
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.
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.
In this pleasant and accessible study, Zuberi, an academic and host of the PBS series History Detectives, guides readers through the historical and current straits of the vast continent of Africa. Zuberi documents the decisive role played by African soldiers in WWII and argues that the war's savagery exposed 'the myth of civilized Europe and barbaric Africa.' Though the Allied victory was 'forged with considerable African sacrifice,' much of the continent remained in European imperial hands. However, African participation in the defeat of the Axis powers rekindled anti-colonial aspirations, resulting in a series of uprisings and growing international support for decolonization. Regrettably, the Cold War derailed national independence movements and the continent again became 'locked in a death grip' by brutal military dictatorships supported by either the U.S. or the U.S.S.R. The era of globalization witnessed progress in such countries as South Africa, but lingering ethnic tensions stoked by colonial authorities and ruling elites erupted in bloodshed in Rwanda and Kenya. With appearances by a long roster of 'history makers'—including activists, leaders, and freedom fighters—Zuberi's work is a well-researched and informed, if selective, story of the making of modern Africa, and constitutes an impassioned plea to recognize the continent for more than the trouble it has endured. Maps and photos.