Barack Obama and African Diasporas

An active blogger on The Zeleza Post, from which these essays are drawn, Paul Tiyambe Zeleza provides a genuinely critical engagement with Africars"s multiple worlds. With a blend of erudition and lively style, Zeleza writes about the role of Africa and Africans in the world and the interaction of the world with Africa. In the title essay, Zeleza analyzes the significance of the election of a member of the African diaspora to the presidency of the United States. He also addresses Africars"s urgent political concerns: Chinars"s role in Africa, South Africa's difficulties in making the transition to a postapartheid society, the agony of Zimbabwe, and a discussion of Pan-Africanism, its history and contemporary challenges. Other posts introduce the reader to the rhythms of daily life, including football and other leisure activities, in capturing the different aspects of Africa. An original and respected voice, Zeleza engages the reader in a series of passionate public conversations on issues and events of utmost importance to the globalized world. He deserves a wide readership.

Born in Zimbabwe to Malawian parents, Paul Tiyambe Zeleza attended the University of Malawi, the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, and the London School of Economics and Political Science. He earned his doctorate in economic history at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is currently a professor and head of the Department of African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Winner of the 1994 NOMA Award for Publishing in Africa, and author of many books on Zeleza is recognized as one the leading intellectual historians of Africa. He is the current president of the African Studies Association (ASA), U.S.

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Introduction: For the Love of Africa and Public Intellectualism	p. 1
President Obama: America Finally Grows Up	p. 13
The Republicanization of America: An African's Observations on the 2004 US Elections	p. 21
The Agony of Zimbabwe	p. 29
The Political Wrath of Hurricane Katrina	p. 35
The Postcolonial Uprising in France	p. 43
Madam President: The Changing Gender Dynamics of African Politics	p. 51
Cartoons as Weapons of Mass Provocation	p. 59
Angelina Jolie Discovers Africa	p. 67
The Arab-Israeli Conflict Revisited: Back to the Madness of War	p. 75
Clouds Over the Rainbow Nation: South Africa and the Zuma Saga	p. 83
The Power, Possibilities and Perils of African Nationalisms	p. 91
Barack Obama and African Diasporas: Dialogues and Dissensions	p. 101
In Defence of the New Diasporas and Brain Mobility	p. 111
Love, Lies, Wolfowitz, and the World Bank	p. 123
The Class of 2007: The Rising Costs of Middle Class Certification	p. 133
Dancing with the Dragon: Africa's Courtship with China	p. 143
The Contemporary Relevance of Pan-Africanism	p. 153
The 2007 Kenya Elections: Holding a Nation Hostage to a Bankrupt Political Class	p. 165
The Africa Cup of Nations: For the Love of Football and Leisure	p. 177
Remembering Martin Luther King: Beyond the Sanitization of a Dreamer	p. 183
The Political Wonder That is Obama	p. 189
The Whiteness of Airports	p. 195
The Racialized Complexes of Xenophobia	p. 201
Africa's Global Summits: The Rise of the Continent or Back to the Scramble?	p. 205
The Curse of Oil Returns and the Search for New Energy Futures	p. 209
The Dawn of the Obama Era: In Memory of the Ancestors	p. 215
Waiting for the Obama Dividend: The Future of Africa-US Relations	p. 231
Index	p. 237
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