A tribute to Nelson Mandela from San Francisco’s East Bay, birthplace of the U.S. anti-apartheid movement.
Remembering Mandela in Berkeley
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South Africa
Mandela in Miami
Ethics has never been a forte of the pro-embargo Cuban-American lobby. But the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC has reached a new low. Capitalizing on South African president Nelson Mandela’s health problems, embargo supporters have constructed a false parallel between the...
When America Met Mandela
“Who is this man Mandela?” The U.S News & World Report asked in January 1990. Apparently no one much knew, since the magazine could only come up with three short paragraphs about the ANC leader. But it was Mandela’s visit to the United States after his release from prison that most highlighted how much America had yet to learn about the anti-apartheid leader.
South Africa at a Crossroads
Behind South Africa’s labor unrest is the fact that the 99 percent of black South Africans have not tasted the fruits of democracy and freedom. Only a tiny minority—the politically connected—reaped the rewards of black rule and the ANC’s Black Economic Empowerment program.
Game Changers in Global AIDS Fight
This week marks the 30th anniversary of the first reported case of AIDS, and world leaders are meeting at the United Nations to review progress in the fight against the epidemic. The battle is far from won. But new game-changing research, as well as documented successes in recent years, makes it possible to chart a clear course for significant victories in the years ahead.
Away from Universal Access
In the sweeping fashion of global development commitments, 2010 marks the year by which countries and health agencies worldwide have pledged to scale up their HIV/AIDS interventions “towards universal access” to treatment. In the more sobering reality of shifting donor priorities, funding shortfalls in 2010 may actually represent the beginning of a move away from universal access in the global HIV/AIDS response.
The World Cup and I
The World Cup is coming to Africa for the first time. The Cup will provide many opportunities to Africa and Africans; for example, Africa will have an opportunity to shine in the spotlight of world attention and forge a new post-post-colonial identity in the 21st century. The Cup also provides an opportunity for me to reflect on how my own identity has been caught up with Africa and soccer.
Stone Hammered to Gravel
The South African poet and activist Dennis Brutus died on December 26. To celebrate his life, we feature this tribute by fellow poet Martin Espada.
Africa Policy Outlook 2008
The Bush Administration’s fixation on security and the “war on terror” is already escalating the militarization of U.S. policy in Africa in 2008. In his last year in office, President George W. Bush will no doubt duplicitously continue to promote economic policies that exacerbate inequalities while seeking to salvage his legacy as a compassionate conservative with rhetorical support for addressing human rights challenges including conflict in Sudan and continued promotion of his unilateral HIV/AIDS initiative. The third prong of U.S.-Africa policy in 2008 will be the continued and relentless pursuit of African resources, especially oil, with clear implications for U.S. military and economic policy.
Focusing the Struggle
The World Social Forum’s primary achievements are gathering the multiplicity of movements fighting neoliberal capitalism and imperialism, and maintaining the open space to keep alive mutual education and networking. But aside from the kinds of adverse power relations critiqued by grassroots activists in Nairobi, the WSF’s main disappointment remains our inability to converge on strategy, generate agreed-on joint actions, and forge cross-sectoral ties.