Out of Africa

New Republic by Carl Gershman, Maina Kiai | Jan. 23, 2009 (Special Report)
The Kenyan politician who made Barack Obama

Obama's rise to the presidency is a vindication of this vision of post- racialism, and the impact it has had on American democracy illuminates an even more profound observation Mboya offered, almost in passing, about race in America. Commenting on the gains that blacks had made in Africa and elsewhere in the 1960s, he wrote that American society had "been forced to undergo a genuine social revolution in response to the black struggle." This was true as far ... Full Story »

Posted by Kaizar Campwala

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Derek Hawkins
3.9
 by Derek Hawkins - Jan. 26, 2009

This article reaches into the 'back to Africa' movements of the 1960s to explain the resonance Barack Obama's election has had among African nations today. The authors draw a parallel between Obama and the activist Tom Mboya, who rejected radical pan-Africanism and said black Americans should reconcile their race with their citizenship. Their case is very well made, and this is certainly one of the most thorough and insightful pieces I've seen on the significance of Obama's race. I worry that we don't get a clear picture of Mboya -- the praise they lay on him seems excessive -- and I thought the conclusion could have been better supported (how should Obama respond?). But overall an interesting story.

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