African Americans in Global Affairs: Contemporary Perspectives

The repression historically faced by African Americans has had an important effect on the nature of the group’s participation in foreign affairs. This book offers a much-needed and long-overdue survey of the field, setting the stage for further exploration and analysis.

Chapters discuss the Congressional Black Caucus and TransAfrica Forum; African American political organizations and Africa; Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice; the evaporation of strong black voices in events such as those in Rwanda and Darfur; and self-critical Pan Africanism. A prologue by Michael L. Clemons and introductory chapter by Ronald W. Walters provide new ways to conceptualize these international perspectives, while Clemons’s epilogue speculates on the opportunities and challenges offered by the presidency of Barack Obama.