African Development Bank must gear up for a more proactive role
BY KALU OJAH Africa’s only regional bank, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), has come a long way since its near collapse in 1995. It now reflects its mandate to fight poverty …
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Why historically black colleges and universities matter in today’s America
BY MELISSA E. WOOTEN Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Eric Garner. Sandra Bland. Renisha McBride. Martese Johnson. And now Tyrone Harris. All these names remind us how precarious black lives can be. Martin, Brown and Garner were …
Why parole for Oscar Pistorius is perfectly legitimate
BY KELLY PHELPS The decision to release South African athlete Oscar Pistorius on correctional supervision in August, having served just ten months of a five-year sentence for culpable homicide, was …
Why the silence of moderate conservatives is dangerous for race relations
BY MEGAN MING FRANCIS AND CHRISTOPHER PARKER The past two years of racial turmoil have removed any and all doubt about the continuing significance of race in the United States. …
How to design more stable democracies that better fit African realities
BY NIC CHEESEMAN The state of democracy in Africa is one of the most controversial and difficult questions facing the continent today. Is Africa getting more or less democratic? Why …
Lessons Buhari can learn from Obama about managing a tough economy
BY STEPHEN ONYEIWU It is atypical for an American president to invite a nascent African head of state to the White House, especially less than one month after the latter’s inauguration. …
What Greece can learn from Africa about the effects of austerity after a debt crisis
BY IAN SCOONES Some have asked what can Africa learn from Greece. I argue that Greece (and others) can learn a lot from the African experience. Debt is on the …
Let’s talk race: a teacher tells students not to be ‘color-blind’
BY MEGAN L. MILLS Following the recent events featured in the media such as the riots in Baltimore that came after the fatal shooting of Freddie Gray, Rachel Dolezal stepping down as the Spokane …
How Africa can overcome being marginalized in the global economy
BY LEONCE NDIKUMANA One of the challenges facing African countries is that the global environment is rather unfriendly. This hampers their efforts to gainfully tap into global markets. Additionally, African …
Why anti-gay sentiment remains strong in much of Africa
BY HARRY DUGMORE This article is part of a series The Conversation Africa is running on issues related to LGBTI in Africa. You can read the rest of the series here. …