Ali Mazrui – Academic, Professor, Writer
Born on Feb. 24, 1933, in Kenya, Mazrui received his education in Kenya, England, and the U.S. Upon completing his studies abroad, he returned to Africa and taught at Makerere University in Uganda (1967-1973). Thereafter, Mazrui relocated to the U.S. and joined the faculty of the University of Michigan as Professor and later as Director of the Center for Afro-American and African Studies (1974-1991).
Beyond his tenure at the University of Michigan, Mazrui served as Professor and Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at SUNY Binghamton (1991-2014). He held professorships in various countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and several American universities. Mazrui wrote extensively on imperialism, colonialism, reparations, nationalism, religion, race, terrorism, and nuclear proliferation. A strident critic of the orthodoxies of African intellectualism, Mazrui also exerted his intellect on global apartheid and its exploitation of Africa and the African Diaspora. Not surprisingly, his peers celebrated him for “arm[ing] us with the tools of engagement and inspire[ing] us with his eloquence [and] clarity of thought” (Salim: 2016). Mazrui spent his life in academia and never adjusted his scholarship to placate the global capitalist system that finances almost all the universities where he taught and/or held various professorships. Thus, when he joined his ancestors on Oct. 12, 2014, Mazrui left an instructive legacy of speaking and writing truth to power and using the ivory tower to advance the cause of global African liberation.
Recent Posts
Black Lives Matter Grassroots Stands with Twin Cities
We are grateful for the courage, vision, sacrifice, and power of Black Lives Matter Grassroots Twin Cities lead Chauntyll Allen, courageous comrade Nekima Levy Armstrong, and other principled organizers for their righteous resistance to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) federal invasion and fascist repression in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Rather than submitting to an unparalleled evil that murders mothers in their own vehicles, explodes chemical weapons upon infants, kidnaps and imprisons preschoolers, brutalizes children, separates families, and terrorizes communities, grassroots organizers in the Twin Cities are putting their own bodies, freedom and livelihood on the line to secure community.
The Murders of #KeithPorter and #ReneeGood by ICE Demonstrate the Depths of US Fascism and Why We Must Fight Harder to Be Free
On New Year’s Eve, as the world thirsted for celebration, Black father, son, neighbor, and community member, #KeithPorter stepped outside his front door to celebrate. Like many around the nation, he fired his gun in the air to celebrate the coming of 2026. An ICE agent who lived in the same complex moved as if Keith was no more than a target in a game. He went inside his own unit, put on his tactical gear, grabbed his ICE-issued firearm, stepped back outside, and shot this Black man dead in front of his own home.
Black Lives Matter Grassroots Statement on the U.S. Invasion of Venezuela
Black Lives Matter Grassroots vehemently condemns the United States’ military strikes on Venezuela, the unlawful kidnapping of President Nicholás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and the threats against Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and the Venezuelan people. These actions have brought death and injury to civilians, desecrated the land and seas, and violated the nation’s sovereignty. Not only are these actions illegal according to international law and the United States Constitution, we know these to be war crimes and crimes against humanity.
