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.