In the late eighteenth century, the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Fredrich Hegel (1770-1831) introduced the world to a new method of analyzing history, known as philosophic history. This method of inquiry into history emphasizes thoughts and ideas over events and actions.
In his classic book, The Philosophy of History, Hegel argues that world history is an account of the development of a fundamental Idea or “Spirit” in time as it struggles to achieve self-consciousness. Hegel explains the nature of Spirit by comparing it to its opposite, matter. While the essence of matter is gravity, that of Spirit is freedom. What is driving world history is the Spirit’s intention to come to self-awareness in the material realm; thus, the Spirit’s movement in time is motivated by self-determination, towards greater realization of its own nature, which is essentially freedom.
Read more..
Around the world, America’s presidential election caught the imagination of young people. Nowhere was that more true than here in Darfur. In the camps for displaced people, they huddled around transistor radios as the election results came in during the pre-dawn hours. Barack Obama’s victory speech, received here after daybreak, was one of those rare Mandela moments—a jubilant triumph over injustice, a day marked in history when the impossible seems suddenly possible.
There comes a time when a confluence of factors unleashes or propels profound social forces that trigger tremendous changes in society. The international community is at such a juncture. Many view Barack Obama’s election to the presidency of the United States as a fundamental break with the past. His background, name, and even hue, made him a most unlikely victor, and yet he convincingly, if not overwhelming, triumphed over these odds.
In May 1963, thirty-two independent African States, with genuine hopes and visions for the continent of Africa, came together in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to create the Organization of African Unity (OAU). I had the privilege of hearing a detailed account of the staging of the 1963 Addis Ababa Summit Conference from a man who was once described by the international media as being closest to the creation of the OAU. The man was none other than my father, the late Ketema Yifru, who was the Ethiopian Foreign Minister during the period 1961-1971. "Only a few [people]Read more...
From his seemingly safe perch in New York, Solomon Northup had little cause to think much about the plight of slaves who toiled in the American South. He was, after all, a successful, even prosperous, free black man with a wife and children. When his mind did turn to slavery, Northup often expressed little sympathy for his bonded brethren, being, as he was, unable to “comprehend the justice of that law, or that religion, which upholds or recognizes Read more...
Everything that decays becomes nourishment for a brand new life. Every ending is also a new beginning, and what is lost simply makes way for something else to be found. This is the exciting self-fulfilling prophecy of hope! Read more...
The election of Barack Obama as the President of the United States has had a profound impact on the world. People of all ages and nationalities are moved and inspired in ways that we have not seen before. In many ways, our collective horizon has been expanded and we feel like we are stepping into a new era of promises and possibilities. In an effort to fully appreciate the significance of this moment in history and extract the lessons that we can learn from it, we asked the following members of Africa Unbound to share their thoughts with us.
In this issue of Africa Unbound, we are proud to present to you Ashong as our featured conscious artist. A native Ghanaian, Ashong is a dynamic activist engaged in a youth-centered cultural movement to inspire young people through positive messages for social change. He is also a multitalented artist (classical pianist, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and poet) and writer. Please enjoy the following video clip, a glimpse into the man and the movement:
In the late eighteenth century, the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Fredrich Hegel (1770-1831) introduced the world to a new method of analyzing history, known as philosophic history. This method of inquiry into history emphasizes thoughts and ideas over events and actions.
Around the world, America’s presidential election caught the imagination of young people. Nowhere was that more true than here in Darfur. In the camps for displaced people, they huddled around transistor radios as the election results came in during the pre-dawn hours. Barack Obama’s victory speech, received here after daybreak, was one of those rare Mandela moments—a jubilant triumph over injustice, a day marked in history when the impossible seems suddenly possible.
There comes a time when a confluence of factors unleashes or propels profound social forces that trigger tremendous changes in society. The international community is at such a juncture. Many view Barack Obama’s election to the presidency of the United States as a fundamental break with the past. His background, name, and even hue, made him a most unlikely victor, and yet he convincingly, if not overwhelming, triumphed over these odds.
In May 1963, thirty-two independent African States, with genuine hopes and visions for the continent of Africa, came together in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to create the Organization of African Unity (OAU). I had the privilege of hearing a detailed account of the staging of the 1963 Addis Ababa Summit Conference from a man who was once described by the international media as being closest to the creation of the OAU. The man was none other than my father, the late Ketema Yifru, who was the Ethiopian Foreign Minister during the period 1961-1971. "Only a few [people]
From his seemingly safe perch in New York, Solomon Northup had little cause to think much about the plight of slaves who toiled in the American South. He was, after all, a successful, even prosperous, free black man with a wife and children. When his mind did turn to slavery, Northup often expressed little sympathy for his bonded brethren, being, as he was, unable to “comprehend the justice of that law, or that religion, which upholds or recognizes 
Everything that decays becomes nourishment for a brand new life. Every ending is also a new beginning, and what is lost simply makes way for something else to be found. This is the exciting self-fulfilling prophecy of hope! 
