He’s not as sexy as Taiye Selasi, but Bob Moses will be reading from a recent book at Busboys and Poets tonight (7pm).
A MacArthur genius who became actively involved in mathematics, Moses first made his name as a Civil Rights activist in Mississippi in the 1960s. He settled in Tanzania for several years in the 1970’s (where he also taught math). I’ve read that he’s not a keen public speaker, but Bob Moses has lived a fascinating (and seemingly selfless) life and I imagine his remarks will be compelling. If anyone attends, please comment on the reading.
http://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/event/a-conversation-with-bob-moses-and-junot-diaz
For anyone interested in post-independence black American settlers in Africa, I highly recommend this book by Kevin Gaines (Ghana). Hopefully someone will soon write the history of the Pan-African Skills Project and similar movement to Tanzania.
Africa in DC 