Black Damage

Book excerpt: Africa and black communities across the world are undoubtedly poor and dysfunctional. Political and economic experts have attributed Africa's problems to factors such as corruption and the absence of strong institutions. The dysfunctionalities in African diaspora are usually attributed to broken family structure. This book demonstrates, however, that these factors are not the causes of Africa's and its diasporas' woes but are symptoms of more fundamental problems. Using empirical and qualitative studies, Black Damage highlights the origins of the endless socio-economic miseries of Africa and global black communities. It shows that the plight of Africa and its diasporas are interwoven, hence it addresses them concurrently. Based on more than ten years of research and insight as an African living in the UK diaspora, Femi Akomolafe takes readers through 500 years of history to uncover the root causes of the current predicaments of black communities across the globe. Solutions are provided.