Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is projected to be the next president of the United States based on&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Politics/status/1325112441928359939?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">election analysis</a>&nbsp;by the Associated Press, defeating incumbent President Donald Trump in what proved to be one of the most brutal campaigns in modern history, throughout which Biden vowed to heal the nation’s deep divisions and respond forcefully and responsibly to Covid-19 pandemic.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



•&nbsp;The Associated Press called the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania for Biden on Saturday after late-counted absentee ballots gave him a come-from-behind victory, also calling Nevada for him shortly after.



•&nbsp;Biden’s path to 270 electoral votes was paved through Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, which Trump won after decades of Democratic dominance, leaving some Democrats to question whether their path to the presidency in future elections would still run through the Midwest.



•&nbsp;But if Biden proved Democrats could win traditional Democratic states, he also blazed the beginnings of a new trail for Democrats by putting Arizona in the blue column for the first time since 1996, and he’s on track to be the first Democrat to win Georgia since 1992.



•&nbsp;The result caps off an election defined by its ugliness, with Trump launching attacks on Biden’s physical and<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/08/26/trumps-latest-trolling-of-bidens-mental-state-calling-for-drug-tests-before-debates/">&nbsp;mental health</a>,<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-trump/trump-calls-biden-stupid-demands-apology-for-challenging-him-on-vaccines-idUSKBN25Z0E6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;intelligence</a>,<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/08/28/destroyer-of-american-greatness-trump-savages-biden-as-he-accepts-gop-nomination/">&nbsp;record</a>&nbsp;and even his<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/10/16/lock-up-the-bidens-trump-picks-target-for-final-stretch--his-opponents-family/">&nbsp;family</a>&nbsp;while calling for him to be<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/09/25/trump-urged-ukraine-to-investigate-joe-biden-in-phone-call-transcript/">&nbsp;investigated</a>, prosecuted and<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/10/17/trump-calls-the-bidens-an-organized-crime-family-but-here-are-his-run-ins-with-the-law/">&nbsp;imprisoned</a>&nbsp;by the federal government.



•&nbsp;Biden for his part rode a wave of anti-Trump sentiment by excoriating Trump’s record as president, most notably by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/10/23/biden-hits-trump-on-covid-if-this-is-a-success-what-does-a-failure-look-like/">seizing on</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_casesinlast7days" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">232,000 U.S. deaths</a>&nbsp;from coronavirus and alleging Trump had failed to adequately respond to the pandemic.



•&nbsp;But even as he clashed with Trump, Biden pledges to voters that in the aftermath of the campaign he would seek to heal partisan wounds and govern not as a Democrat, but as “a president for all Americans,” even those who disagreed with him.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Born in Pennsylvania in 1942 and raised in Delaware, Biden attended the University of Delaware and Syracuse University Law School, briefly practicing law before entering local Delaware politics as a New Castle County Councilman. Biden was elected to the U.S. senate from Delaware in 1972, defeating a three-term Republican incumbent at age 29 to become the youngest senator in the country – so obscure on the national stage that NBC News anchor Garrick Utley mistakenly called him “<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1320076660893536260?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">James Biden</a>.” Biden served for 36 years in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/member/joseph-biden/B000444" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Senate</a>, including stints as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees, and ran for president in 1988 and 2008 before serving as President Barack Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2017. In addition to his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, Biden has two children, Hunter and Ashley, and seven grandchildren.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h4>



Biden won<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/03/biden-racks-up-more-republican-support-in-final-days--the-complete-list-of-his-gop-backers/">&nbsp;endorsements from hundreds of prominent Republicans</a>&nbsp;and former GOP officials, such as former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the family of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, GOP mega-donor Meg Whitman and former GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina. Even a handful of Trump officials endorsed Biden, including former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci and former Department of Homeland Security Chief of Staff<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/10/29/trump-warns-bad-things-will-happen-to-treasonous-ex-official-miles-taylor/">&nbsp;Miles Taylor</a>.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



“It&#8217;s been a long and difficult campaign, but it’s been a more difficult time for our country, Biden said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1324165787515461634?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">speech</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday, before the race was called for him, calling to “put the harsh rhetoric of the campaign behind us” and “respect and care for one another, to unite, to heal, to come together,” a common theme of his campaign. “I know this won’t be easy. I’m not naive. Neither of us are. I know how deep and hard the opposing views are in our country on so many things. But I also know this as well. To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies. We are not enemies. What brings us together as Americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CHIEF CRITIC</h4>



“I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!” Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/07/trump-falsely-claims-he-won-by-a-lot-after-telling-biden-not-to-wrongfully-declare-victory/">tweeted</a>&nbsp;an hour before the election was called for Biden. Shortly afterwards, his campaign put out a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1325118083082702850?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>&nbsp;claiming &#8220;the simple fact is this election is far from over&#8221; and vowing legal action.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h4>



Trump is the first president to lose reelection since 1992, when Republican President George H.W. Bush lost to Democrat Bill Clinton. At 77 years old, Biden will be the oldest president in American history. Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), will be the first woman, the first Black American and the first Asian American to serve as vice president.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h4>



306. That’s the number of electoral votes Biden is on track to win if he maintains his lead in Nevada and Georgia. Trump won the same exact number of electoral votes in 2016, which he described as a “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/06/biden-on-track-for-what-trump-once-called-massive-landslide-electoral-college-victory/">massive landslide victory</a>.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h4>



An uncalled Senate race in North Carolina and two runoffs in Georgia set for Jan. 5 will determine whether Biden comes into office with a Democratic majority in both chambers of Congress. Given the sheer scale of his&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://joebiden.com/joes-vision/" target="_blank">proposals</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;including a&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/" target="_blank">$2 trillion climate plan</a>, a&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://joebiden.com/healthcare/" target="_blank">public health care option</a>&nbsp;and a&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://joebiden.com/the-biden-emergency-action-plan-to-save-the-economy/" target="_blank">second coronavirus stimulus package</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;Democratic control of Congress would be critical for Biden to enact some of his key priorities and to get his desired cabinet secretaries and appointees confirmed, as well as to fill judicial vacancies.



-By Andrew Solender,Forbes Staff

Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden Addresses The Nation As Election Count Continues In Few Key States

Joe Biden Wins Presidency After Recapturing Rust Belt States

Hip hop heavyweight and unlikely presidential candidate <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/kanye-west/#99f4e0256f16">Kanye West</a> has released a religion-steeped campaign ad that calls for voters to write his name in on their ballots and urges Americans to “revive our nation’s commitment to faith,” as West says in the spot.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



With less than a month to go until Election Day, West dropped a new nearly one-minute-and-30-second advertisement that heavily featured the themes of prayer and religion.



“We as a people will revive our nation’s commitment to faith, to what our constitution calls the free exercise of religion, including, of course, prayer,” West says in the ad. “Through prayer, faith can be restored.”



West, a devout Christian, has been open about his beliefs throughout his relatively short run for president—he even reportedly asked political to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/09/16/kanye-west-reportedly-asked-campaign-staffers-to-refrain-from-fornicating-outside-marriage/#35d914334736">refrain from extramarital sex</a>&nbsp;while working on his campaign.



“By turning to faith, we will be the kind of nation, the kind of people, God intends us to be,” West said in the ad.



At the end of the ad, the written message to “<a href="https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1315766834046541825?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">write in Kanye West</a>” appears to be a concession to the fact that it is mathematically impossible for him to win the election because of his campaign’s late start in July, which has allowed him to qualify for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/elanagross/2020/09/08/kanye-west-now-on-ballot-in-12-states-after-qualifying-in-mississippi/#72023207712c">the ballot</a>&nbsp;in just a handful of states.



During an August interview with Forbes, when the fact was raised that it was virtually impossible for him to win, West replied, “I’m not going to argue with you. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2020/08/06/exclusive-kanye-west-indicates-that-his-spoiler-campaign-is-indeed-designed-to-hurt-biden/#52b7744c6397">Jesus is King</a>.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1315766834046541825?s=20
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



“We as a people are called to a greater purpose than ourselves. We are not only a beacon to the world, but we should be servants to each other,” West said in the ad. “To encourage each other, to help each other, to lift up each other. Our fellow Americans, that we may all prosper together. We have to act on faith.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1314407219434196993?s=20
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Forbes estimates West is worth <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/kanye-west/#99f4e0256f16">$1.3 billion</a>, thanks largely to his profitable Yeezy brand deal with sportswear giant Adidas and his separate Yeezy clothing line.



-By Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff

US-PEOPLE-politics-RACE-TRUMP-KANYE

Kanye West Angles For Write-In Presidential Votes With Campaign Ad Calling For Religious Revival

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19, Trump announced in a tweet, joining a growing list of world leaders and officials to&nbsp; have contracted the disease while fighting to contain its spread.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Tonight, <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a> and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1311892190680014849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">As too many Americans have done this year, <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@potus</a> &amp; I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good &amp; I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe &amp; we will all get through this together.&mdash; Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS45/status/1311900591174680581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



Trump announced the positive test results on Twitter mere hours after close advisor Hope Hicks tested positive, while First Lady Melania Trump also tested positive for coronavirus; according to a statement&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/farhip/status/1311897640892760065?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">from</a>&nbsp;White House Physician Sean Conley, both are “well at this time, and they plan to remain home within the White House during their convalescence.”&nbsp;



Trump joins a growing list of world leaders and officials to have tested positive for coronavirus.&nbsp;



<ul><li>Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/07/07/brazilian-president-jair-bolsonaro-tests-positive-for-covid-19/#152de6f1508c">tested positive</a> in July after months of downplaying the risks of the virus and dismissing it as “a little flu”; at the time of writing, Brazil’s coronavirus death toll of 144,000 is the second-highest in the world after the U.S. </li></ul>



<ul><li>British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was one of the first world leaders to announce he had <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/03/27/british-prime-minister-boris-johnson-tests-positive-for-coronavirus/#5cb7c9f743ed">caught</a> the virus in March and was eventually admitted to a hospital ICU after suffering persistent symptoms.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2020/09/18/guatemalan-president-latest-world-leader-to-contract-coronavirus-here-are-the-other-7/#76a8e7052394"> tested positive</a> for coronavirus in September after experiencing body aches and a dry cough; Reuters <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-guatemala/guatemalan-president-and-minister-have-coronavirus-cabinet-to-test-idUSKBN2692K0?il=0" target="_blank">reports</a> that Giammattei asked the entire cabinet to be tested, with the government later confirming that the minister for culture tested positive.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Bolivia’s interim President Jeanine Añez <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/10/americas/bolivia-president-anez-coronavirus-intl/index.html" target="_blank">caught</a> the virus in July.</li></ul>



<ul><li>After being diagnosed in June, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/02/americas/honduras-president-covid-19-discharge-intl/index.html" target="_blank">spent</a> over two weeks in a hospital after developing pneumonia symptoms.  </li></ul>



<ul><li>Having dismissed coronavirus as a mass “psychosis”, Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/28/europe/alexander-lukashenko-coronavirus-infection-intl/index.html" target="_blank">claims</a> he briefly caught the virus. </li></ul>



<ul><li>The Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and his family<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/armenian-prime-minister-recovers-covid-19" target="_blank"> tested positive </a>and recovered from the virus in June.</li></ul>



<ul><li>In Guinea-Bissau, Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam and three ministers <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronarivus-bissau/guinea-bissau-pm-and-three-ministers-test-positive-for-covid-19-idUSKBN22B1YG?feedType=RSS&amp;" target="_blank">tested</a> positive for Covid-19 in April.</li></ul>



<ul><li>In March, Prince Albert II of Monaco became the first reigning monarch or head of state to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/19/818698736/prince-albert-ii-of-monaco-tests-positive-for-coronavirus" target="_blank">announce</a> a positive test result for the disease. </li></ul>



<ul><li>In April, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin temporarily <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-russia-mishustin/russian-prime-minister-mikhail-mishustin-tells-putin-he-has-coronavirus-idUSKBN22C357" target="_blank">stepped down</a> to recover from coronavirus.</li></ul>



-By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Takes Part In NBC Town Hall

Donald Trump Is The Latest World Leader To Contract Covid-19 — Here Are The Rest

Young adults are the most likely demographic to have signs of negative mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic while older Americans at highest risk of the virus have the least stress and anxiety, a new <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.norc.org/PDFs/COVID%20Response%20Tracking%20Study/Rates%20of%20Mental%20Health%20Symptoms%20Unchanged%209Sept2020.pdf" target="_blank">Covid Response Tracking Study</a> poll from the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) finds, as the coronavirus continues to take a large mental health toll on Americans months into the pandemic.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h5>



The number of Americans reporting psychosomatic symptoms of stress and anxiety like trouble sleeping, feeling nervous and tired, headaches, and crying largely steadily decreases with each age bracket, the poll finds.



The number of Americans reporting psychosomatic symptoms of stress and anxiety like trouble sleeping, feeling nervous and tired, headaches, and crying largely steadily decreases with each age bracket, the poll finds.



Symptoms of stress and anxiety are also highest among women, those with less education and income, those who had been exposed to someone with Covid-19 and those who frequently read, watch or talk about the pandemic.



The percentage of respondents reporting symptoms and who report negative mental health are largely unchanged from previous polls in May and June/July, showing how the mental toll of the coronavirus pandemic has not improved as it stretches on.



51% of Americans read, watch or talk about the pandemic “often” or “most of the time,” and Democrats and those who are more educated are more likely to pay attention to and discuss the pandemic than Republicans, Independents and those with less education.



Though younger Americans are statistically at less risk of serious Covid-19 complications and death than older Americans—and have drawn the most scrutiny for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/07/23/as-coronavirus-infections-spike-among-young-new-yorkers-cuomo-warns-against-partying/#33f1ac6e389e">continuing to socialize</a>&nbsp;during the pandemic—they are also among the most likely groups to have been affected by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/09/hispanic-women-immigrants-young-adults-those-with-less-education-hit-hardest-by-covid-19-job-losses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">job losses</a>&nbsp;during the pandemic.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h5>



2 in 10. That’s the number of respondents who say they “frequently suffer from anxiety, depression or irritability,” while five in 10 respondents say they at least sometimes experience those issues. The poll also found that the average person experiences approximately five out of the 15 symptoms associated with stress and anxiety.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h5>



The negative&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nazbeheshti/2020/05/28/10-eye-opening-statistics-on-the-mental-health-impact-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic/#385af6052df0">mental health toll</a>&nbsp;of the coronavirus has been a serious issue since it began, as lockdown measures, the virus itself and the vast economic fallout has had a negative impact on a broad swath of the population. An&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/04/02/coronavirus-36-of-americans-say-pandemic-has-made-a-serious-impact-on-their-mental-health/#58c2f2ec6c8e">April poll&nbsp;</a>from the American Psychiatric Association found that 36% of Americans believed the pandemic had taken a “serious toll” on their mental health, while an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/08/06/americans-are-more-anxious-and-economically-battered-from-coronavirus-than-citizens-of-other-wealthy-countries/#bdb3ec96a8ca">August survey</a>&nbsp;from the Commonwealth Fund found that approximately one-third of Americans reported negative mental health issues—far more than in the other countries surveyed. A previous NORC Covid Response Tracking Study poll in June also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/06/16/in-coronavirus-pandemic-americans-are-unhappier-than-theyve-been-in-50-years/#2b9b09da6255">found</a>&nbsp;that only 14% of those surveyed felt very happy, marking the lowest response recorded in nearly 50 years.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h5>



<a href="https://www.norc.org/Research/Projects/Pages/covid-response-tracking-study.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">COVID Response Tracking Study</a>&nbsp;(NORC)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/09/04/more-young-people-living-with-their-parents-than-in-the-great-depression-report-says/#5581b32c51a3">More Young People Living With Their Parents Than In The Great Depression, Report Says</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/08/06/americans-are-more-anxious-and-economically-battered-from-coronavirus-than-citizens-of-other-wealthy-countries/#bdb3ec96a8ca">Americans Are More Anxious And Economically Battered From Coronavirus Than Citizens Of Other Wealthy Countries</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nazbeheshti/2020/05/28/10-eye-opening-statistics-on-the-mental-health-impact-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic/#385af6052df0">10 Eye-Opening Statistics On The Mental Health Impact Of The Coronavirus Pandemic</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/04/02/coronavirus-36-of-americans-say-pandemic-has-made-a-serious-impact-on-their-mental-health/#58c2f2ec6c8e">Coronavirus: 36% Of Americans Say Pandemic Has Made A ‘Serious Impact’ On Their Mental Health</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/06/16/in-coronavirus-pandemic-americans-are-unhappier-than-theyve-been-in-50-years/#2b9b09da6255">In Coronavirus Pandemic, Americans Are Unhappier Than They’ve Been In 50 Years</a> (Forbes)



-Alison Durkee, Forbes Staff

Re-opening Continues Across Densely Populated New York And New Jersey Areas

Coronavirus Pandemic Affects Young Adults’ Mental Health More Than Older Americans: Poll

On <a href="http://time.com/4986918/us-military-niger-soldier-deaths-investigaton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">October 4</a> an American Special Forces team was ambushed by a contingent of Islamic State affiliated fighters in Niger. Four American soldiers were killed and two wounded. The team of 12 soldiers was returning from a meeting with community leaders when it ran into a group of up to 50 terrorists.
The incident caused a furore in the US, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-africa-security/u-s-deaths-in-niger-highlight-africa-military-mission-creep-idUSKBN1CB2J1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sparking recollection</a> of 1993’s “<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-38808175/black-hawk-down-the-somali-battle-that-changed-us-policy-in-africa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Black Hawk Down</a>” incident in Somalia that saw 18 American soldiers killed. Questions were raised about how it was that four US soldiers died, why one of the bodies was <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/20/politics/us-niger-ambush-sgt-la-david-johnson/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">retrieved only 48 hours after the ambush</a>, and <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-troops-niger/story?id=50559788" target="_blank" rel="noopener">why US troops were in Niger in the first place</a>. US President Donald Trump’s failure to address the matter with the necessary <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/18/politics/john-mccain-niger-attack-response/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transparency</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/us/politics/trump-widow-johnson-call.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sensitivity</a> fueled the agitation.
The Niger incident reaffirmed the need to ask important questions about <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/10/29/death-us-soldiers-in-niger-restarts-debate-about-military-involvement-post-vietnam.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US military presence</a> in foreign territories and in this case, in Africa. African institutions that advocate for <a href="http://www.un.org/humansecurity/human-security-unit/human-security-approach" target="_blank" rel="noopener">human security</a> must continuously question the motives behind US military presence on the continent as well as its impact.
The US has an extensive military presence on the continent. In 2016 it was <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bryan-maygers/nick-turse-tomorrows-battlefield_b_7480360.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that its military had been involved with more than 90% of the 54 countries in Africa.
Two important and related questions arise following the Niger incident. Is the US military’s presence in Africa <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/americas-proxy-wars-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">good or bad</a> for Africa’s security? And is America pursuing the right strategy to combat terrorism on the continent? These are pertinent questions given that Africa is “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/10/25/africa-becomes-new-battleground-isis-and-al-qaeda-they-lose-ground-mideast/796148001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the new battleground</a>” in the fight against terrorism.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/investment-guide/2017/10/30/west-africa-less-attractive-investors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Why Is West Africa Less Attractive To Investors?</a>
<h2>The history</h2>
The US military’s presence in Africa is best understood in the wider context of America’s national security strategy. In establishing a military presence with global reach, the Americans are informed by what they call “<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/the-united-states-probably-has-more-foreign-military-bases-than-any-other-people-nation-or-empire-in-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forward strategy</a>”. This is a national security policy shaped during the Cold War.
“Forward strategy” was based on the idea that establishing and maintaining a significant US military presence in close proximity to the former Soviet Union would discourage communist expansion. This encouraged the emergence of America’s global military footprint either through a physical presence or in the form of <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/02/east-west-cold-war-legacy-africa-160214113015863.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proxy forces</a> belonging to sympathetic or opportunistic governments.
Forward strategy <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/21/september11.usa13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gained renewed impetus</a> following the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/the_september_11th_terrorist_attacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9/11 attacks</a> on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. This renewal was marked when the president George W. Bush declared a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/21/september11.usa13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">war on terror</a>.
Africa had already featured in the story of the fight against terror, when in <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/7/newsid_3131000/3131709.stm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1998</a> US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya were bombed by <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/world_al_qaeda/html/2.stm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Al-Qaeda</a>. In 2007, and following Bush’s declaration, the “United States Africa Command” (<a href="http://www.heritage.org/defense/report/us-africa-command-challenges-and-opportunities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AFRICOM</a>) was established as the <a href="https://www.defense.gov/About/Military-Departments/Unified-Combatant-Commands/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ninth unified combatant command</a>. AFRICOM was founded with the <a href="http://www.africom.mil/what-we-do" target="_blank" rel="noopener">operational objective</a> to neutralise <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-24587491" target="_blank" rel="noopener">violent extremist organisations</a> and beef up regional security on the continent.
The US troop contingent in Niger is part of this effort. AFRICOM is also engaged in an array of <a href="http://www.africom.mil/what-we-do" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supporting activities</a> deemed necessary for ensuring regional security. These include <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/us-arms-sales-kenya" target="_blank" rel="noopener">foreign military sales</a>, <a href="https://www.cfr.org/report/reforming-us-international-military-education-and-training-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">military education and training</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22173596" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provision of healthcare</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjPLskdV7h0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">veterinary services</a>.
The US military’s strategic objective is underpinned by two ideals: the <a href="http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/clauswtz/clwt000d.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“economy of force”</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/04/north-korea-preventive-war/523833/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“preventative war”</a>. “Economy of force” refers to the idea that it’s more cost effective to train and equip African forces in the fight against terror than to commit extensive numbers of US troops. “Preventative war” centres on the argument that large wars can be avoided by fighting on smaller scales wherever necessary.
America’s forward strategy persisted under both the <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/the-united-states-probably-has-more-foreign-military-bases-than-any-other-people-nation-or-empire-in-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bush and Obama administrations</a>. By all indications it is a strategy that’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/25/world/africa/white-house-pushes-military-might-over-humanitarian-aid-in-africa.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">likely to continue</a> under Trump.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/politics/2017/10/04/trumps-africa-policy-still-incoherent-key-signals-emerging/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Trump&#8217;s Africa policy is still incoherent</a>
<h2>Citizens will pay a price</h2>
The danger is that, in some instances, citizens can bear the brunt of a US military presence that involves training and equipping of African forces. This is particularly true in countries where interventions, inadvertently perhaps, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/10/old-wounds-deep-scars-us-intervention-africa-20131010101130448232.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strengthen repressive state apparatus</a>. On the other hand <a href="http://www.global-geneva.com/keeping-it-family-how-africas-corrupt-leaders-stay-in-power/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Africa’s gatekeepers</a> &#8211; self-interested, ruling elites &#8211; have the means to ensure their own security. They control the state, and its access to foreign partnerships and aid, whether military or otherwise.
A <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/02/18/is-the-us-military-propping-up-ugandas-elected-autocrat-museveni-elections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">case in point</a> is Uganda’s <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-12421747" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yoweri Museveni</a> – a <a href="https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2016/06/03/uganda_on_the_brink_key_us_ally_for_african_security__109416.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">key African ally</a> in the war on terror.
And of the 16 African countries that <a href="https://www.irinnews.org/feature/2017/02/15/updated-rough-guide-foreign-military-bases-africa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">host US military presence</a>, 10 are <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/fiw-2017-table-country-scores" target="_blank" rel="noopener">categorised</a> by the US-based Freedom House as “not free”, four as “partly free” and only two as “free”.
Various reports this year indicate that armed forces in a number of countries that host a US military presence have abused civilians. <a href="https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/hrw-accuses-mali-burkina-troops-of-sweeping-rights-abuses-20170908" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Burkina Faso</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/27/tortured-abused-deported-cameroon-accused-of-driving-out-100000-nigerian-refugees-human-rights-watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cameroon</a>, <a href="https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/chad-blasts-un-report-on-troop-abuses-in-car-20170602" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chad</a>, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/03/09/us-stand-ethiopians-government-stifles-protests-jails-journalists" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ethiopia</a>, <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Candidates-should-address-abuses-/440808-4037576-55swdez/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kenya</a> and <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/05/15/ugandan-troops-committed-sexual-abuse-in-central-african-republic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uganda</a> are a few examples.
These sorts of situations have the potential to fuel fundamentalist backlash.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2017/06/21/qatars-conflict-neighbours-can-set-horn-africa-alight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Qatar&#8217;s conflict with its neighbours can set the Horn of Africa alight</a>
<h2>Is America’s strategy working?</h2>
What is the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/25/world/africa/white-house-pushes-military-might-over-humanitarian-aid-in-africa.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">efficacy of the US’s military presence</a> in Africa?
<a href="https://issafrica.org/about-us/press-releases/lessons-from-africa-on-terrorism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research</a> by the Institute for Security Studies suggests that <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-01-18-collateral-death-more-civilians-killed-in-nigerias-war-on-terror/#.WgSSz2iCw2w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heavy-handed anti-terrorism strategies</a> breed insecurity by making fundamentalist organisations appear attractive to ordinary citizens. The exercise of what ordinary citizens perceive to be <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/problem/illegit_force.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">illegitimate force</a>, on the part of state security institutions, increases the likelihood of those same citizens joining fundamentalist organisations.
But it seems these findings are being ignored. The danger is that if <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/25/world/africa/white-house-pushes-military-might-over-humanitarian-aid-in-africa.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">current patterns</a> encouraged by the US military persist, countries are likely to experience an increase in extremism. This in turn is likely to perpetuate the heavy-handedness of already illiberal regimes and the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/10/old-wounds-deep-scars-us-intervention-africa-20131010101130448232.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vicious cycle</a> of interventionism in Africa.
In the <a href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/terrorism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">words</a> of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, &#8220;Our responses to terrorism, as well as our efforts to thwart it and prevent it, should uphold the human rights that terrorists aim to destroy.&#8221; &#8211; Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/craig-bailie-369223" target="_blank" rel="author noopener">Craig Bailie</a>, Lecturer in Political Science (Mil), Stellenbosch University
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Niger: a reminder of why the US military’s presence Africa needs constant scrutiny

As rugby ponders its future in Africa, the game is catching on in the city that never sleeps and doesn’t know an All Black from a Springbok.
In April, the new and rich PRO Rugby league was launched in New York. It has four South African players among its five teams.
Pedrie Wannenburg, a former Springboks and Blue Bulls loose forward, captains Denver and plays alongside compatriots Armandt Peens, Martin Knoetze and Niku Kruger. The four helped Denver to lead the league with six games unbeaten. Former Nelson Mandela University scrumhalf Charlie Purdon is a star player for San Diego.
Another three South Africans are among the coaching staff for the teams. South Africans make up the majority of the 15 foreign players and coaches contracted to PRO Rugby. Wannenburg, who is the most senior of the players, and one who was capped 20 times by the Springboks, earns $70,000 a year at Denver. The lowest paid player in the league gets $20,000.
PRO Rugby is the brainchild of New York investor Doug Schoninger, who owns Stadium Capital Financing Group. He is counting on the influence of foreign players to grow the sport, which is little known in the United States.
“We needed the help of foreign players, they really play a great service. We have the All Black fullback Mils Muliaina and Springbok loose forward Pedrie Wannenburg as captains. They serve such a great mentorship purpose in their teams. We have this Italian guy, Mirco Bergamasco, he is a mentor and captain for Sacramento. Their culture of rugby is better than ours and they are giving that to our players,” he said.
Schoninger, like many Americans, knew little about rugby, in 2014, when he failed to buy a minor league baseball team. Through an Australian friend, Schoninger was diverted to another investor who had struggle to bring rugby to the United States for nine years. Schoninger didn’t agree with the terms of the potential partner, who wanted to compete with the National Football League (NFL).
Instead Schoninger started alone and small; PRO Rugby was approved by USA Rugby in April 2015.
Schoninger says rugby may be small, compared to baseball and basketball, but has great potential.
“Most people don’t even know what rugby is – they know the name – there could be only two million people who know rugby in America. That’s what gets potential sponsors excited. It’s a new white sheet of paper in America. It’s not rugby in England or South Africa or Australia. Our rules are slightly different; our presentation is different. Arguably, there’s no other sport with this kind of opportunity in America, that’s well known, that has the World Cup every four years, that’s not here. That’s what I saw when I was talking to my Australian friend.”
USA Rugby, the sport’s national body, said the sport was the fastest growing team sport in the United States between 2008 and 2013. The game has increased it draw for spectators. In 2014, the All Blacks and USA Eagles played in Chicago before 61,500 in a packed Soldier Field stadium.
Schoninger said the league has not received any major sponsors, nor contracted broadcasting deals, but he was prepared to run alone for three seasons. He was hopeful that investors will soon come on board as the sport’s popularity grows.
The plan is to increase the five foreign players’ quota, per team, to seven in 2017. It means a another handful of South Africans, like 26-year-old Purdon, will line up for hard currency and softer tackles in the city that could be waking up to rugby.

Rugby In New York? Nice Try

As the third-generation owner of Zippo Manufacturing Co., one question always dogs George Blaisdell Duke: “You guys are still in business?” It’s not that people want to be nasty, he says. It’s just that America doesn’t light up as much as it used to, so it’s a reasonable question for the most famous maker of cigarette lighters in the world. And he has a well-worn answer handy. “Well, of course we are,” he says, reaching across his office desk for Marlboros and his own personal Zippo, a silver one with waves engraved on it. “Business is doing very, very well.”
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Never better, actually. Despite the 50% downturn in the number of U.S. smokers since the heyday of cigarettes in the 1950s, Zippo booked more than $200 million in sales last year – a record – and had the best May and June sales in its history in 2014. FORBES estimates revenue has increased by a compounded 14% in the past three years, thanks to a new, non-smoking CEO, Greg Booth, who pushed the 82-year-old manufacturer’s legendary lighters at a younger audience and expanded business in China. New products – a (legitimately appealing) clothing line and camping gear – and its first retail stores added fuel to the fire. “Zippo has maintained its iconicness,” says Timothy Donahue, an industry observer and editor at Tobacco Reporter, “and it has diversified quite well.” It’s a long way from the first Zippo, created by George Blaisdell after watching a friend struggle to light a cigarette on a windy day in 1932 in Bradford, Pa., a small town in the Allegheny Mountains where Zippo is still based.
He came up with a windproof chimney and the distinctive hinged lid – and guaranteed the lighter for life, meaning Zippo would continue to fix the lighter as long as its owner sent it to the factory. After soldiers received the lighters in WWII, Zippo successfully marketed itself with a utilitarian, made-in-America image for the following half-century.
Nonfamily CEOs ran it after the 1978 death of Blaisdell, who left Zippo to his family. By the 1990s his daughter Sarah Dorn and her son, Duke, had bought out the rest of the clan. “The more family members that are owners, the more directions that they think the company should go. Sometimes the privately owned companies don’t make it,” says Duke, who has since acquired his mother’s stake, too. “Sometimes people get impatient with the lack of temporary success, shall we say.”
Zippo hit just that kind of a rough patch in the 2000s. Duke won’t comment on how far sales plummeted, but his displeasure with Zippo’s  performance can be felt in his decision to make Booth CEO in 2001. (Booth had been running Zippo’s knife making subsidiary.) With only himself to please, Duke could wait for Booth to find the solution. The average age of Zippo’s customers then still hovered between 30 and 50 years old. It needed to think younger. Or else, Booth thought at the time, “all the buyers will have Zippos in their caskets, like Frank Sinatra.” (The crooner was buried with his trusty silver Zippo in 1998; replicas were handed out at his wake.)
It needed to reach the generation – ages 18 to 24 – who were children when Sinatra died.
To do it the company shifted ad dollars from print to Google AdWords and sponsored music concert series. They churned out lighters with Jack Daniel’s imagery and others inspired by the TV show Sons of Anarchy. (Skull images have proved especially popular.) All told Zippo produced 30,800 unique designs last year – up from 8,900 a decade ago, a 246% increase partly owing to a new Zippo.com feature where you can design your own lighter from scratch.
Zippo has positioned itself as a maker of talismans, lucky charms – or something akin to customized belt buckles. “The Zippo lighter is a thing of taste,” Booth says. “Sometimes it’s used by folks just as a fashion statement.”
That’s also the guiding light Zippo is following in China. When Booth took over, the Chinese business didn’t exhibit so much as a pulse. Now it’s 13% of Zippo’s revenue (60% of sales come from overseas). Zippo first put boots on the ground there in 2012, and today it has a 15-person team in Beijing. It has opened 14 retail stores in China – Zippo’s first plunge into creating its own stores – with another 35 to come by 2015, all riding the idea of Zippo as an all-American lifestyle brand. The stores carry a Zippo-designed clothing line (logos on the interior tags only), with gear resembling J. Crew’s preppy woodsman style. The stores worked well enough for Zippo to open two Las Vegas stores – in the Luxor hotel and Planet Hollywood casino – earlier this year. Zippo has its eye on several more Vegas locations.
Another brand extension: camping products (grills, stoves, LED lanterns). It launched in 2012, and sales were around $3 million last year; Zippo hopes to hit $20 million by 2016. For now those products are partly made in China. Greater sales would make it economically feasible to move those overseas jobs to Bradford (pop. 8,600), where Zippo remains the greatest source of blue-collar jobs, employing around 950 workers. The Blaisdell family remains the town’s greatest patron, even making up the difference at the perennially lossmaking country club.
Not everything Zippo tried caught fire. Booth originally created an ambitious plan to hit $300 million in sales by 2010: “We had the economic downturn. That set us back dramatically in terms of sales.” Zippo also planned to acquire more companies. It largely hasn’t.
Success enough, though, for Duke to dread Booth’s retirement at the end of 2015. A replacement will likely come from within the company. Duke has no plans to step down himself, but he is actively cajoling both his twentysomething sons to take his place. One has already worked at developing new lighter designs while on his college breaks. “This is just a metal box,” Duke says, twirling his Zippo in his hands and drawing deep on a cigarette. But, he says, “there’s a lot you can do with a metal box.”

Sparking Zippo

Europe and America have surely made inroads when it comes to environment-friendly electric vehicles (EV), manufacturing and finding enough customers for them, but Africa is still lagging behind in this respect.
Electric cars, which help curb greenhouse gas emissions, have been introduced in Africa, but car manufacturers admit they are yet to see a major shift from petrol- and diesel-driven cars to green cars. Clynton Yon, Product Manager of car major Toyota in South Africa, says it’s simply due to a lack of interest from the market.
“Hybrid technology is not cheap but in Europe and the US, the financial rebates buyers receive from the government [on initial purchase and also when it comes to taxes for insurance and emissions, for example congestion tax] make it a far more viable proposition. There also appears to be reluctance on the part of South Africans to adopt a greener lifestyle if it’s going to involve a higher initial financial outlay,” says Yon.
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Electric cars are still fairly expensive, and with reference to local sales, admittedly, hybrids have not achieved the kind of retail numbers they have elsewhere. The most obvious reason for this is the financial rebates offered by first-world countries are not available in South Africa, according to Yon.
“That said, Toyota has made a concerted effort to make hybrid variants more accessible. The Yaris HSD for example is the most affordable hybrid on the market,” says Yon. The Yaris HSD costs R230,000 ($21,700).
Electric engines give electric cars instant torque, creating strong and smooth acceleration. These cars first appeared in the 1880s, and were popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, until advances in combustion technology and production of cheaper petrol vehicles led to a decline in the use of electric cars.
Since 2008, a renaissance in electric vehicle manufacturing has occurred due to advances in battery and power management technology, concerns about increasing oil prices and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
If as a continent, Africa were to catch up with markets such as Europe, a lot needs to be done to educate the consumer about the effects of global warming.
About 144,000 units of another green car entrant, the Nissan LEAF, have been sold around the world, a large percentage of those sales owing to Europe since its launch in December 2010. At the moment, the LEAF commands 33% of the EV passenger car market in Europe, it sold more than 5,600 more units in 2013 versus 2012, cementing its position as a best-selling 100% electric vehicle.
The success of the Nissan LEAF in Europe has been especially propelled by strong sales in Norway where it became the best-selling car at the end of January with 650 units.
Since its launch in South Africa in November last year, the LEAF has taken off well, according to Dudu Mwelase, General Manager of Corporate Communications at Nissan South Africa. About 20 Nissan LEAF cars were sold in the first three months, but Nissan expects to sell a 100 in the first year.
Mwelase says her company’s aim is to bring about as much EV ownership as possible.
“As mobility in Africa starts to increase, there will obviously be a move to introduce environmentally-friendly vehicles. We do not foresee a mass Nissan LEAF introduction on the continent at this stage.”
Customers see electric cars as an appendage of the ongoing endorsement of all things green. For example, Heleen Ball, one of South Africa’s first LEAF customers, says that even though she was not supportive of the idea when her husband first suggested it, the car now works very well with their green lifestyle. She uses the car two or three times a week.
Plans to bring the BMW electric models to South Africa are also in full swing. The first model, the BMW i3 is earmarked for March 2015. The i3 could have been here earlier but because demand was exceeding expectations in a number of key European markets, South Africa has had to wait.
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“To ensure an acceptable waiting period for all customers who have ordered the i3, we have decided to delay market launch in South Africa and a number of countries where the i3 is not yet on sale,” says Edward Makwana, Automotive Communications Manager of BMW, South Africa.
At this stage, these cars will only be available in South Africa.
“We currently have around 11,000 pre-orders worldwide and more than 100,000 test drive requests. Customer-demand and interest in test drives exceed current production capacity. Dealers worldwide report they could sell more BMW i3s if they had them. We are also seeing a growing interest from local customers,” says Makwana. It’s clearly a green signal for electric cars.

Eco-warriors  On The Road

It’s hard to believe Danai Gurira wields a sword for a living.
On the small screen, she’s Michonne, a swift zombie slayer in America’s current hit-television series The Walking Dead.
Off-screen however, seeing her perched comfortably in a corner of her hotel room, stirring honey into her tea on a wet Johannesburg morning, is a slightly odd experience.
This is because there’s no trace of that steely aggressiveness her character has in The Walking Dead. Her current choice of outfit, a gleaming fitted white dress and perfectly crimson lipstick, is also a far cry from Michonne’s dirty khakis and dreadlocks.
With a strong track record of stellar roles both on celluloid and television in America, Gurira is channeling her influence into investing in the arts in Zimbabwe. This is in the hope that her home country and the rest of the continent will start to do the same, with the African woman as the main beneficiary.
“The idea of telling African women stories was [me] responding to a call I felt needed to be done, that I had to do in the course of my life,” says Gurira.
“I had to do it in a way that was excellent and facilitated other people’s talents, gave stories to women who often don’t get to tell stories, and don’t get to be the lead in a story.”
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Despite being born in Iowa in the United States, Gurira calls Zimbabwe home, where she spent much of her younger life with her family until the age of 19. She then returned to America and enrolled at the Macalester College in Minnesota. Since graduating and now, at 36, Gurira has received critical acclaim for her acting, but what stands out is her playwriting. Her play In the Continuum alone garnered the Helen Hayes, Obie and Outer Critics Circle awards. Her 2012 play, The Convert, also scored her a nomination from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Writing.
“I always wanted to tell really powerful stories as an actor, but I will say there was something very powerful and interesting to me about being the creator of a story. When I get acting work, I go in, do it and it’s something I have been trained in. When I get a job I embrace it, but the thing that burdens me is getting the stories out,” she says.
It’s no surprise then that all of Gurira’s plays have the woman as the central character. This is from two women dealing with HIV in In the Continuum to abduction and sexual exploitation of women during wartime in Eclipsed.  These are harrowing and poignant women’s stories, intermingled with uncomfortable truths rarely talked about. Gurira nonetheless exposes them on stage.
“I have to get uncomfortable when I tell a story, and then I have to allow other people to get uncomfortable too. As a child growing up on the [African] continent, I will say I was raised in a home where I was allowed to be rather outspoken. I’m thankful I grew up in that environment,” says Gurira.
“I think that that sort of discomfort of letting girls be front and center in the stories I tell is a discomfort I want people to have. There are some discomforts I pursue, because I want that story to be told. That allows for people to start to really grapple with things, and then perchance progress towards healing. So I definitely pursue discomfort in the stories I tell.”
Investment in the arts is therefore crucial for the continent, where women dominate the informal sector.  According to a United Nations report, 84% of women nonagricultural workers were informally employed between 1999 and 2000 in sub-Saharan Africa, as opposed to 63% of nonagricultural male workers.
While women are at a clear disadvantage, the silver lining, according to the report, was that the lack of permanent employment pushed women towards self-employment.
Almasi, Gurira’s dramatic arts training organization in Zimbabwe, could be another platform that encourages self-investment.
It is however a fairly young organization, and will need more than just Gurira’s founding name to build its theater foundations.
“I felt there was stagnancy in [Zimbabwe’s] progress in this particular art form. Not music, not literature, just the dramatic arts.”
Arts funding in Zimbabwe, according to Gurira, has only been trickling in despite the country’s prolific literary works, from the likes of Shimmer Chinodya, Tsitsi Dangarembga and Cont Mhlanga.
With a new play on the cards, and her existing plays in the process of being dramatized in Malawi and Zambia, Gurira expects an interesting diasporic language to begin unfolding in the name of theater.
“I want Zimbabwe to have great literary work. Just like we have NoViolet Bulawayo and Tsitsi Dangarembga, we need more literary artists in the dramatic realm. I think the world is almost ready to hear our stories, and it’s a fertile moment for the African and the African woman to start taking the helm in terms of being a storyteller,” she says.

A Sword as mighty as the pen

It’s hard to find an article on Stedman Graham that doesn’t mention his media-mogul fiancé, of 22 years. The hype and media frenzy that surrounds the queen of talk, Oprah Winfrey, could mean he often lives in her shadow.
“The beautiful thing about it is that even though people in the outside world define me by that, that’s not how I define myself… The bottom line is you’ve got to be a pretty strong person to even be with a person who is able to self-actualize herself and who is a woman, you can’t be weak, you have to step up,” says Graham.
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Growing up in Whitesboro, New Jersey, Graham had yet to find the self-awareness that he is now blessed with. He grew up with two disabled brothers and a family with a low self-esteem which rubbed off on him.
“I was defined by my race, I was defined by my background and I was defined by my family, all of those things,” he says.
One of his first jobs was as a prison guard, for five years. He then worked in the recreation department and later the education department. But it was a trip to South Africa that changed his life.
In the mid-eighties, Graham took a job in South Africa where he delivered food and clothes to people in the townships on behalf of an aid organization.
“I was working with a gentleman [Bob Brown] and he educated Nelson Mandela’s children. He was a nominee for the ambassador of South Africa and I worked for him and traveled all around the world with him. He was also a special assistant to president [Richard] Nixon, so we had very close ties to the White House. We had a network of folks that we would do work for as a business consultant and South Africa was one of those places that we came to.”
Graham saw the suffering of the South African people and although he is black, he never bore the wrath of racists.
“…as a South African you experienced the racism, but if you were an American you were treated differently.”
Almost 20 years since his first visit to South Africa, Graham retuned in 2013, to speak at a Mega Partnering Event on maximizing one’s potential to achieve success, and was surprised at what he saw.
“I love the way that you’re transitioning and transforming the country. I love the diversity of South Africa and I think that’s the key word… The message [for the people of South Africa] should be: If you want to invest in South Africa, invest in yourself.”
As for Graham’s secret to success, it is all about making the most of the 24 hours you have each day.
“I know that success is when preparation meets opportunity. Now, South Africa has the opportunity, it’s about how you prepare the people for the opportunity. When you prepare the people for the opportunity you’re going to get a booming economy. Your country is only as good as the skills of its people, it’s only as good as the education of its people,” says Graham.
Although South Africa has made many strides, Graham says one of the country’s biggest challenges is the belief that it can succeed on its own. He says businesses need to make use of the resources and opportunities that international investors want to offer.
“It’s like Nelson Mandela said, ‘this is not about black empowerment, it’s not about white empowerment, it’s about people empowerment. When we get along, we realize that we’re all in this together and it’s about a world-wide economy and what we want to do is empower as many people as possible worldwide and educate them worldwide.’”
Beside every strong man is an even stronger woman; but beside every strong woman is a man who is secure in his identity.

Tag: America

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