I shudder to think where we people of African descent would be without our allies in the international community. It's been our everything, quite frankly.

It is only with the rise of the Civil Rights Movement that you begin to see different examinations of not only Reconstruction but slavery itself, and there is a lesson to be drawn here about how the times influence the writing of history, something that we should never forget.

I think we need to de-center the idea of US sovereignty.

I shudder to think where we people of African descent would be without our allies in the international community. It's been our everything, quite frankly.

I think that even though we should always welcome allies within the four corners of the United States, we shouldn't limit our allies to the four corners of the United States. I think that would be a grave mistake.

I think - particularly in terms of the destiny of Africans in North America - our destiny has also been shaped indelibly by global alliances.

Africa, being the major target of colonial plunder, therefore becomes a major source of conflict.