Fighting against the Injustice of the State and Globalization: Comparing the African American and Oromo Movements

Asafa Jalata. Fighting against the Injustice of the State and Globalization: Comparing the African American and Oromo Movements. New York: Palgrave, 2001. viii + 216 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $64.00. Cloth.

This comparative study of the development of African American nationalism in the United States and Oromo nationalism in Ethiopia is an intriguing and thought-provoking book. The author presents two stories of tragedy, resistance, and achievement, looking closely at the roots and development of institutionalized racism, settler colonialism, and political domination in each case. The vitality of the book derives from the author's long-term dedication to Oromo studies and scholarly interest in the constructions of race, ethnicity, nationalism, and the political economy of the modern world system. At the same time, he interweaves his own personal narrative as activist-scholar, going so far as to posit that such autobiographical experience offers insights that may even match those of field research.

As a book written by an admitted activist, then, Fighting against the Injustice of the State and Globalization has political as well as scholarly agendas and must be evaluated on both counts. The author presents both African Americans and Oromos as "players in the global system," and he "strives to make them aware of each other" (3). Few Oromos have had the opportunity to read the literature on African American nationalism, and most African Americans know little about the Oromo struggle against Ethiopian settler colonialism. Oromo nationalists may be inspired by Jalata's account of the African American struggle and thereby intensify their own struggle. Similarly, African Americans may be shocked to learn that the Ethiopia they had viewed as a symbol of black resistance against white domination is actually a colonial power which, in collusion with European and American imperialism, conquered and held Oromos as subjects. To the extent that the book allows African Americans and Oromos to learn about one another, it can be deemed a success.

As a scholarly monograph proposing a comparative analysis of the complex and dynamic development of African American and Oromo nationalisms in opposition to the racialized and ethnicized forms of state power and a racist global capitalist system, the book falls short of delivering on its promise. Jalata's narration of both nationalisms is well researched, interesting, and coherent, but the voices of African Americans and Oromos are drowned out by the torrent of stories of atrocities perpetrated by white racists and black colonialists. It is regrettable that the wealth of pamphlets and publications of various Oromo organizations (for example, The Voice, Kana Bekta, Bakkalcha Oromo, Oromia, Warraqsa, Gucca Dargago) were not used as sources to reconstruct and present a more complete and wellgrounded account of Oromo nationalism. A good portion of the chapter on American foreign policy is devoted to a rehearsal of the opprobrious Ethiopian references to Oromos rather than to an analysis of the impact of American foreign policy on the Oromo struggle. The chapter comparing African American and Oromo national movements, which is ostensibly the focus of the study, reads more like an activist's catalogue of commonalities and differences than a social scientist's attempt to provide an explanation for the differences in people's responses to oppression and domination. The concluding chapter projects an optimistic vision for the Oromo people in which Oromos will establish a revolutionary multicultural democracy after the destruction of the Ethiopian colonial state and its oppressive institutions.

The book is marred by repetitions, editorial gaffs, and an excess of quotations and hyperbole. These shortcomings are less the fault of the author than of the publisher. Bothersome as they are, they do not diminish the valuable service that Jalata has given to the Oromo people in introducing them to African Americans and increasing the visibility of their struggle. It is an interesting addition to the literature on Oromo nationalism and a critical contribution to broader debates concerning transnationalism and national liberation movements.

Ezekiel Gebissa

Kettering University

Flint, Michigan

Copyright African Studies Association Dec 2003
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