In a bid to reinvigorate their mission, the Association Concerned Africa Scholars (ACAS) has undergone a significant transformation. Convening on December 1, 2023, during the African Studies Association annual meeting in San Francisco, the organization, led by co-chairs Teresa Barnes and Tim Scarnecchia, announced its revival.

Founded in 1977, ACAS is dedicated to providing alternative scholarly analysis of U.S. government policy towards Africa, fostering support for critical African issues in the United States, building communication networks among scholars in the U.S. and Africa, and collaborating with like-minded organizations.

The organization’s roots lie in a commitment to steering U.S. policy towards Africa in a direction more aligned with African interests, as articulated in its inaugural newsletter statement.

ACAS boasts a remarkable history of political activism and policy scrutiny. Presently, its members are engaged in diverse endeavors, including advocating for the temporary suspension of U.S. pharmaceutical patent rights on COVID vaccines to facilitate local production in Africa and the global south. Additionally, they are addressing the escalating presence of the U.S. Africom Combatant Command across the African continent, as part of the Global War on Terror. Other focal points encompass the expansion of U.S. defense and intelligence funding in African higher education, food sovereignty, trade, debt, and development politics, as well as health programs, women’s rights, and environmental concerns across the continent.

To strengthen its impact, ACAS has revamped its website and posted a statement addressing Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Furthermore, the organization released a new issue of the Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars, featuring articles covering various critical topics.

Notably, Daniel Volman, the Director of the African Security Research Project in Washington, DC, and a specialist in U.S. national security policy towards Africa, has played a pivotal role in shaping ACAS’s trajectory.

The strides made by ACAS echo its commitment to reimagining prevailing interpretations of social and economic policy, globalization, development strategies, media representations, and nation building.

As ACAS forges ahead, its efforts to amplify African voices and advocate for meaningful change are poised to resonate on a global scale.