Matt Meyer author of Seeds of New Hope: Pan-African Peace Studies for the Twenty-first Century

Saturday, December 10, 1pm – Non-Fiction

Matt Meyer author of Seeds Bearing Fruit, Seeds of New Hope and Time is Tight: Transformative Education in Eritrea, South Africa, and the U.S.A Pan-African Peace Action for the Twenty-First Century
edited by Elavie Ndura- Ouédraogo, Matt Meyer, and Judith Atiri ($39.95 AWP)

No matter how little one knows about Africa, we cannot help but hear of raging poverty and out-of-control wars. Defying popular misconceptions, however, Seeds Bearing Fruit: Pan-African Peace Action for the Twenty-First Century recounts the stories of seemingly minor, local acts of creative resistance—acts that are the concrete basis for realistic hope. Based on an understanding that these acts will flower into new movements ready to right the wrongs of generations past, the authors draw their inspiration from the elders who have gone before us and the youth who work in our midst.

Seeds of New Hope: Pan-African Peace Studies for the Twenty-first Century brings together leading academics and activists from four continents, presenting on issues relating to war and peace in Africa. With a focus on areas of positive change and concrete developments in justice-based initiatives, these essays refute the stereotyped view of Africa as a tragic, war-torn region. Thematic, continent-wide overviews are combined with country-specific references, making this volume accessible and insightful for MATT MEYER served for ten years as Multicultural Coordinator for New York City’s Alternative High Schools and Programs, and is currently Educational Director of a small, alternative public school in Manhattan. He is Chair of the Peace and Justice Studies Association, the major North American affiliate of the International Peace Research Association. A former public draft registration resister and chair of the War Resisters League, he continues to serve as convener of the War Resisters International Africa Working Group. With Bill Sutherland, Meyer authored Guns and Gandhi in Africa: Pan-African Insights on Nonviolence, Armed Struggle and Liberation, of which Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote, “Sutherland and Meyer have looked beyond the short-term strategies and tactics which too often divide progressive people . . . They have begun to develop a language which looks at the roots of our humanness.”

“Time Is Tight” is an important piece of literature for educators all over the world. If education is to produce a new generation of empowered people, then we need to support literature such as presented in this inspiring book. – Ela Gandhi, South African Member of Parliament (ANC)

In reviewing what U.S. educators may learn from some of their African counterparts – especially in the areas of cultural cooperation and peace – Matt Meyer’s “Time Is Tight” seeks to rebuild a sense of solidarity and good will between peoples that many believe has been squandered these past years. The book’s assertion that teachers in the U.S. must address human rights issues right here at home is both refreshing and urgent. -Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA.), Congressional Black Caucus

Through “Time Is Tight,” Matt Meyer compels the reader to view education and reciprocal learning from a Sankofa perspective: we will only know where we are going if we have clear knowledge of from whence we have come. The lessons we learned in examination of Pan-Africanist models of education pose serious challenges to those of us for whom education, and most especially alternative education, is our heart’s calling. A very readable, thought-provoking, and serious work. – Margaret Bing-Wade, Coordinator, National Alliance of Black School Educators (Northeast Region)