Rising global prices in oil and minerals have produced a scramble for Africa’s natural resources over the past two decades, led by investment from U.S., European and Chinese companies, and joined by emerging economies from around the globe. This period of “Africa rising” did not lead to the creation of jobs, but has instead fueled the extraction of natural resources, profits accruing to global capital, an increasingly wealthy African ruling class, and rising regional militarism. The speakers will explore how the roots of today’s conditions lie in the historical legacies of colonialism and the imposition of so-called “reforms” by global financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF. The scramble for Africa’s resources has also heightened the pace of ecological devastation, and led to a frightening surge of militarization on the part of China and the U.S. Yet this “new scramble” has not gone unchallenged. From platinum workers’ struggles in South Africa to Nigerian labor organizing and pro-democracy upheavals in Uganda and Burkina Faso, the speakers will explore the unfolding grassroots organizing and protest taking place throughout the continent.