E-mail a friendApril 21, 2009
Environmental activist and Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai discusses her time in the U.S. during the civil rights era, the negative media attention on Africa and challenges for the African citizenry.
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai
Nobel Prize winner comments on excuses used by Africa's leaders to continue human rights violations. (3:20)
Full interview. (23:53)
Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to become a Nobel laureate, winning for her democracy and environmental reform campaigns. She was also the first woman in Kenya to earn a Ph.D. and hold a University of Nairobi professorship. Maathai created the Green Belt Movement, Kenya's successful reforestation program and, in '05, was elected the African Union's Economic, Social and Cultural Council first president. She analyzes bottlenecks to the continent's development in her book, The Challenge for Africa.
