Reginald James

UC Berkeley student Reginald James is heading to Africa to spend a semester at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, where he will study East African culture, history, music, politics and the Swahili language.
“I’ve been interested in Africa, Tanzania, and Swahili since I was a child,” James said. “Our oldest human ancestors come from Tanzania, and Africa’s largest mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro, is here too.”
After independence, Tanzania embarked on a path of “Ujamaa,” which means “familyhood” in Swahili. People who celebrate Kwanzaa will recognize the word as the fourth principle of “Cooperative Economics.”
The phrase comes from national independence leader Dr. Julius Nyerere’s vision for African Socialism.
At UC Berkeley, James is studying Political Science and African American Studies. He transferred from Laney College last spring.
This is his second trip to Africa. In 2010, he studied in Kemet (Egypt) with Merritt College’s Africana Studies program.
James is  a photojournalist and host of the Internet radio show, The Black Hour. Upon his return, he hopes to speak about what he has learned at East Bay schools and colleges.
Read his travel blog at http://reginaldtz.blogspot.com.