Charlayne Hunter-Gault is once again breaking ground in America with her book entitled New News Out of Africa: Uncovering Africa's Renaissance.

The release of New News Out of Africa is just another notch on the list of things this prominent journalist has done.  First she made the news in 1961 as one of the first Black students to attend the University of Georgia and ultimately wrote the news becoming a legendary journalist.  She has been a correspondent on several news shows including the MacNeil/Legrer Report, and The NewsHour on PBS. She was co-anchor at WRC-TV Washington evening news, reporter for The New Yorker magazine and The New York Times.  Currently, she is CNN's Johannesburg, South Africa, bureau chief and correspondent.

At Hue-man bookstore in Harlem on June 20th, as Hunter-Gault read several selections from her book, a group of people sat listening intently.  Amongst that group were several of Hunter-Gault's friends who also happen to be legendary journalists. Friend and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Les Payne had this to say of her.  "She's a historical American icon.  She desegregated the University of Georgia.  [Also], as a journalist wrote relevant and meaningful coverage."

Her book describes her experiences while living in Africa along with the progression she has observed with the placement of new governments and rulers in countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Ultimately, the book transpires that not all the news out of Africa is bad as many are led to believe. "You have something amazing happening.  The people are finally being allowed to speak, I was glad to see it because this is one of my themes.  There is a growing society," said Charlayne Hunter-Gault at her reading in Harlem.

She also noted that in several nations, the governments are making baby steps towards democracy.  Occasionally there may be a stumble or two but progress is being made.

     Hunter-Gault read passages detailing the election process in Nigeria and the switch of power from military to civilian.  Its recent elections brought millions of Nigerians to the polls, returning current president Olusegun Obasanjo to power.

       The author also spent a significant amount of time discussing the problems that are occurring in Zimbabwe.  There are a slew of problems including government corruption and repression.  The media is continually suppressed causing young African journalists to fear for their lives.

   Young journalists in Zimbabwe face the threat of death or torture in order to write stories, but continue to do so because they see themselves as guardians.  They work to provide information to the Zimbabwean people and to protect the truth.  Hunter-Gault explains this in her novel when she describes how she was detained in Zimbabwe and a group of the young journalists stayed with her until she was released.

During the reading Hunter-Gault spoke of how people in the Western culture are out of touch and unaware of what is happening in Africa.

   "People are interested but they are ignorant." ß