For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past.

NPR: Obama Forced to Address Relationship with Pastor

Tragedy persists in some nations, but an increasing number of African states have adopted democracy and taken a more market-oriented path toward prosperity.

FORBES: Democracy Is Under Challenge In Zambia

"African policymakers need to steer urbanisation from its current non-sustainable path towards healthier cities that ensure food and nutrition security, decent work and income, and a clean environment for all their citizens, " says the FAO's Modibo Traore.

BBC: Africa: Feeding the rising urban population

With the oil-rich North African nation still trying to write a constitution and chart its post-Gadhafi path, the alliance has been locked in a power struggle with Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

NPR: Storming Ministries, Libya's Militias Put Pressure

Just as the African nations of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development rose to the challenge and helped the parties find a path to peace in 2005, all of us can do our part to ensure that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is fully implemented.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Attends Ministerial Meeting on Sudan

Board of Education decision put America on a path toward equal educational opportunity, America's educational system has undergone a remarkable transformation, and many African American children who attended the substandard segregated schools of the 1950s have grown up to see their children attend integrated elementary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities.

WHITEHOUSE: The White House