Editor's note: We're republishing this article from two years ago to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Amílcar Cabral's assassination on January 20, 1973. Introduction Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral was born September 12, 1924 in Bafatá, Guinea-Bissau, one of...
The courage to criticize imperialism: Thomas Sankara on the 1986 Reykjavik summit
Translators' introduction The contemporary situation in Burkina Faso is quickly changing, and the new Prime Minister, Me Kyelem Apollinaire de Tambela, identifies with the tradition of Thomas Sankara. He has also written an important book on Sankara and the revolution...
Apartheid is a cancer that must be exterminated: Radio Havana Cuba interview with Thomas Sankara
Translators' introduction The original French text, available here, is a transcription of an oral interview, and it is clear that the person doing the transcription was unsure of a few of the formulations. We therefore did our best to render the text as coherent as...
Walter Rodney: A people’s professor
Introduction In a recent book on the ongoing relevance of Walter Rodney’s work, Karim F. Hirji notes that, “as with scores of progressive intellectuals and activists of the past, the prevailing ideology functions to relegate Rodney into the deepest, almost...
Thomas Sankara on the founding of the Black Institute
Editorial introduction This is the first English translation of this speech—titled “Blacks must take responsibility for their own history and contribute to universal civilization"—and the second installment in a Liberation School series of previously untranslated work...
Thomas Sankara: “We didn’t import our revolution”
Sign the petition demanding the recording of Sankara's assassination trial! Editorial introduction This is the first English translation of this interview and the opening installment in a Liberation School series of previously untranslated work by Thomas Sankara. This...
Walter Rodney’s revolutionary praxis: An interview with Devyn Springer
The following interview, facilitated by Derek Ford, took place via e-mail during June and July in preparation for Black August, when progressive organizers and activists deepen our study of and commitment to the Black struggle in the U.S. and the anti-colonial and...
Thomas Sankara: Leadership and action that inspires 71 years later
Liberation Audio · Thomas Sankara: Leadership and action that inspires 71 years later Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was born December 21, 1949 in Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso), which, at the time, was a West African French colony. Sankara, a fierce enemy of the...
Five imperialist myths about China’s role in Africa
Setting the stage for "great power confrontation" That China is a rising power is undeniable. Since its founding in 1949, the People’s Republic of China has undergone several substantial economic and social policy changes, in response to both the evolving domestic...