Unity is an Imperative: Reclaiming African Liberation Day

Tanupriya Singh All-African People’s Conference held in Ghana, 1958. African Liberation Day marks the founding of the Organization of African Unity in 1963. While the idea of ‘liberation’ has since been removed in letter, and even in spirit, from official commemorations of the day, radical forces have held onto it in their fight against capitalism…

The Meaning of African Liberation Day

Walter Rodney Walter Rodney, “The Meaning of African Liberation Day (a speech delivered May 27, 1972 in San Francisco, California),” transcribed and edited by Marvin X , Journal of Black Poetry I was born in a place that used to be called British Guyana. I happened to have been educated in Jamaica, to have lived…

Steps to a Socialist Pan-African Movement

Nicholas Mwangi A recently published book by Vita books publishers Essays on Pan-Africanismedited by Shiraz Durrani & Noosim Naimasiah contains essays on Pan-Africanism written by Pan-Africanist intellectuals at various times. In its preface, Prof. Issa Shivji says writings on Pan-Africanism never become dated for the desire of Africans globally for freedom continues burning, sometimes dimming into…

Ten Theses on Marxism and Decolonization

Tricontinental Violet Parra (Chile). Untitled (unfinished), 1966. Embroidery / natural burlap. 136 x 200 cm. The works of art in this dossier belong to Casa de las Américas’ Haydee Santamaría Art of Our America (Nuestra América) collection. Since its founding, Casa de las Américas has established close ties with a significant number of internationally renowned…

Marxism and African Liberation

Walter Rodney In 1980, Walter Rodney was assassinated by a car bomb in Georgetown, Guyana. He gave this speech at Queen’s College, New York, in 1975. The transcript is taken from Yes to Marxism!, People’s Progressive Party, Georgetown, Guyana, 1986. First of all, we must understand the background for this kind of debate. When one is asked to…

The USSR’s Demise Shows that Communists Must Never Stop Defending Actually Existing Socialism

Rainer Shea Communists around the world can take the great tragedy of the Soviet Union’s fall, and turn it into a learning experience. We can study the decisions within the country’s leadership that led to Washington succeeding in carrying out the 1989–1991 imperialist coup, and avoid the equivalent missteps as we go about our own…