“The International Forces against Sankara Were Too Much”

Victoria Brittain in Conversation with Brian J. Peterson Radical journalist Victoria Brittain discusses the life and politics of the Thomas Sankara with Brian J. Peterson. Peterson has written a biography which recounts in detail the politics and murder of the Burkinabé revolutionary. The book sheds new light on the responsibility of those who worked for…

Thomas Sankara – Decolonization, Love, and Trust in the People: A New Humanity for Ending Oppression

Takudzwa Hillary Chiwanza Thomas Sankara understood that liberation—embodying the whole process of decolonization — originates from the admission that the oppressed have internalized the oppressor. Colonial oppression in Africa did not end with the attainment of political independence. Rather, direct colonial domination on African peoples by the colonialist bourgeoisie of Europe and the United States…

35 Years After His Assassination, Thomas Sankara Still Inspires Liberation in Africa

Nigel Flanagan People gather for a wreath laying ceremony in front of the building where Thomas Sankara was assassinated in 1987 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, April 6, 2022, after the verdict of the trial of his assassins. | Sophie Garcia / AP Thirty-five years ago this month, one of Africa’s greatest revolutionaries was murdered by…

Thomas Sankara Remains a Global Icon

Owen Schalk This file photograph shows Thomas Sankara as he reviews troops in a street of Ouagadougou, during celebrations of the second anniversary of the Burkina Faso’s revolution. Photo by Daniel Lane/AP. His vision of a socialist, pan-Africanist model of development⁠ was not buried with him “We encourage aid that aids us in doing away…

After 34 Years, is Justice for the Murder of Sankara Coming Through Compaore’s Trial?

Takudzwa Hillary Chiwanza Thomas Sankara’s revolutionary ideas, inspired by Marxism, were a thorn in the flesh for Western imperialism. The chain of dependency had to be kept intact and Sankara was bent on breaking that link. He was not interested in his country, Burkina Faso, to be a perpetual charity case for the West –…

Thomas Sankara: An Icon of Revolution

Yanis Iqbal October 15 was the 33rd anniversary of Thomas Sankara’s death. On this day, he was murdered by imperialist forces at the tender age of 37. A Pan-Africanist, internationalist and Marxist, he was committed to the total liberation of the oppressed masses from the clutches of imperialism. Instead of bourgeois nationalism, Sankara believed in…