Lumumba’s Politics Are What Really Need to Return
Belgium has repatriated Patrice Lumumba’s gold tooth – his only remains. But there will only be justice when the Congolese win back what was truly killed in 1961: his politics of self-determination.
13 Articles by:
Perry Blankson
Perry Blankson is a Tribune columnist and a project coordinator at the Young Historians Project. He is a member of the Editorial Working Group for the History Matters Journal.
Remembering George Padmore
Trinidadian socialist George Padmore was born on this day in 1903. His Pan-African organising helped to build the struggle against colonialism in the West – and to push independence struggles towards Marxism.
The Windrush Whitewash
Today’s Windrush Day comes as government officials continue pushing through racist immigration laws and victims are still left waiting for compensation. They want us to believe the scandal is over – it isn’t.
We Must Remember David Oluwale
David Oluwale was the first victim of racist police brutality that the British state acknowledged. Decades after his death, his plaque in Leeds has been repeatedly vandalised – showing that the racism he faced remains a force today.
Justice for Thomas Sankara
This week, Blaise Compaoré was jailed for his role in the murder of Burkinabe revolutionary Thomas Sankara –but real justice can only be won by a movement that fights to bring Sankara’s socialist vision back to life.
Haiti’s Curse Is Neocolonialism
Over two centuries since enslaved Haitians broke their chains and declared a republic, their descendants remain subjugated by Western imperialism and its homegrown collaborators.
When Malcolm X Came to the West Midlands
Just days before his assassination, Malcolm X visited the small English town of Smethwick following a high-profile racist election – and saw that the colour bar stretched far beyond the Jim Crow South.
The Cuban Blockade at 60
This year marks 60 years since the US began its blockade of Cuba. It is economic warfare designed to collectively punish a people for their independence – and it must come to an end.
Corporate Social Justice Is a Scam
Recent years have seen global corporations embrace racial justice causes for PR purposes – but the economic system they preside over continues to ensure Africa is exploited for the benefit of the super-rich.
Britain’s Secret War on Bermudan Black Power
For years, British state agents organised to undermine and destabilise powerful Black Power movements in the Caribbean. Only in recent years has the extent of their operations come to light.
Jamaica’s Christmas Rebellion
On Christmas Day 1831, 60,000 enslaved Africans in Jamaica rose up against their masters – the largest uprising ever in the British West Indies, and a milestone on the road to abolition a few years later.
The British State’s Secret War on Black Power
In the 1960s, a new generation of Black radicals in Britain began organising against racism, capitalism and police violence – they were met with state hostility and a campaign of surveillance.
Kwame Nkrumah’s Pan-African Socialism
Kwame Nkrumah, who died on this day in 1972, was a leader in the fight against colonialism. But he knew that independence wasn’t enough – only a unified, socialist Africa could truly free itself from its former masters.