While the revolutionary leftist movements of the 1960s and '70s in Europe, the United States and Latin America have been the subject of abundant literature, similar movements that emerged in Africa have received comparatively very little attention. This book sheds new light on these political movements. Africa's left were extremely active in these years. With pro-Soviet movements, Maoism, Trotskyism, Guevarism, Pan-Africanism and the Black Panthers, the rumble of revolution was felt across the continent. From feminist student rebels in Nigeria to pro-democracy moments in Liberia, the exciting and complex interplay between these many actors changed Africa forever. Can we see echoes of these movements in African politics today? What can we learn from the people who lived through these decades? This unique collection will open the eyes of leftists across the world who will find new and important insights into an important chapter in global history.

Sankara's legacy, unclear as it may be, still lives and he remains immensely popular. If you travel through Africa his image is unmistakable. His picture, with beret and broad grin, is pasted on run-down taxis and is found on the walls of local bars. Internationally Sankara is often referred to as the `African Che Guevara' and like his South American counterpart; it is his perseverance, dedication and incorruptibility that appeal to the imagination. Voices of liberation: Thomas Sankara starts with a comprehensive timeline covering Thomas Sankara's life and major events in the history of the continent and region. His Life section provides the most critical and fraternal assessment of the 1980s radical experiment within the broader history of the country, the region and continent. His Voice section succinctly provides a selection of Sankara's speeches, broadcasts and interviews and gives us insight to his outlook on the world. His Legacy section combines an almost poetic tribute to the flawed through heroic period of Sankara's `revolution' with an incredibly relentless and honest analysis. This is done through the story of last year's uprising against Compaore - with haunting lessons for South Africa. The Postscript is an indispensable update to the extraordinary events in Burkina Faso during 2015, chiefly the resistance to the coup in September. The authors look at Sankara's influence on the popular movements and its wider significance for Africa.

This six-volume Voices of Liberation series book set is a celebration of lives and writings of South African and African liberation activists and heroes. Each book provides human, social and literary contexts of the subject, with critical resonance to where we come from, who we are, as a nation, and how we can choose to shape our destiny. This series invites the contemporary reader to ensure that the debates and values that shaped the liberation movement are not lost, by providing access to their thoughts and writings, and engaging directly with the rich history of the struggle for democracy, to discover where we come from and to explore how we, too, can choose our destiny. Books in this set are: Voices of Liberation: Albert Luthuli by Gerald Pillay. Albert Luthuli was a teacher, activist, a lay preacher, and a politician. He was the president of the African National Congress from 1952 until his accidental death. Voices of Liberation: Ruth First by Don Pinnock. Ruth First was an anti-apartheid South African activist and a scholar. She was killed by a parcel bomb addressed specifically to her in Mozambique, where she in exile from South Africa. Voices of Liberation: Patrice Lumumba by Leo Zeilig. Patrice Lumumba was a Congolese politician and independence leader, who served as the first Prime Minister of the independent Democratic Republic of Congo, after Congo was liberated into an independent republic from Belgium. Voices of Liberation: Chris Hani by Greg Houston & James Ngculu. Chris Hani was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto weSizwe. He was a fierce opponent of the apartheid government, and was assassinated on 10 April 1993. Voices of Liberation: Frantz Fanon by Leo Zeilig. Frantz Fanon was an activist, philosopher, and psychiatrist whose work shaped the late 20th century critical anthropology in Europe and North America. Voices of Liberation: Steve Biko by Derek Hook. Steve Biko was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement during the late 1960s and 1970s.

Patrice Lumumba (1925-61) is perhaps the most famous leader of the African independence movement. After his execution in 1961, when he had been prime minister of the newly-liberated Congo for only seven months, he became an icon of anti-imperialist struggle. As the news came out, his picture was brandished in demonstrations in capitals around the world, along with Che Guevara and Mao Zedong. His life and the independence that he sought for the Congo made him a pivotal figure of the 20th century, highlighting ongoing Western colonialism and the problematic nature of the independence granted to huge swathes of the globe after 1945. In this book, revised and updated to include new thinking on the Congo crisis and incorporating material recently released from British intelligence archives, Leo Zeilig tells the story of the Congo in the dying days of colonialism, and of Lumumba's transition from nationalist to revolutionary to international symbol of African liberation.

As Viktor's marriage crumbles in London he struggles to make sense of the world around him. He is consumed with ideas about how to bring about radical social change. He befriends Tendai, a Zimbabwean cleaner at his university, and joins his struggle for cleaner's living wage. They share revolutionary ideas, spurring each on, and Tendai suggests that Viktor make contact with his friend in Zimbabwe, Anne-Marie. Through her we are introduced to Nelson, Biko, Lenin and other figures named after prominent past revolutionaries. Viktor and Anne-Marie start speaking on Skype, and they soon begin to depend on their companionship and their friendship becomes sexual in nature, despite never having met. Urged on by Tendai, Victor decides to travel to Harare to witness the realities of political struggle - following Frantz Fanon's idea about "an ounce of practice". He and Anne-Marie quickly consummate their relationship. Victorbecomes caught up with a group of men and women involved in an unusual opposition group with devastating, unexpected results. This is a novel about hope, fear, and failure, and how fighting for an all-consuming cause can forge some relationships but ruin others.

Frantz Fanon was one of the twentieth-century's most influential theorists and activists, whose work fighting against colonialism and imperialism has been an inspiration to today's decolonization and anti-racism movements. As the author of essential texts such as The Wretched of the Earth and Black Skin, White Masks, his impact on today's activists - from Rhodes Must Fall to Black Lives Matter - is indelible. Leo Zeilig here details the fascinating life of Fanon - from his upbringing in Martinique to his wartime experiences and work in Europe and North Africa - and frames his ideas and activism within the greater context of his career as a practising psychiatrist and his politically tumultuous surroundings. The book covers the period of the Algerian War of Independence, national liberation and what Fanon described as 'the curse of independence'. Highlighting Fanon's role as the most influential theorist of anti-colonialism and racial liberation, this book is an essential read for those interested in the roots of the modern day anti-racism and decolonization movements.

Walter Rodney was a scholar, working class militant, and revolutionary from Guyana. Strongly influenced by Marxist ideas, he remains central to radical Pan-Africanist thought for large numbers of activists' today. Rodney lived through the failed -though immensely hopeful -socialist experiments in the 1960s and 1970s, in Tanzania and elsewhere. The book critically considers Rodney's contribution to Marxist theory and history, his relationship to dependency theory and the contemporary significance of his work in the context of movements and politics today. The first full-length study of Rodney's life, this book is an essential introduction to Rodney's work.

A leading light of the anti-colonial revolts of the 1960s and '70s, Frantz Fanon also prophetically explored the dangers of post-colonial power. Voices of Liberation: Frantz Fanon is a rich exploration of Fanon's life and times, combining interviews with those who fought alongside him with selections from his work. This book gives and giving new insight into the extraordinary life and ideas of one of the twentieth century's most important revolutionaries. Leo Zeilig is a lecturer at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London; Senior Visiting Fellow, South African Research Chair in Social Change; Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg; and editor of Class Struggle and Resistance in Africa. Mireille Fanon-Mendes-France is the president of the Frantz Fanon Foundation and the daughter of Frantz Fanon.

"Cutting-edge."--Patrick Bond

"This fascinating book fills a vacuum that has weakened the believers in Marxist resistance in Africa."--Joseph Iranola Akinlaja, general secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Nigeria

" An] excellent collection."--"Socialist Review"

"Read this for inspiration, for the sense that we are part of a world movement."--"Socialist Worker "(London)

"Grab this book. Highly recommended."--Tokumbo Oke, "Bookmarks"

This collection of essays and interviews studies class struggle and social empowerment on the African continent.

Employing Marxist theory to address the postcolonial problems of several different countries, experts analyze such issues as the renewal of Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt, debt relief, trade union movements, and strike action. Includes interviews with leading African socialists and activists.

With contributions from Leo Zeilig, David Seddon, Anne Alexander, Dave Renton, Ahmad Hussein, Jussi Vinnikka, Femi Aborisade, Miles Larmer, Austin Muneku, Peter Dwyer, Trevor Ngwane, Munyaradzi Gwisai, Tafadzwa Choto, and Azwell Banda.

Leo Zeilig coordinated the independent media center in Zimbabwe during the presidential elections of 2002 and, prior to this, worked as a lecturer at Universite Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal. He then worked for three years as a lecturer and researcher at Brunel University, moving later to the Center of Sociological Research at the University of Johannesburg. He has written on the struggle for democratic change, social movements, and student activism in sub-Saharan Africa. Zeilig is co-author of "The Congo: Plunder and Resistance 1880-2005."

Walter Rodney was a scholar, working class militant, and revolutionary from Guyana. Strongly influenced by Marxist ideas, he remains central to radical Pan-Africanist thought for large numbers of activists' today. Rodney lived through the failed -though immensely hopeful -socialist experiments in the 1960s and 1970s, in Tanzania and elsewhere. The book critically considers Rodney's contribution to Marxist theory and history, his relationship to dependency theory and the contemporary significance of his work in the context of movements and politics today. The first full-length study of Rodney's life, this book is an essential introduction to Rodney's work.

Three leading Africa scholars investigate the social forces driving the democratic transformation of postcolonial states across southern Africa. Extensive research and interviews with civil society organizers in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, and Swaziland inform this analysis of the challenges faced by non-governmental organizations in relating both to the attendant inequality of globalization and to grassroots struggles for social justice.

Peter Dwyer is a tutor in economics at Ruskin College in Oxford.

Leo Zeilig Lecturer at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London.

Frantz Fanon is best known as one of the leading twentieth-century political thinkers and activists against colonialism and imperialism and as the author of the iconic book "Wretched of the Earth". Leo Zeilig here details the life of Fanon - from his upbringing in Martinique to his wartime experiences and work in Europe and North Africa - and frames his ideas and activism within the greater context of his career as a practising psychiatrist and his politically tumultuous surroundings. The book covers the period of the Algerian War of Independence, national liberation and what Fanon described 'the curse of independence'. Highlighting Fanon's role as the most influential theorist of third-world liberation, this book is an essential work for students, academics and general readers.

The evolution of student activism in sub-Saharan Africa is crucial to understanding the process of democratic struggle and change in Africa. Focusing on the recent period of "democratic transitions" in the 1990s, Leo Zeilig discusses the widespread involvement of student activism in democratic struggles across contemporary Africa and focuses on two case studies, Senegal and Zimbabwe. He provides an historical examination of the student-intelligentsia on the continent that played a crucial role in the independence struggles across much of Africa, leading and organizing nationalist movements and outlines the development of grass-root activism. Zeilig demonstrates how students shape and are shaped by national processes of political change and popular protest and reveals both the continuities and transformations in student activism in an era of austerity, crisis and poverty.

Since well before Henry Morgan Stanley's fabled encounter with David Livingstone on the shore on Lake Tanganyika in the late 19th century and his subsequent collaboration with King Leopold of Belgium in looting the country of its mineral wealth, the Congo's history has been one of collaboration by a minority with, and struggle by the majority against, Western intervention. Before the colonial period, there were military struggles against annexation. During Belgian rule, charismatic religious figures emerged, promising an end to white domination; copper miners struck for higher wages; and rural workers struggled for survival. During the second half of the 20th century, the Congo's efforts at disentanglement from Belgian rule, the murder of the nationalist leader Patrice Lumumba and the long dictatorship of General Mobutu culminated in one of the bloodiest wars the world has ever seen. At the start of a new millennium, this book argues that the West has plundered Africa to its own advantage and that unrestrained global capitalism threatens to remake the entire world, bringing violence and destruction in the name of profit. In this radical history, the authors show not only how the Congo represents and symbolises the continent's long history of subordination, but also how the determined struggle of its people has continued, against the odds, to provide the Congo and the rest of Africa with real hope for the future.