Black Critique- Revolutionary Movements in Africa An Untold Story

African activists and scholars remember a tumultuous period of radical political history

‘A remarkable volume on the vicissitudes of the revolutionary left in post-independence Africa’ Issa Shivji, Professor Emeritus at the University of Dar es Salaam

‘Twenty-first-century radicals should find new inspiration for action in this untold history’ Jean Copans, anthropologist and sociologist

‘From the Tubu nomads of northern Chad to peasants, workers and students throughout the African continent, we see how these movements used old and new ideas to mobilize emancipatory struggles for change’ Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Professor of African and Global Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

While the revolutionary left of the 1960s and 1970s in Europe, the United States and Latin America have been the subject of abundant discussion, similar movements that emerged in Africa have received comparatively little attention.

Yet Africa’s radical left was 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 movements 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? How can revolutionary struggles on the continent today learn from this rich history? This unique collection will shed new light on Africa’s radical decades for those who are seeking new and important insights into global revolutionary history.

Pascal Bianchini is a sociologist and independent researcher based in Senegal. Ndongo Samba Sylla is a Senegalese development economist and the co-author of Africa’s Last Colonial Currency. Leo Zeilig is an editor of the Review of African Political Economy and is the author of several books including A Revolutionary for Our Time: The Walter Rodney Story.

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.