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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.

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.

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 organising 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.

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.

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.

Sankara and French West Africa -- Colonisation -- Towards decolonisation in Upper Volta -- Mining and industry : fragile beginnings -- Class and independence -- Trade unions -- Endgame and assassination -- The revolution cannot triumph without the emancipation of women -- We can count on Cuba.

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.

Eddie Bereskin wants to change the world and stop the war, instead his life unravels after he is arrested on a Halloween protest in 2002. An incredible story about loss and hope set in London, Eddie the Kid takes us to the anti-war movement and two generations of activists, where, amid rioting and arrests, the destinies of Eddie and his sister Esther have been shaped. ,