KWAME TURE BLASTS AFRICAN BOURGEOISIE

On this day in 1998, Pan-African revolutionary and icon Kwame Ture died in Guinea, Conakry. Born on 29 June 1941, Ture, formerly known as Stokely Carmichael, moved to the United States from Trinidad with his family at 11. He led a life marked by a strong dedication to the Pan-African cause. In his mid-20s, he became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which primarily focused on organising and mobilising Black people in the US South to exercise their voting rights. He later oversaw SNCC members who co-founded the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, an SNCC affiliate focused on registering Black voters in Lowndes County, Alabama. Ture was at the forefront of this struggle throughout the 1960s, from the Freedom Rides (challenging segregation at bus stops) to the rise of the Black Power Movement. He later helped found the All-African People's Revolutionary Party. The majority of Ture's last three decades were spent in the West African nation of Guinea, a testament to his commitment to Pan-Africanism. Here, he adopted the name ‘Kwame Tureaud in honour of Ghana's founding leader and Pan-African icon Kwame Nkrumah and Guinea's then-president Sékou Touré, two revolutionaries he drew a lot of inspiration from.

Despite becoming friends with many African leaders during his time on the continent, Ture never held back from calling out the worst tendencies of the African bourgeoisie. He pointed out that it was essential to understand that not all Africans are on the side of the masses and revolutionaries. In remembrance of this great son of Africa, here is a 1989 clip of him exposing the African bourgeoisie.