THE GLOBAL AFRICAN COMMUNITY

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DR. WALTER RODNEY
(1942-1980)

An Excerpt from the African Historian Reference Guide
Published by the Soul School Institute

Posted by RUNOKO RASHIDI


Walter Rodney stated in the Preface to to his pioneering work, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, that "The purpose has been to try and reach Africans who wish to explore further the nature of their exploitation, rather than to satisfy the `standards' set by our oppressors and their spokesmen in the academic world."

Dr. Rodney was born in Guyana, and at an early age, excelled academically.  After graduating from the University of the West Indies, he enrolled at the London University and at the age of 26, was awarded a Ph.D.

Walter Rodney was also a political activist.  He was involved in the Guyanese labor movement and headed up the Working People's Alliance. His political views were strongly influenced by the Black Power and Black Consciousness Movements in the U.S. and Caribbean, respectively. Of particular scholarly interest to Rodney was the economic history of Guyana, and the legacy of slavery and colonialism in Africa. He inaugurated extensive research into the history of economic exploitation in Africa.  He traveled and studied with teaching assignments in Tanzania and Guinea (Africans in Guyana trace their to Guinea).

The results of his travels and research were three remarkable books: A History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545-1800, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, and Groundings with My Brothers.  How Europe Underdeveloped Africa offered a Marxist analysis of the impact of colonialism and capitalism in underdeveloping Africa and, consequently, the African world.

Dr. Rodney was killed by a car bomb in Guyana in 1980.  His death was linked to a CIA plot against him.

WPA Resources:

Working People's Alliance - Site 1
Working People's Alliance - Site 2

Working People's Alliance
Rodney House
80 Croal Street
Georgetown, Guyana
Tel/Fax: 592-2-53679


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Revised: May 27, 2001.
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