Walter Rodney: a Lightning Rod of Black Working Class Power
Dissecting the impact of slavery and colonialism on the history of international capitalism, and the global meaning of Black Power.
Walter Rodney described himself as a guerrilla intellectual, committed to studying the concrete realities of the working class. He believed in the centrality of education in revolutionary struggle and, alongside his work as a professor, he wrote two children’s books that challenged racial division in Guyana. As Robin D G Kelley says in this episode of The Verso Podcast, we are all Walter Rodney.
Forty-three years on from his assassination, his work remains incredibly prescient. Here we present his groundbreaking works, as well as key excerpts and essays on Walter Rodney from the Verso Blog.
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Decolonial Marxism demonstrates the unbending consistency that unites Rodney's life and work: the ongoing reinvention of a living conception of Marxism, and a respect for the still untapped potential of mass self-rule.
Read an excerpt on the role of slavery in the economic underdevelopment of a continent here.
[book-strip index="3" style="buy"]How Europe Underdeveloped Africa is a legendary classic that galvanized freedom fighters around the world.
Read an excerpt on how colonialism reversed Africa's various paths of progress here.
[book-strip index="4" style="buy"]A remarkable book on the international operations of racism and the global meaning of Black Power.
Read an excerpt on the impact of this vital work here.
[book-strip index="5" style="buy"]Moving across the historiography of the long Russian Revolution with clarity and insight, Rodney transcends the ideological fault lines of the Cold War.
Read an excerpt on Rodney's political development and legacy here.
Walter Rodney: Guerilla Intellectual with Robin D.G. Kelley and Kevin Okoth Ochieng on The Verso Podcast - see all platform links here.
Walter Rodney on the Verso Blog:
Colonialism as a System for Underdeveloping Africa: an excerpt from How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.
Walter Rodney’s Marxist approach to African underdevelopment: an excerpt from Walter Rodney’s Decolonial Marxism.
Walter Rodney and the Russian Revolution: Vijay Prashad on the importance of Walter Rodney's lectures on the Russian Revolution.
Walter Rodney and the Question of Power: C.L.R. James discusses Rodney's work in relation to the revolutionary seizure of power.
Pan-Afrikanism, Marxism and the Next Generation: Kevin Ochieng Okoth celebrates the work and legacy of Walter Rodney.
Walter Rodney's Legacy by Angela Davis.
