Walter Rodney
23 March 1942 - 13 June 1980
“After all, if there is no class stratification in a society, it follows that there is no state, because the state arose as an instrument to be used by a particular class to control the rest of society in its own interests”
Walter Anthony Rodney was a leading Guyanese political activist, historian, academic, Pan-Africanist, Marxist, and he played a massive role in the Black Power movement in the Caribbean and North America.
Image taken from Africa is a Country
Rodney was a well-known international author of six scholarly books and numerous articles. Rodney's most well-known work is titled, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, which was written in 1972. The book examined how European colonial powers deliberately underdeveloped Africa and how Europe's development was facilitated by Africa's underdevelopment.
Early Life
Walter Rodney was born on March 23, 1942, in Georgetown, Guyana. His parents were Edward and Pauline Rodney. His father, Edward, was a tailor and a member of the Marxist-leaning People's Progressive Party, which was at the forefront of the fight for independence from British rule. Rodney's parents were politically active, which exposed him to a variety of social issues. As a child growing up in a colonial-era West Indian society, he encountered issues of racism, class, and the rise of elite individuals who propagated colonial systems and structures.
Rodney was an astute individual with an impressive academic record. He attended Guyana's top male high school, Queen's College, and graduated in 1960. In that same year, he received a scholarship to the University of the West Indies, where he studied history and graduated with a first-class honours degree in 1963. He then attended the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, where he earned a PhD in African History with honors at the age of 24.
International Influence
Rodney was internationally well-known as an activist, orator, and scholar. He was an active political student whilst in the UK and even spoke at Hyde Park, and it was during this time that he met CLR James. From 1966 to 1967 and 1969 to 1974, Rodney was a teacher at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Whilst in Africa, Rodney was sympathetic to the struggles of the working class and their struggles and criticised the elites for mirroring colonial systems. He was attracted to the ideas of Marxism, Pan- Africanism, Rastafarianism, and Black power and their movements.
Rodney would adhere to these ideas and beliefs when he accepted a position as a professor at the University of the West Indies in 1968. While in Jamaica, he and others opposed the government's political and economic direction; however, Rodney focused on the working class, particularly the Rastafarians. Rodney was a key figure in the Caribbean Black Power Movement, which attracted the attention of the Jamaican government, which eventually barred him from reentering the country following his 1968 attendance at a Black Writers Conference in Canada. This would prove to be a costly decision for the government, as widespread protests in support of Rodney erupted into riots on October 16, dubbed the Rodney Riots. These riots marked a watershed moment in Jamaica's political development and sparked political unrest throughout the Caribbean.
Rodney returned to the University of Dar es Salaam in 1969, serving as a history professor until 1974. While in Tanzania, he maintained close contact with CLR James and backed Julius Nyerere's socialist government. Rodney continued his work on Pan-Africanism and published his magnum opus, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, in 1972. He argued in this that the transatlantic slave trade and Western capitalism were extremely detrimental to Africa, laying the groundwork for the continent's continued underdevelopment. Additionally, he developed the notion that Africans could achieve liberation only if they reclaimed the power that had been taken from them.
Return to Guyana and Assassination
Rodney returned to Guyana in 1974 with the intention of becoming a professor at the University of Guyana but was prevented from doing so by the government. He remained a constant presence in the political world as the founder of the Working People's Alliance (WPA), a rival to the People's National Congress (PNC) government. Rodney was widely regarded as the spokesman for the resistance to this authoritarian government. As the WPA gained power, the PNC launched a harassment campaign.
Rodney was arrested and charged with arson on July 11, 1979, after two government buildings were set on fire. He was assassinated by a car bomb in Georgetown on 13 June 1980, while returning from Zimbabwe's independence celebrations.
Rodney's brother survived the explosion and stated that the bomb was given to Rodney by a Guyana Defence Force sergeant, Gregory Smith. Smith fled to French Guiana, where he was assassinated in 2002.
References
A Brief Biography of Walter Rodney (2020). Available at:https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/brief-biography-walter-rodney (Accessed: 9 March 2021).
Facts about Walter Rodney – Black History Studies (2021). Available at: https://blackhistorystudies.com/resources/resources/facts-about-walter-rodney/(Accessed: 9 March 2021).
Revolutionary historian: Walter Rodney (1942-1980) – SOAS Centenary Timeline (2021). Available at:https://blogs.soas.ac.uk/centenarytimeline/2015/09/23/revolutionary-historian-walter- rodney-1942-1980/ (Accessed: 9 March 2021).
TOP 9 QUOTES BY WALTER RODNEY | A-Z Quotes (2021). Available at:https://www.azquotes.com/author/45471-Walter_Rodney (Accessed: 9 March 2021).
Towards a Full Understanding of Walter Rodney – ROAPE (2019). Available at: https://roape.net/2019/08/01/towards-a-full-understanding-of-walter-rodney/(Accessed: 9 March 2021).
Turner, M. (2009) Walter Rodney (1942-1979) •, Blackpast.org. Available at:https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/rodney-walter-1942-1979/(Accessed: 9 March 2021).
Walter Rodney | Encyclopedia.com (2021). Available at:https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/historians-and-chronicles/historians- miscellaneous-biographies/walter-rodney (Accessed: 9 March 2021).
WALTER RODNEY & WORKS | The Walter Rodney Foundation (2021). Available at:https://www.walterrodneyfoundation.org/biography/ (Accessed: 9 March 2021).
