Walter Rodney of Guyana was the author of several books on African history. He taught in the east African nation of Tanzania during the 1960s and 1970s. He also taught in Jamaica and the United States. He was assassinated in June 1980.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
17/06/2010
School of Oriental and African Studies Alumni Online
This month marked 30 years since the assassination in Guyana of Dr Walter Rodney (PhD History 1966), prominent historian and political activist. Rodney studied for an MA and PhD here at SOAS.
His PhD dissertation, entitled ‘A History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545-1800’, was widely acclaimed for its originality in challenging the conventional wisdom on the area.
After leaving SOAS Walter Rodney became an important figure of the Black Power movement in the Caribbean and North America. In 1974 Rodney returned to Guyana from Tanzania. He was supposed to take a position as a professor at the University of Guyana but the government prevented his appointment.
He became increasingly active in politics, forming the Working People’s Alliance against the PNC government. In 1980, Rodney was killed by a bomb in his car while running for office in Guyanese elections.
June 2010
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