July 1925 saw the birth of two thinkers and fighters whose legacies are, if anything, even more relevant today than ever. To celebrate the 100th birthdays of Franz Fanon and Patrice Lumumba, two towering figures in African liberation and the struggle against white supremacy, Fusion Arts hosted an event of talks, discussion and musical performances in our Park End space.
Frantz Fanon’s work, both as an active member of the Algerian liberation struggle, and as a philosopher and psychiatrist in service of the people, speaks directly to issues that we are facing globally today. His final and most well-known book, The Wretched of the Earth, dictated from his hospital bed as he lay dying of leukemia, offers a powerful analysis of the psychological and structural violence of colonialism. He looks at the way colonialism dehumanizes both the oppressor and the oppressed, his analysis of the dynamics of colonial systems remains strikingly relevant when looking at current crises such as the situation in Gaza.
Patrice Lumumba was the first elected President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose commitment to resisting the incorporation of Congo into the neocolonial world order would cost him his life at the hands of Belgium, the USA and MI6. With youth on the rise in Kenya, new military governments challenging French imperialism in the Sahel, Sudan and the Congo reeling from brutal inter-imperialist ‘civil wars’ being played out on their soil, and Africa still suffering from the fallout from NATO's destruction of the Libyan Jamahiriya and the execution of its leader Muammar Gaddafi, the legacy of leaders like Patrice Lumumba remains not only relevant but increasingly urgent.
This event brought together a powerful line up of speakers and performers to honour and critically engage with the legacies of these stalwarts: to educate, uplift and empower. It began with Tamarind Galaxy, an interactive workshop celebrating African astronomy for ages 11 up organised by Natty Mark Samuels, founder and director of African School, an organisation offering African Studies to the general public in Oxford and beyond. His contribution reminded us of the necessity of continuing these ideas in the next generation. This engaging workshop involved an introduction to Bingy drumming and a tribute to Lumumba.
This was followed by a panel discussion between two critical and deeply engaged voices in the study and struggle for African liberation. Roger MacKenzie is the international editor of the Morning Star and author of Rebirth of the Arican Phoenix: A View from Babylon, whose journalism and writing highlights the contemporary dynamics of imperialism and resistance. Tirivashe Jeli is a British-Zimbabwean historian and scholar of the “Mfecane,” whose work revisits the immediate pre-colonial period of African history from a decolonial lens using oral testimony to reclaim the period from stereotyped Eurocentric interpretations. Together they explored the enduring relevance of Fanon and Lumumba in this current era.
Following a break for food and discussion, as well as time to explore Fusion’s current exhibition What’s wrong with us?!?, the evening ended with a series of captivating and thought provoking performances:
Andre Jahnoi, hiphop artist and organiser with an insurrectionary sound
Andrew AJ Jones, Spoken word artist
Astrosnare, hiphop artist
Ras Gary, performance poet
Pan-Afrikan Centurians created a living space of memory and imagination — a space where art, history, and activism came together to honour the past while building the future. Many thanks to all who attended and all those who continue to fight for liberation worldwide.
Organised by:
Afrikan/ Afrikan-Caribbean Kultural Heritage Initiative
ARO Cowley
African School
Unlock the Chains Collective
Fusion Arts
