Soukeyna Pitroipa, Grade 11
UWC Costa Rica
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When we talk about the Black Lives Matter movement, we think about the Black Panther Association or the justice movement against police brutality. Basically, we refer to all the anti-racists movements that occur in the United States. But you don't even think for a lapse of time about Africa, even for a moment. We might think that Africa is the last continent where racist oppressions could happen because the majority of the Sub Saharan Africans are Black. However, oppression happened and is still happening due to colonialism and its derivative:
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neo-colonialism. The neo-colonialism "represents the actions and effects of certain remnant features and agents of the colonial era in a given society" (Oseni Taiwo Afisi, IEP). It is against this kind of oppression that Thomas Sankara, one of the most important revolutionaries in Burkina Faso, has fought against. We are not here to talk about all his past achievements and stories; there is plenty of documentation available on the internet for that. The point of this article is to show how his revolutionary ideas could inspire people to fight against racism.
When you read these words, you may think automatically about systemic racism. Systemic racism or institutional racism is a type of race discrimination within an institution in place that perpetuates racial injustice (Wellesley Institute). Black Africans have always been disadvantaged by the global system put in place. We have not been well-integrated into globalization because of colonization, and we are still subjects of several stereotypes. It is as if the system has been alienated to put us, Black-African people, at the bottom. Thomas Sankara has tried to fight this alienation of the system and the domination of Western countries in Burkina Faso. As a result, political authorities thought he was mad for believing he could change anything in the Burkina political system. Therefore, the point of his claim was that society expects Black Africans to conform to the regulations that politicians have put in place; they think that old times were better and we should all value the country's traditions over revolution. They expect them to be outstanding within a neo-colonialist that has never been updated for them. When, in reality, to make Black people's potential shine, we need to "carry out fundamental change" in the systemic racism we have been conditioned to. We should not be afraid to be called a mad person for having revolutionary ideas, because we need the madness to transform institutions and improve our surroundings. We have to be brave to take actions to eradicate the oppression of black-Africans. I could not help to think that Thomas Sankara was way ahead of his time.
This is maybe why he was assassinated because change can scare certain people. It takes bravery to accept change within a system. Privileged people want to stay in their comfortable old system of oppression without fearing to lose their advantages.
One of the problems in Burkina Faso is neo-colonialism, which is still present within its institutions. We may think that the state can make their own decisions, but they still have the influence of Western countries. This kind of influence oppresses populations and makes them still dependent on Western standards. One of the recommendations of Thomas Sankara to fight against this influence was that:
"We must learn to live the African way. It's the only way to live in freedom and dignity" - Thomas Sankara.
This quote embraces independence and self-sufficiency. People consider Black Africans as people who are in need of aid from others. Thomas refused to wait for anyone's help or generosity because he believed we should count on ourselves and our skills to achieve freedom. No other entity than us should win this fight.
It does not mean that you should carry out your fight against racism alone. You have to find your own authentic way to fight against racist systems. With the help of your community, all together, you can find the most effective way to fight racism without feeling a dependency on any group. This ideology can inspire anyone engaged in the Black Lives Matter movement to be authentic and fight with their own creative method to thrive for justice and getting peace.
By talking about peace and justice, Thomas Sankara advocated for the emancipation of women in Burkina Faso. He thought that the liberation from neo-colonialism should go through the freedom of every individual in his country.
According to him, "Comrades, there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women. May my eyes never see, and my feet never take me to a society where half the people are held in silence. I hear the roar of women's silence. I sense the rumble of their storm and feel the fury of their revolt." – Thomas Sankara, Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle.
We can put this quotation in parallel to the Black Lives Matter movement and say that: There are no true social revolutions against racism without the liberation of people from their silence. What the Africans' Che Guevara (Thomas Sankara's nickname) meant is that a social revolution cannot happen when a part of the population is still held in inaction. At this point, when the oppressions put in danger the life of others, silence means being a partner of murderers. Neo-colonialism in my country puts populations in the thinking that we should not talk about the Western oppressions because supposedly we have none. But we have something; we have our voices. Our voices have been silenced and forgotten for several years, so it's time to speak about and call out oppressions our black siblings are facing.
I mentioned above that we should carry out change by finding our way to do so. Therefore, I want to tell the people who want to be an ally to the movement to find their own way of protesting by speaking out about racist oppression. We have to get through this, all together to make a real change in our society without conformity, silence, and neo-colonialist ideas.
Thomas Sankara was nicknamed the Che-Guevara of Africa because he was someone who fought for the liberation of his country with no fear. This is why he was an African hero because he had the superpower to see ahead of its time and inspire people around him. Even though he fought firmly against neo-colonialism, it is a racist political concept that is still oppressing most of the time, African countries. I am sure that if he were still alive today, he would have carried out Burkina Faso to another level of freedom. However, it is our role to carry out his ideas and fight to get free from Western oppression, because as Thomas Sankara said: "While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas".
I wanted to share an analysis of his ideas because he can inspire anyone to start a revolution, fight against inequalities, and injustice. Who knows? Maybe these ideas may inspire you to carry out your own revolutionary movement in your country. We need to be as fearless and bold as we can.
When you read these words, you may think automatically about systemic racism. Systemic racism or institutional racism is a type of race discrimination within an institution in place that perpetuates racial injustice (Wellesley Institute). Black Africans have always been disadvantaged by the global system put in place. We have not been well-integrated into globalization because of colonization, and we are still subjects of several stereotypes. It is as if the system has been alienated to put us, Black-African people, at the bottom. Thomas Sankara has tried to fight this alienation of the system and the domination of Western countries in Burkina Faso. As a result, political authorities thought he was mad for believing he could change anything in the Burkina political system. Therefore, the point of his claim was that society expects Black Africans to conform to the regulations that politicians have put in place; they think that old times were better and we should all value the country's traditions over revolution. They expect them to be outstanding within a neo-colonialist that has never been updated for them. When, in reality, to make Black people's potential shine, we need to "carry out fundamental change" in the systemic racism we have been conditioned to. We should not be afraid to be called a mad person for having revolutionary ideas, because we need the madness to transform institutions and improve our surroundings. We have to be brave to take actions to eradicate the oppression of black-Africans. I could not help to think that Thomas Sankara was way ahead of his time.
This is maybe why he was assassinated because change can scare certain people. It takes bravery to accept change within a system. Privileged people want to stay in their comfortable old system of oppression without fearing to lose their advantages.
One of the problems in Burkina Faso is neo-colonialism, which is still present within its institutions. We may think that the state can make their own decisions, but they still have the influence of Western countries. This kind of influence oppresses populations and makes them still dependent on Western standards. One of the recommendations of Thomas Sankara to fight against this influence was that:
"We must learn to live the African way. It's the only way to live in freedom and dignity" - Thomas Sankara.
This quote embraces independence and self-sufficiency. People consider Black Africans as people who are in need of aid from others. Thomas refused to wait for anyone's help or generosity because he believed we should count on ourselves and our skills to achieve freedom. No other entity than us should win this fight.
It does not mean that you should carry out your fight against racism alone. You have to find your own authentic way to fight against racist systems. With the help of your community, all together, you can find the most effective way to fight racism without feeling a dependency on any group. This ideology can inspire anyone engaged in the Black Lives Matter movement to be authentic and fight with their own creative method to thrive for justice and getting peace.
By talking about peace and justice, Thomas Sankara advocated for the emancipation of women in Burkina Faso. He thought that the liberation from neo-colonialism should go through the freedom of every individual in his country.
According to him, "Comrades, there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women. May my eyes never see, and my feet never take me to a society where half the people are held in silence. I hear the roar of women's silence. I sense the rumble of their storm and feel the fury of their revolt." – Thomas Sankara, Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle.
We can put this quotation in parallel to the Black Lives Matter movement and say that: There are no true social revolutions against racism without the liberation of people from their silence. What the Africans' Che Guevara (Thomas Sankara's nickname) meant is that a social revolution cannot happen when a part of the population is still held in inaction. At this point, when the oppressions put in danger the life of others, silence means being a partner of murderers. Neo-colonialism in my country puts populations in the thinking that we should not talk about the Western oppressions because supposedly we have none. But we have something; we have our voices. Our voices have been silenced and forgotten for several years, so it's time to speak about and call out oppressions our black siblings are facing.
I mentioned above that we should carry out change by finding our way to do so. Therefore, I want to tell the people who want to be an ally to the movement to find their own way of protesting by speaking out about racist oppression. We have to get through this, all together to make a real change in our society without conformity, silence, and neo-colonialist ideas.
Thomas Sankara was nicknamed the Che-Guevara of Africa because he was someone who fought for the liberation of his country with no fear. This is why he was an African hero because he had the superpower to see ahead of its time and inspire people around him. Even though he fought firmly against neo-colonialism, it is a racist political concept that is still oppressing most of the time, African countries. I am sure that if he were still alive today, he would have carried out Burkina Faso to another level of freedom. However, it is our role to carry out his ideas and fight to get free from Western oppression, because as Thomas Sankara said: "While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas".
I wanted to share an analysis of his ideas because he can inspire anyone to start a revolution, fight against inequalities, and injustice. Who knows? Maybe these ideas may inspire you to carry out your own revolutionary movement in your country. We need to be as fearless and bold as we can.
Bibliography:
Quotations: https://www.tuko.co.ke/280388-famous-thomas-sankara-quotes.html
Thomas Sankara history: https://thisisafrica.me/politics-and-society/10-quotes-capt-thomas-sankara/
Neo-colonialism in Africa: https://www.iep.utm.edu/neocolon/
Systemic racism by the Wellesley institute in UK: https://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/health/rethinking-the-definition-of-institutional-racism/
Quotations: https://www.tuko.co.ke/280388-famous-thomas-sankara-quotes.html
Thomas Sankara history: https://thisisafrica.me/politics-and-society/10-quotes-capt-thomas-sankara/
Neo-colonialism in Africa: https://www.iep.utm.edu/neocolon/
Systemic racism by the Wellesley institute in UK: https://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/health/rethinking-the-definition-of-institutional-racism/