Recently, an internet trend has emerged, with people creating their versions of Mount Rushmore. However, one version stands out as particularly significant: a pan-African Mount Rushmore.
Our choices for the pan-African Mount Rushmore are Ghana's founding leader and renowned pan-Africanist, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972); the revolutionary late Burkinabe leader, Thomas Sankara (1949-1987); and Congolese pan-African icon and independence leader, Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961).

Africa has produced many illustrious daughters and sons who dedicated their lives to advancing the pan-African cause, and it was, therefore, no easy task to choose the three finalists.

Continued……Nkrumah has earned his spot for not only leading the dismantling of the colonial stranglehold on his homeland but also for assisting other countries that were still fighting for their independence. Additionally, he played a key role in efforts to unite Africans under the banner of pan-Africanism. He was the chief architect of the Organisation of African Unity, which he believed could be used as a tool to unite Africans.

Sankara is renowned for his efforts to rid his homeland of any traces of French imperialism. He renamed the country from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, meaning ''land of upright people.' He also championed self-reliance, rejecting foreign loans.

For his part, Lumumba was the engine in the Congolese people's struggle against brutal Belgian colonialism. After independence, he made moves towards nationalising the country's natural resources. His name continues to serve as an inspiration for African people in our fight against imperialism.

Do you agree with our three? If you agree with our selection, who would you add as your fourth?

Side Note: We are aware that Mount Rushmore is located on land that belongs to the Lakota Sioux people, and its creation is deeply controversial for several reasons.

Also, we considered the idea of featuring Winnie Mandela. The only reason she wasn't included on our list was that she wasn't a head of state. Will she make yours?

Sources

https://www.uneca.org/stories/(blog)-as-africa’s-population-crosses-1.5-billion,-the-demographic-window-is-opening-getting

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2023/09/PT-african-century

https://population.un.org/wpp/

https://ccaf.africa/books/Africa-Must-Unite-Kwame-Nkrumah.pdf

https://aes.ml

https://journal-neo.su/2024/07/16/the-first-summit-of-the-alliance-of-sahel-states-on-july-6-2024-regional-and-international-geopolitical-and-geostrategic-issues/

https://apnews.com/article/burkina-faso-protest-ibrahim-traore-coup-attempt-langley-9c2b167d2516c1fcbe5a3acd558bcc9f

https://www.thomassankara.net/facts-about-thomas-sankara-in-burkina-faso/?lang=en

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/11/06/the-lumumba-plot-the-secret-history-of-the-cia-and-a-cold-war-assassination-stuart-a-reid-book-review

https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/patrice-lumumba-executed/

DEDAN KIMATHI IS KENYA'S FOUNDING FATHER

The British gave Kenya internal self rule on this day in 1963, before full flag independence a year later. Like many colonies, this turned out to be a sham with supposed independence merely consolidating the African colonial elite but changing little for the masses. One such case is that of one of Kenya's founders, Jomo Kenyatta.

In this video, the general secretary of Communist Party Marxist - Kenya, Brooker Omole makes the case for a different kind of founding father. Omole explains how the departure of the British was a clever ruse: first kill the revolutionary (Dedan Kimathi), then install the puppet (Jomo Kenyatta).

Omole argues that Kenyatta, owing to his privileged position was unfit to govern because he sought to assume the role of the colonial rulers rather than fundamentally change the system.

Continued……Kimathi however, was a true champion of the people and their interests, which is why he was murdered. This is why Omole hails the latter as the real founding father of Kenya.

Kimathi’s fate was similar to that of DR Congo’s Patrice Lumumba and Burkina Faso’s Thomas Sankara - popular revolutionary leaders assassinated in the service of the capitalist West.

Video Credit: @lynn_ngugi1

Sources

The real Jomo
https://rpublc.com/april-may-2021/legacy-of-lost-opportunities/

The life if Dedan Kimathi
https://motivation.africa/legendary-life-of-kenyas-freedom-fighter-dedan-kimathi.html

CIA murder of Lumumba
https://rielpolitik.com/2014/06/17/the-cia-murder-of-lumumba-and-the-rise-of-mobutu/

France murder of Sankara
https://africanripples.com/thomas-sankara-how-france-pulled-off-the-dirtiest-trick-to-assassinate-a-popular-reformer/

WHITE SOUTH AFRICA SETTLER UNDERPLAYS THE SYSTEMIC ROLE BEHIND SETTLER WEALTH

Helen Zille (@helenzille on X), former leader of South Africa's white majority party, the Democratic Alliance, is facing criticism following a tweet alluding to white settler wealth being a product of hard work and opportunity, and stating that there are no barriers to any group looking to replicate their success.

History tells a very different story. Settler wealth and influence in South Africa was built through a series of systemic advantages that began with land dispossession.

Continued………Colonial era policies, particularly the 1913 Natives Land Act, ensured that the vast majority of the land was reserved for white ownership, cutting Black South Africans off from agriculture, mining, and generational wealth.

When the National Party came to power in 1948, it utilised the state further to enhance the economic and social well-being of Dutch settlers. Government jobs were reserved for them, and job reservation policies excluded Black, Coloured, and Indian South Africans from skilled labour. The civil service became a major ladder of advancement for Afrikaners, while state-owned enterprises provided secure, well-paying employment.

Altogether, these systemic ladders—land ownership, job reservation, access to capital, education, and political control—enabled Dutch settlers to transition from a relatively poor and rural community in the early 20th century to a powerful elite by the end of apartheid. These advantages were built on the systematic exclusion and exploitation of the Black majority, creating deep structural inequalities that persist in South Africa today - they are not the organic result of hard work or judicious use of opportunities. As George Monbiot, a British writer and activist, said, "If wealth were the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire."

Sources
https://theconversation.com/colonialism-and-apartheid-stripped-black-south-africans-of-land-and-labour-rights-the-effects-are-still-felt-today-238243

https://prezi.com/_px0ays9gome/labour-and-employment-for-blacks-in-apartheid-era-south-africa/

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/030570799108777

https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/chapter-3-poor-white-problem-garment-workers-action-e-s-sachs

https://europeanconservative.com/articles/essay/afrikaner-poverty-and-self-empowerment-what-was-the-helpmekaar-movement/

https://economicsociology.org/2015/03/09/if-wealth-was-the-inevitable-result-of-hard-work-and-enterprise-every-woman-in-africa-would-be-a-millionaire/

https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-volkskas-and-absa-banking-group

https://www.gov.za/issues/land-reform

STILL NO JUSTICE FOR MURDERED
BLACK TEENAGER

31st May marks four years since the gruesome murder of British-born Jamaican teenager Dea-John Reid in broad daylight in the city of Birmingham.

Reid was murdered by a group of white teenagers and grown men who chased him down a street and stabbed him multiple times while shouting racial slurs. The brutal incident was captured on security cameras.

Reid's family are still demanding justice over his murder. A 15-year-old white boy was convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter - but not of murder, as demanded by the family and prosecution. He received a six-and-a-half-year sentence for the crime, but he is likely to serve only half of his sentence behind bars because of the nature of the British judicial system.

Continued……. Two other teenagers and two adults who had been accused of taking part in the attack on the Jamaican teenager walked free after the court acquitted them of all charges.

Many have described the verdict as a miscarriage of justice. They blame the jury's composition for this. Out of the 12 jurors, 11 were White, while one was of Asian descent. The Ministry of Justice says jurors are randomly selected, but given that people of colour make up over half of Birmingham, it is difficult to understand how a jury in such a case could be 91% white and 100% non-Black.

The verdict has led to calls for deliberate efforts to make juries more ethnically diverse, especially in cases where race is at the centre.

Please follow the Justice 4 Dea-John Reid campaign at https://www.facebook.com/share/c7WE41c8M2kpsEZx/?mibextid=LQQJ4d and lend the family your support.

GOOD NEWS SUNDAY

This week on Good News Sunday, we're lighting up Africa, literally and culturally! From solar-powered backpacks in Tanzania to Burkina Faso honouring a revolutionary icon with the majestic Thomas Sankara Mausoleum to Sudanese folktales bridging continents and generations, the African continent is all about power, legacy, and storytelling magic. Let us know which story brightened up your Sunday.

Credits @folktalesfromsudan
@UNDPTanzania/KumiMedia
@CRAC T-WEB, kerearchitecture.com/about-us

Sources

Sources

https://edition.cnn.com/world/africa/tanzania-soma-bags-reading-light-spc

https://www.ippmedia.com/the-guardian/business/read/only-half-of-households-connected-to-electricity-nbs-report-2024-03-27-103249

https://tanzaniatimes.net/burkina-faso-builds-grand-statue-for-captain-thomas-sankara-to-honor-former-leader

https://www.instagram.com/folktalesfromsudan/

https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/p0l6hhk9

KENYANS WON’T FORGET COLONIAL HANGINGS

Today, Kenya proudly commemorates 62 years of self-governance, a significant milestone that began with the achievement of internal self-rule in 1963. Decades later, the call for a formal apology from the British royal family resonates strongly among Kenyans. During King Charles III's visit in 2023, the voices of the Kenyan people echoed with demands for acknowledgment and reparations for the injustices inflicted by British colonial authorities.

In 2013, the British government offered a mere £19.9 million in compensation to 5,228 elderly victims, but this gesture fell short of a full and formal apology.

Continued……. The grim legacy of colonial rule in Kenya is marked by the harrowing experiences of 90,000 individuals who were executed, tortured, abused, or detained under inhumane conditions during the State of Emergency declared in 1952, a response to the Mau Mau rebellion.

Wambura Mwai delves into this painful history, shedding light on the bravery of Kenya's freedom fighters who sacrificed everything for their homeland. Will King Charles III find the courage to confront this painful chapter and offer a heartfelt apology for the imperial wrongs of the past?