Walter Rodney briefly changed Guyana’s political landscape

Sunday, June 13th, 2021 marks the 41st Anniversary since the assassination of Dr. Walter Rodney by a bomb blast on the night of June 13th, 1980 in the vicinity of Bent Street Werk-en-Rust. Rodney’s Academic Scholarship bordered on Genius. Internationally acclaimed in the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and the Americas as a revolutionary intellectual alongside Franz Fanon, Hubert Marcus, and Regis Debray whose dialectical interpretation of history fueled the movement for National Liberation. His assassination was a blow to the Liberation Movement the world over and a victory for world reaction. Those who knew Walter Rodney were touched most by his love of humanity, his concern for the poor and the oppressed. In spite of his intellectual achievements, Walter Rodney was denied a post at the University of Guyana and had to earn his living by lecturing overseas and writing historical papers.

During the early 1970’s when he became politically active in Guyana, Walter Rodney was perceived by most Guyanese to be the leader who possessed the charisma and the honesty to unite the two major races of our country. 41 years have passed since that dreadful night that changed the course of Guyana’s history and the fate of our Nation. Following the assassination of Walter Rodney, racial and sectarian politics resurfaced and has since gained dominance of the Guyanese political landscape. Most Guyanese are no longer deceived by the mealy-mouthed utterances of National Unity by the leaders of the two major race-based parties. Walter Rodney remains a symbol of National Reconciliation, Equal Rights, and Justice. Walter Rodney Lives!

Sincerely,

Desmond Alli

General Secretary

Guyana United Artists (GUA)