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Walter Rodney's contribution to our understanding and actions for change in the world was cut short, but it was seminal, and we should celebrate as well as mourn his time among us, writes Bob Thomson.

I had the privilege of meeting Walter briefly at a Caribbean conference in the 1970's and his widow Pat in Toronto in the 1980s. His assassination was a blow to progressive movements in Guyana, the Caribbean and Africa. African Canadians to this day have told me that his 'How Europe Underdeveloped Africa' changed their view of the world. While his contribution to our understanding and actions for change in the world was cut short, it was seminal, and we should celebrate as well as mourn his time among us.