Although murdered by retrogressive forces opposed to Burkina Faso’s true liberation and that of Africa, Thomas Sankara’s revolutionary ideas and initiatives remain a powerful inspiration to those individuals and movements that are dedicated to struggles for social justice everywhere

The sharpness of Sankara's mind and the courage of his convictions are very apparent in this forceful to heads of state and government attending the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, now African Union) summit in Addis Ababa in 1987. The chains of foreign debt still remain a troubling issue for Africa

This short shows the neglected grave of Thomas Sankara, and compares to how heroes are celebrated elsewhere: the grave of Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi's place of cremation

Thomas Sankara was a visionary. He was very ambitious and wanted the Burkinabe revolution to bear immediate fruits for his people, and he paid no attention to the political intrigues of the time, which culminated in his assassination. His single-minded determination to serve his people is a lesson for all who aspire to public office

Instead of a bust, a life-sized carving, a portrait, or a decent tomb with a headstone and his epitaph, Thomas Sankara’s remains are placed beneath dirt and unkempt surroundings overgrown by weeds. Not that he would have cared

Like Nkrumah of Ghana and Nyerere of Tanzania, Sankara sought to restore dignity and honour to his country and to imbue the youth with the ideals of pan-African solidarity, dignity and honour

Twenty-six years after the death of Sankara, it remains true that the essence of struggle is to mobilise people to believe in transforming their lives; that they have the capacity to dare to invent the future through collective struggle, rather than belief in an awaited messiah to lead them.

Written on the ninth anniversary of Sankara’s assassination, insight into the personality and political motivations of Sankara reveal not only a workaholic but a sensitive individual who sided with the poor in Burkinabé society

It has been thirty years since Thomas Sankara took power, before he was assassinated in 1987. The Sankarist Revolution was one of the greatest attempts at popular democratic emancipation in post-Independence Africa and is considered a novel experience of broad economic, social, cultural and political transformation

On 15 November 1998, Kwame Ture died of prostate cancer. He was also known as Stokely Carmichael, one of the founding leaders of the Black Power movement in the USA during the 1960s. He was a radical figure who connected with downtrodden African Americans fighting for their civil rights in America; he later married the South African singer Miriam Makeba and relocated to Guinea-Conakry where he took up the name ‘Kwame’ after Ghana’s illustrious Pan-Africanist leader , Kwame Nkrumah, and 'Ture' after Guinea’s first leader, Sekou Touré.

Throughout his political career as a dedicated life-long activist, during his time with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Council (SNCC); in the Black Power Movement, as well as in the All African Peoples’ Revolutionary Party (AAPRP) that he founded, Kwame Ture remained committed to Pan-Africanism – that is the unity of all people of African descent in the Diaspora with continental Africans. He was uncompromising in his belief that the plight of people of African descent in the Diaspora was intimately linked with the fate of the African continent for socio-economic and political liberation from the forces of imperialism and neo-colonialism.

This special issue seeks to commemorate the many ideas, activism and contribution of Kwame Ture. The issue seeks to remember his actions, thoughts and their relevance for African people today around the globe.

We would like articles on any of the following aspects (however, the topics below are not exhaustive):
• His contribution to SNCC; the fight for civil rights and Black Power
• Kwame Ture’s political thought
• His founding of the AAPRP and role as a leader and activist
• Kwame Ture’s contribution to internationalism
• His political activism in Africa

Articles are to be between 1000-3000 words in length

Please add a two line biography at the end of your article

Deadline for submission of articles is FRIDAY 1 NOV 2013
Please send articles to:

The Somali militant group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the September 21 attack at an upmarket shopping mall in Nairobi in which dozens of people were killed. Progressives must intensify their opposition to extremists who manipulate Islam, but also reject the imperial forces inside Africa and their allies

Youth involvement in pan-African discourses is minimal because they have largely been excluded from the deliberative and decision-making spaces in continental institutions, especially the African Union. This needs to change

The law reflects the spirit of ubuntu, which safeguards the dignity of child offenders and aims to reintegrate them back into society

‘I believe that a strong and powerful United Africa will make a profound difference, for the better, in how Black people are perceived and treated in the United States, just as a strong global China has done for Chinese Americans’

The Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network (PAHRD–Net) has opened a call for nominations for human rights defenders awards

A post-2015 agenda must not only focus on jobs but must also be bold in setting some goals for job-creation. The diaspora has a big role in this. After all, what good is development if it doesn’t result in decent jobs?

While remittances from the diaspora remain a vital part of the development agenda of Africa, the engagement is about much more than remittances. African diasporans are, in increasing numbers, actively engaged in nation building in Africa as well as in their domiciles abroad

Africa’s development remains in the hands of Africans. However, the role which the diasporans play will depend on their own awareness and recognition as being a part of this bigger picture

Business support programmes tailor-made for the diaspora have demonstrated that when entrepreneurs have access to quality business support, including access to finance, they flourish