Thomas Sankara was one of Africa's most important anti-imperialist leaders of the late 20th Century. His declaration that fundamental socio-political change would require a 'certain amount of madness' drove the Burkinabe Revolution and resurfaced in the country's popular uprising in 2014.
This book looks at Sankara's political philosophies and legacies and their relevance today. Analyses of his synthesis of Pan-Africanism and humanist Marxist politics, as well as his approach to gender, development, ecology and decolonisation offer new insights to Sankarist political philosophies. Critical evaluations of the limitations of the revolution examine his relationship with labour unions and other aspects of his leadership style. His legacy is revealed by looking at contemporary activists, artists and politicians who draw inspiration from Sankarist thought in social movement struggles today, from South Africa to Burkina Faso.

In the 30th anniversary of his assassination, this book illustrates how Sankara's political praxis continues to provide lessons and hope for decolonisation struggles today.

Foreword by Horace G. Campbell

Acknowledgements

Introduction by Amber Murrey

Part I: Life and Revolution

1. Military Coup, Popular Revolution or Militarised Revolution?: Contextualising the Revolutionary Ideological Courses of Thomas Sankara and the National Council of the Revolution - De-Valera N.Y.M. Botchway and Moussa Traore

2. The Perils of Non-Alignment: Thomas Sankara and the Cold War - Brian Peterson

3. Thomas Sankara and the Elusive Revolution - Leo Zeilig

4. When Visions Collide: Thomas Sankara, Trade Unions and the Revolution in Burkina Faso, 1983-1987 - Craig Phelan

5. Africa's Sankara: On Pan-African Leadership - Amber Murrey

6. Who Killed Thomas Sankara? - Bruno Jaffré

7. 'Incentivized' Self-Adjustment: Reclaiming Sankara's Revolutionary Austerity from Corporate Geographies of Neoliberal Erasure - Nicholas A. Jackson

Part II: Political Philosophies

8. Madmen, Thomas Sankara and Decoloniality in Africa - Ama Biney

9. With the People: Sankara's Humanist Marxism - Ernest Harsch

10. Thomas Sankara & Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem: The Untimely Deaths of Two New Generation African Visionaries - Patricia Daley

11. Women's Freedoms are the Heartbeat of Africa's Future: A Sankarian Imperative - Patricia McFadden

12. Re-Reading Sankara's Philosophy for a Praxeology of Debt in Contemporary Times - Sakue-C. Yimovie

13. Sankara's Political Ideas and Pan-African Solidarity: A Perspective for Africa's Development? - Felix Kumah-Abiwu and Olusoji Alani Odeyemi

14. 'Revolution and Women's Liberation Go Together': Thomas Sankara, Gender and the Burkina Faso Revolution - Namakula E. Mayanja

Part III: Legacies

15. Balai Citoyen: A New Praxis of Citizen Fight with Sankarist Inspirations - Zakaria Soré

16. La Santé Avant Tout: Health Before Everything - T. D. Harper-Shipman

17. Social Movement Struggles and Political Transition in Burkina Faso - Bettina Engles

18. To Decolonize the World: Thomas Sankara and the 'Last Colony' in Africa - Patrick Delices

19. 'Daring to Invent the Future': Sankara's Legacy and Contemporary Activism in South Africa - Levi Kabwato and Sarah Chiumbu

Part IV: Contestations and Homages

20. The Academy as Contested Space: Disappearing Sankara from the 'Acceptable Avant-Garde' - Nicholas A. Jackson

21. Art and the Construction of a 'Sankara Myth': A Hero Trend in Contemporary Burkinabè Urban & Revolutionary Propaganda Art - Sophie Bodénès Cohen

22. Slanted Photography: Reflections on Sankara and My Peace Corps Experience in Burkina Faso - Celestina Agyekum

23. 'We Are the Children of Sankara': Memories as Weapons during the Burkinabe Uprisings of 2014 and 2015 - Fiona Dragstra

Afterword by Aziz Salmone Fall

Notes on Contributors

Index