Red Africa: Reclaiming Revolutionary Black Politics - Kevin Ochieng Okoth
Published in 2023 by Verso, London, UK and New York, NY
176 pages
ISBN: 9781839767371
In the history of revolutionary politics, the histories and traditions of African nations can all too easily be overshadowed or elided by activists and scholars. Too often the works of African and diasporic thinkers such as Walter Rodney, Frantz Fanon, Amílcar Cabral, and Patrice Lumumba are overshadowed by black American scholars. Influenced by the currents of Afro-Pessimism within academic discourse, these American scholars can often be overly narrow in their assessment of Blackness, especially in a global context, as they assign to it ontological social death, a signifier of irrevocable oppression and degradation.
In contrast to the depoliticization that Afro-Pessimism too often engenders, what is needed is a renewed tradition of revolutionary anticolonial thought. Rather than remain mired in the narrow context of American social life, this anti-colonial stance would be deeply informed by the history and experiences of Pan-African thought and Third Worldism. While many of the anti-colonial African political traditions were either crushed (via coups, assassinations, etc) or subsumed into the capitalist-imperialist system during the latter half of the twentieth century, they still have many lessons to teach us in our contemporary context.
In his 2023 book, Red Africa: Reclaiming Revolutionary Black Politics, London-based writer and researcher Kevin Ochieng Okoth looks back to the Marxist and Pan-Africanist leaders and traditions of the twentieth century and illustrates how these two strands of thought interacted in radically productive ways. Through this work, Okoth hopes to “salvage what remains of the tradition of Red Africa – which has been betrayed, violently suppressed, or erased – and to build from it a Black revolutionary politics” (xii).
Overview:
In this short volume, Okoth traces the historical development of Marxism within the African continent, illustrating how Marxist ideas influenced revolutionary movements, African political leaders, and Pan-Africanist thought throughout the twentieth century. Arguing against those who frame Marxism as a Western import, Okoth shows how African intellectuals and leaders engaged and adapted Marxist principles to address their specific social, political, and economic conditions. Marxism, Okoth contends, served as a vital tool in combating the forces of imperialism, colonialism, and socio-economic inequality that arose on the African continent in the wake of the political independence and decolonization movements from the 1950s through the mid-70s.
Taking aim at a specific strand of Afro-Pessimist theory popularized within academic circles, Okoth argues that the tradition of Black Radicalism has been defanged and softened by this bourgeois ideology. Okoth views Afro-Pessimism as being too detached from the on-the-ground experiences of radical organizing, political activism, and the mobilization of mass movements to affect substantive change. Instead, this new strand of Afropessimsim (what Okoth calls AP 2.0) has been subsumed by the logic of liberalism and identity politics, using the language of radicalism while benefiting from the neoliberal structure of academia, which upholds the status quo.
By insisting on Blackness as an indelible mark of degradation, Afropessimsim transforms a historical development that was the result of contingent material conditions into a mystified, ontological, and immutable state of being. Whereas black intellectuals such as Frank B. Wilderson and Jared Sexton take their own experiences of anti-blackness as normative and universal, Okoth draws our attention to the varied experiences and thoughts of African leaders and activists in the 20th century. Rather than giving into a kind of fatalist nihilism of ontological degradation, Okoth emphasizes how Africans (both in the continent and in the diaspora) worked to resist their conditions and alienation from the global social, political, and economic order.
He also takes aim at the current state of decolonial studies, which he argues has moved further from the history of Pan-Africanism and revolutionary struggle in favor of cultural and linguistic abstractions, such as efforts to “decolonize language.” These efforts by black intellectuals, while starting on university campuses (most notably UC Berkeley), have slowly trickled down into mainstream discourse. By reducing resistance to mere symbolic, linguistic, and aesthetic acts (think of the infamous “Black square” that people posted to Instagram in the wake of the BLM protests), much of our contemporary discourse has been woefully narrowed through a one-dimensional prism.
By contrast, Okoth calls on activists and Leftists to study and learn from the history of Marxist, Third Worldist, and Pan-Africanist struggles on the African continent. By examining the lives and works of revolutionary thinkers and activists such as Amílcar Cabral (Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde), Andrée Blouin (Central African Republic), Samora Machel (Mozambique), Patrice Lumumba (Congo), Thomas Sankara (Burkina Faso), and Agostinho Neto (Angola), Okoth draws our attention to the legacies of Marxism in Africa, often comparing them to more reformed-minded African leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), Julius Nyerere (Tanzania), and Léopold Sédar Senghor (Senegal). Okoth highlights the challenges and complexities of African Marxist regimes after independence, exploring how leaders who initially embraced Marxism, such as Nyerere and Sankara, tried to implement socialist policies, but often faced challenges from internal opposition and external pressures, such as the influence of Western powers.
Okoth argues that Leftists can learn much from the successes, failures, and variations of black resistance within the thought and policies of these more revolutionary figures, which represent the tradition of Red Africa that Okoth and the Salvage Collective aim to recover. Okoth shows how Marxist thought was used to critique both colonial rule and the neocolonial structures that followed independence, to create a unified, socialist, and self-reliant African continent.
Commendations:
There are many notable strengths to Okoth’s brief account. First and foremost, Red Africa is jam-packed with information on the history of revolutionary struggle within the African continent. Despite its small size, Okoth’s work provides a deep historical analysis of revolutionary movements in Africa, drawing on the writings of key figures such as Frantz Fanon, Amílcar Cabral, and Thomas Sankara. Okoth examines the dynamics of African socialism, anti-imperialism, and the Pan-Africanist movement with a critical eye, showing its continued relevance for resisting the forces of capitalism in our contemporary context.
Okoth blends political theory, 20th-century history, and cultural analysis in his wide-ranging exploration of revolutionary Black politics, making the book accessible to readers from a wide array of intellectual backgrounds. Okoth engages with both African and diasporic thought and history, extending the reach of his analysis across the African diaspora and connecting struggles in Africa to the global Black freedom movements. The book also connects African revolutionary movements to broader global struggles against imperialism, settler colonialism, and capitalism. By placing African struggles in this context, Okoth reframes the continent's political history as part of a larger, global revolutionary project. As such, this adds a level of intellectual sophistication to his work that appeals to those interested in not only African history but revolutionary theory more broadly.
I also deeply appreciated how Okoth centers the agency of Africa and its inhabitants in resisting 20th-century colonialism and forging their paths to independence. Okoth frames the history of Africa not just through colonial and postcolonial lenses, but as a key player in a global revolutionary struggle. Africa, in this reading, is not simply a repository of economic and cultural expropriation and exploitation, but rather a vibrant wellspring of revolutionary history from which new generations of Africans can learn and shape the future.
Okoth deftly defines how the forces of neoliberalism and imperialism gave birth to neocolonial powers, which often worked to undermine the revolutionary impulses of these newly independent African states. Okoth argues that the African continent was in the process of experimenting with various forms of socialism in the wake of their independence in the 1950s and 60s as they sought to shake off the influence of colonialism and imperialism. However, several of the post-independence leaders who were more in favor of gradual reforms (such as Senghor) were easily co-opted by neocolonial forces. In contrast, more revolutionary leaders were either deposed or outright assassinated. Okoth critiques the failure of many African political leaders to live up to the revolutionary promises made post-independence. He challenges contemporary African political discourse, pushing for a return to radical, Marxist-inspired revolutionary thought. Okoth describes the successes of African Marxism, as well as its enormous obstacles and eventual decline, and his critique offers valuable insights for both scholars and activists who are disillusioned with the neoliberal turn in African politics.
Additionally, Okoth brilliantly connects the decline of the Bandung spirit in the 1970s with the emergence of various strains of “decolonial” and “postcolonial” thought in Western academia. Okoth traces the intellectual origins of these strains of thought to the collapse of Third Worldist nation-building efforts in Africa in favor of neoliberalism. Thus, according to Okoth, much of decolonial studies and Afro-Pessimism remains trapped in merely aesthetic and epistemological critiques wholly divorced from the anti-imperialist radical politics. This echoes much of other critiques of Afro-Pessimism’s brand of anti-politics, most notably from other left-leaning figures such as Adolf Reed Jr. and Asad Haider.
In one of his strongest chapters, Okoth focuses on the legacy of Frantz Fanon as a revolutionary theorist. Okoth works diligently to recover the radical edge of Fanon, whose earlier work, Black Skin, White Masks, is often emphasized by Afro-Pessimist writers over his later, more radical text, The Wretched of the Earth. Following a train of thought similar to Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò’s Elite Capture, Okoth argues that Western academia has been captured by neoliberal interests, and the resulting theory that emerges from the Ivory Tower overwhelmingly prioritizes symbolic deconstruction and political apathy over tangible policy and action. As such, Okoth argues that Fanon is often depoliticized and anesthetized to make him more palatable to the existing neoliberal order, often eschewing his viewpoints on violence as an emancipatory necessity. Okoth’s insistence on recovering a more radical tradition is much needed in our current political and cultural malaise.
Critique:
On the other hand, there are a few shortcomings to Red Africa. First of all, despite its small size, Okoth manages to cover an incredibly broad scope of subjects. While this is useful for those who are already familiar with many of the topics he covers, it can be a bit overwhelming for the average reader. While Okoth’s intellectual depth is a strong point, it can also be a barrier to readers who may not be familiar with Marxist theory, African political history, or postcolonial studies. Okoth's writing style is more scholarly, and some sections may require significant background knowledge or multiple readings to fully grasp the nuances of his arguments.
Additionally, several of the pieces written in this slim volume have been published elsewhere, and at times seem cobbled together for this collection. While Okoth is stellar in synthesizing the thoughts of the radical thinkers littered throughout the text, there is not much that is wholly original or deep in analysis. The book sometimes reads more like the summation of other people’s thoughts, and I would have liked to see Okoth’s voice and analysis be more centered in this text.
Furthermore, it would have been insightful for Okoth to dig a bit deeper into the complexities of applying the Red African tradition to our contemporary context. Okoth keenly looks to the past failed projects of socialism on the African continent for inspiration, but never quite builds a cogent project from it that can be applied today. As such, Okoth’s vision of "Red Africa" as a revolutionary force may seem overly idealistic to some readers. The book presents an optimistic view of Africa's potential, but it may not sufficiently address the practical challenges and contradictions that exist in attempting to realize such radical political transformation in a globalized, neoliberal world. Okoth is more concerned with theoretical aspirations as to what could be salvaged from the past and is thus less focused on concrete, actionable strategies to build a form of international socialism.
This lack of practical solutions is a problem that plagues much of Leftist literature. While Okoth is adept at diagnosing the failures of African revolutionary movements and critiquing the neoliberal turn during the 20th century, this work may leave some readers wondering about the concrete steps for implementing the radical change he envisions. Like much other socialist thought, it presents a keenly powerful ideological critique without offering detailed blueprints for action or policy. This would require Okoth to grapple with the thorny complexities of global capital in the 21st century, and how it is both similar and different from the neocolonial context of the mid-20th century.
Finally, while Okoth primarily writes about the Marxist influences on the African continent, it would be interesting to see Okoth’s work taken even further to analyze more of the diasporic community. In particular, I would love to see Okoth tackle how his project could benefit from analyzing the tradition of “Red Caribbean,” analyzing the lives and work of thinkers such as Walter Rodney, Aimé and Suzanne Césaire, René Ménil, Maurice Bishop, René Depestre, and many others. Taking into account how these figures configured Marxist theory within their Caribbean context would also prove to be a fruitful contribution to the discourse that Okoth presents in Red Africa.
Conclusion:
Overall, Red Africa is a compelling and necessary examination of the relationship between Marxism and Pan-Africanist thought, illustrating how these discourses shaped one another and drove African revolutionary independence movements during the 20th century. While its density and lack of concrete, actionable steps might limit its application and appeal, Red Africa is still an intellectually stimulating argument for the recovery of Black revolutionary thought.
For a Western Left that is so often divided over petty differences and narrowly focused on European theory and history, Red Africa offers a timely and necessary corrective as Okoth focuses our attention on the underexamined Marxist traditions within Africa. Okoth cogently argues that Marxism offered African intellectuals and revolutionaries a powerful framework for understanding their struggles for emancipation, even as the practical implementation of Marxist ideas in post-colonial Africa was fraught with challenges and contradictions. Okoth’s historical and philosophical analysis makes the book an important contribution to African political discourse and global revolutionary theory. While it only manages to scratch the surface, this work is a worthwhile read for those interested in the history of African political thought and the ongoing debates about socialism, liberation, and unity, both on the African continent and across the globe.