Claim No Easy Victory

Book excerpt: An anthology of revolutionary, poet, liberation philosopher Amílcar Cabral brings to life the contemporary resonance of his thought for today's freedom movements. 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Amílcar Cabral, world-renowned revolutionary, poet, liberation philosopher, and leader of the independence movement of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde. Cabral's influence stretched well beyond the shores of West Africa. He had a profound influence on the pan-Africanist movement and the Black liberation movement in the United States and the English-speaking world. In this unique collection of essays, contemporary thinkers from across Africa, the United States, and internationally commemorate the anniversary of Cabral's assassination. They reflect on the legacy of this extraordinary individual and his relevance to contemporary struggles for self-determination and emancipation. The book serves both as an introduction, or reintroduction, to one that the rulers and beneficiaries of global racial capitalism would rather see forgotten. Understanding Cabral sheds light on the necessity of grounding radical change in the creation of theory based on the actual conditions within which a movement is attempting to develop. Cabral's theoretical ideas and revolutionary practice of building popular movements for liberation are assessed by each of the authors as critically relevant today. His well-known phrase "Claim no easy victories" resonates today no less than it did during his lifetime. Features contributions by: Kali Akuno, Samir Amin, David Austin, Jesse Benjamin, Angela Davis, Bill Fletcher Jr, Mireille Fanon-Mendès France, Lewis Gordon, Firoze Manji, Asha Rodney, Patricia Rodney, and Olúfémi Táíwò--and others.