perry-blankson

17 Articles by:

Perry Blankson

Perry Blankson is a Tribune columnist and a project coordinator at the Young Historians Project. He is a member of the Editorial Working Group for the History Matters Journal.

Vietnam’s Horror Captured

This June marked the fiftieth anniversary of the famous photograph of Phan Thị Kim Phúc taken during the Vietnam War – a reminder of the horrors of war, and of all those whose stories will never be told.

Remembering George Padmore

Trinidadian socialist George Padmore was born on this day in 1903. His Pan-African organising helped to build the struggle against colonialism in the West – and to push independence struggles towards Marxism.

The Windrush Whitewash

Today’s Windrush Day comes as government officials continue pushing through racist immigration laws and victims are still left waiting for compensation. They want us to believe the scandal is over – it isn’t.

We Must Remember David Oluwale

David Oluwale was the first victim of racist police brutality that the British state acknowledged. Decades after his death, his plaque in Leeds has been repeatedly vandalised – showing that the racism he faced remains a force today.

Justice for Thomas Sankara

This week, Blaise Compaoré was jailed for his role in the murder of Burkinabe revolutionary Thomas Sankara –but real justice can only be won by a movement that fights to bring Sankara’s socialist vision back to life.

The Cuban Blockade at 60

This year marks 60 years since the US began its blockade of Cuba. It is economic warfare designed to collectively punish a people for their independence – and it must come to an end.

Corporate Social Justice Is a Scam

Recent years have seen global corporations embrace racial justice causes for PR purposes – but the economic system they preside over continues to ensure Africa is exploited for the benefit of the super-rich.

Jamaica’s Christmas Rebellion

On Christmas Day 1831, 60,000 enslaved Africans in Jamaica rose up against their masters – the largest uprising ever in the British West Indies, and a milestone on the road to abolition a few years later.

Kwame Nkrumah’s Pan-African Socialism

Kwame Nkrumah, who died on this day in 1972, was a leader in the fight against colonialism. But he knew that independence wasn’t enough – only a unified, socialist Africa could truly free itself from its former masters.