This year marks the twenty fifth anniversary of the assassination of Walter Rodney in Georgetown , Guyana . A tireless champion of the rights of working people everywhere, Rodney, in his short lifetime, made his mark as one of the pre-eminent thinkers of the 20 th century.

Rodney was born on March 23, 1942 in Georgetown , Guyana . He grew up in a period of great social and political change in Guyana , a circumstance which made an indelible mark on his life and thought. He attended the elite Queen's College on an open exhibition scholarship, and a distinguished high school career culminated in his winning a further scholarship to the University of the West Indies , Mona , Jamaica , in 1960.

While in Jamaica , Rodney was an active supporter of Caribbean unity, giving his voice to the West Indian Federation in the referendum of 1961. He traveled extensively within the country, becoming well acquainted with its people and speaking out fearlessly in defense of the poor. The outspokenness and passion for justice that marked Rodney's character, aroused the suspicions of the political directorate, and he was closely watched.

Rodney obtained a B.A. in History with First Class Honors and in 1963 entered the University of London to study African History at the School of Oriental and African Studies. There, he became a member of the group of Caribbean workers and students who studied and debated with CLR James, and was known as a participant in Hyde Park Corner "disputations." His research took him to Spain and Portugal ; he learnt Spanish and Portuguese. In 1966, at age 24, Rodney obtained his doctoral degree. His dissertation was published as A History of the Upper Guinea Coast , 1545-1800.

Rodney taught History at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania from 1964 to 1967. Tanzania was then at the hub of political ferment in Africa . In 1964 the Zanzibar revolution had radicalized the politics of East Africa and in 1967 the Tanzanian government launched the Arusha Declaration on self reliance. Also, Che Guevara had traveled through the country on his way to fight in the Congo . Rodney found himself at the cutting edge of change that was sweeping through Europe 's colonies and ex-colonies.

His return to Jamaica in 1968 to lecture at his alma mater coincided with the rise of mass political activity in the island, and he became deeply involved. He worked closely with poor people and "grounded" with Rastafarians in Kingston and other parts of the country, meshing his work among the poor with a phenomenal scholarly output. The book, Groundings with My Brothers , is a collection of the public "grassroots" discussions in which he engaged during this period.

The year 1968 was historic for uprisings worldwide. Rodney attended the Black Writers Conference in Montreal , in October of that year. On his return, the Jamaican government, which had continued its policy of keeping him under police surveillance, banned him from Jamaica . The ban had massive repercussions. Students marched on government offices and ordinary people, angry at the expulsion, joined forces with the students in the massive popular uprising that became known as "the Rodney affair."

After the expulsion, Rodney traveled in Canada and Cuba , returning in 1969 to Dar es Salaam University where he became central to the development of the intellectual tradition known as the Dar es Salaam School . His numerous writings on socialism, imperialism, working class struggle, Pan Africanism and slavery contributed to the body of knowledge known as the Dar es Salaam School of Thought. It was out of this intellectual milieu that he published his best-known work, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa . He traveled extensively throughout East Africa , and was one of the founders of the History Teachers Workshop of Tanzania, which rewrote the textbooks used to teach high school students in Tanzania . Rodney believed that racial insecurity could be overcome only when children understood their history and learnt respect for others.

Rodney always wanted to return to the Caribbean and he wanted to know Guyana . In 1974, he moved back to Georgetown to take up a post at the University of Guyana . Underestimating his commitment, the government canceled the appointment, in the hope that he would leave. Instead, over the next six years, he threw himself into independent research and political organization, founding and leading the Working People's Alliance (WPA) and increasing his stature as an international scholar. Through the WPA, he sought to further reconciliation among all racial groups in Guyana . He published a study of 19 th century Guyana plantations and began a three volume study of the Guyanese working people. It was never completed.

On June 13, 1980 , Rodney was assassinated by a man who handed him a bomb concealed in a walkie-talkie. A History of the Guyanese Working People , 1881-1905 , the first volume of his unfinished work, was published posthumously by Johns Hopkins University Press in 1981. In that same year, Howard University Press reissued How Europe Underdeveloped Africa , the second edition of which it had first published in 1974.

For several years, Rodney had lived his life as a marked man. Prior to his own assassination, his close colleagues, Ohene Kahama and Edward Dublin, were also killed. His assassin was never brought to justice, but Rodney's legacy remains an inspiration to people of African descent, colonized peoples and lovers of justice and human dignity throughout the world over.

Rodney is survived by his wife, Dr. Patricia Rodney and their three children: Asha, Kanini and Shaka.