Nameless thousands have resisted even unto death for the liberation of African people, beginning on the shores of the Mother continent itself and continuing through the Middle Passage, Slavery, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Struggle, the Black Liberation Struggle, and the struggles of today. The fact that the names of many of those individuals are not known does not reduce the significance of their contribution to the struggle for Black Liberation. This compilation is an attempt to recognize and pay homage to those individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice for the liberation of Black/African people and should not be looked upon as discrediting the thousands, perhaps even millions of others that have also struggled for true freedom, justice, and equality. Our generation must now accept the torch that has been passed to us to guarantee our existence and our children's future. The Struggle Continues!
Zumbi dos Palmares (1655 - 1695)
Killed on November 20, 1695, in an ambush by Portuguese soldiers while conducting a guerilla campaign to maintain the independence of the Quilombo known as Palmares located in modern day Brazil. He was post-humously decapitated and his head impaled and placed on public display.
Camuanga dos Palmares (? - 1704)
Killed by Portuguese soldiers while leading a guerilla campaign to re-establish the independence of the Palmares Quilombo.
Gabriel Prosser (? - 1800)
Executed: October 7, 1800 by state of Virginia for plotting slave insurrection in Norfolk County.
Toussaint L'Ouverture (1743 - 1803)
Died due to complications related to imprisonment in a cold, mountain cell in France.
Denmark Vesey (1767 - 1822)
Executed: July 2, 1822 by state of South Carolina along with 34 other Blacks for plotting slave insurrection in Charleston.
Bob Ferebee (? - 1823)
Executed: July, 1823 by state of Virginia for leading slave insurrection in Norfolk County.
David Walker (1785 - 1830)
Died under mysterious circumstances in Boston shortly after the publication and circulation of his widely read "Walker's Appeal". Believed to be poisoned.
Jean Dessalines (? - 1806)
Assassinated: October 17, 1806 while functioning as the Revolutionary leader of Haiti.
John Brown (1800 - 1859)
Executed: October, 1859 for leading raid on Harper's Ferry in Virginia.
John Copeland (? - 1859)
Executed: December 16, 1859 for participating in raid on Harper's Ferry in Virginia.
Shields Green (? - 1859)
Executed: December 16, 1859 for participating in raid on Harper's Ferry in Virginia.
Nat Turner (1800 - 1831)
Executed: November 11, 1831 by state of Virginia for leading slave insurrection in Southampton County.
Sam Sharpe (1801 - 1832)
Executed: October 24, 1865 in Montego Bay, Jamaica by British colonialists.
Paul Bogle (1815 - 1865)
Executed: October 24, 1865 along with 438 supporters in Morant Bay, Jamaica by British colonialists.
Antonio Maceo CRP (1848 - 1896)
Killed in battle while fighting to liberate the island of Cuba from the Spanish colonialists.
Samoury Toure (? - 1900)
Died on June 2, 1900 while imprisoned in France.
Marcus Garvey [UNIA, ACL] (1887 - 1940)
Died in exile after being wrongly convicted of mail fraud by the U.S. Government and deported. Garvey was subsequently denied entry into most countries and their colonies where he enjoyed a strong following in an attempt to isolate him from his organizational apparatus.
Josina Machel [FRELIMO] (1945 - )
Killed while fighting the Portuguese Colonialists.
M'Balia Camara (? -1955 )
Murdered by agents of the French Government.
Dedan Kimathi (?-1957)
Leader Of Mau-Mau murdered by agents of the British Government
Felix Moumie [UPC] (? - 1960)
Poisoined: November 3, 1960 by French imperialist agents in Cameroon.
Patrice Lumumba [Prime Minister - Congo] (1925 - 1961)
Assassinated: January 17, 1961 by U.S. CIA backed counter-revolutionary forces while in the custody of the illegitimate Katanga government.
Medger Evers [NAACP] (1928 - 1963)
Assassinated: June 12, 1963 in Mississippi by convicted murder Byron De La Beck member of the kkk
Malcolm X [MMI, OAAU] (1925 - 1965)
Assassinated: February 21, 1965 in New York City by persons affiliated with the Nation Of Islam. Assassins believed to be FBI infiltrators.
T. Hainyeko [PLAN] (? - 1967)
Killed on May 18, 1967 while fighting the South African government.
Martin Luther King [SCLC] (1929 - 1968)
Assassinated: April 4, 1968 in Memphis. James Earl Ray convicted but believed to be part of a larger government conspiracy.
Arthur Glenn Carter [BPP] (1940 - 1968)
Assassinated: March, 1968 by government agents in Los Angeles.
Bobby "L'il Bobby" Hutton [BPP] (1950 - 1968)
Assassinated: April 6, 1968 by Oakland Police.
Steve Bartholemew [BPP] (1947 - 1968)
Assassinated: August 5, 1968 by Los Angeles Police.
Robert Lawrence [BPP] (1946 -1968)
Assassinated: August 5, 1968 by Los Angeles Police.
Tommy Lewis [BPP] (1950 - 1968)
Assassinated: August 5, 1968 by Los Angeles Police.
Welton "Butch" Armstead [BPP] (1951 - 1968)
Assassinated: October 5, 1968 by Seattle Police.
Sidney Miller [BPP] (1947 - 1968)
Assassinated: December 2, 1968 - Shot in the head at point blank range by a racist businessman in Seattle who was never charged for the crime.
Frank "Capt. Franco" Diggs [BPP] (1928 - 1968)
Assassinated: December 19, 1968 by unknown assailants in Los Angeles.
Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter [BPP] (1942 - 1969)
Killed: January 17, 1969 In Revolutionary Action.
John Huggins [BPP] (1946 - 1969)
Killed: January 17, 1969 In Revolutionary Action .
Eduardo Mondlane [FRELIMO] (? - 1969)
Assassinated: February, 1969 with a parcel bomb in Tanzania by Portuguese agents.
Alex Rackley [BPP] (1944 -1969)
Assassinated: 1969 in New Haven in an atmosphere of confusion engineered by the FBI's COINTELPRO campaign. Body was discovered May 21, 1969. Circumstances surrounding his death remains a controversy to date.
Sylvester Bell [BPP] (? - 1969)
Assassinated: May, 1969 in San Diego by members of the US organization apparently resulting from tensions engendered by the FBI's COINTELPRO campaign.
John Savage [BPP] (1948 - 1969)
Assassinated: May 23, 1969 in San Diego by members of the US organization apparently resulting from tensions engendered by the FBI's COINTELPRO campaign.
Larry Roberson [BPP] (1949 - 1969)
Assassinated: Died on September 4, 1969 from gunshot wounds sustained by Chicago Police on July 16, 1969.
Nathaniel Clark [BPP] (1950 - 1969)
Assassinated: September 12, 1969 as he slept by unknown assailants in Los Angeles.
Walter "Toure" Pope [BPP] (1949-1969)
Assassinated: October 18, 1969 by the Los Angeles Metro Squad.
Carlos Marighela (? - 1969)
Assassinated: November 4, 1969 in ambush by Brazilian police.
Spurgeon "Jake" Winters [BPP] (1950 - 1969)
Assassinated: November 13, 1969 by Chicago Police.
Fred Hampton [BPP] (1948 - 1969)
Assassinated: December 4, 1969 While sleep in a pre-dawn raid in Chicago by the Special Prosecution Unit acting on behalf of the State Attorney Office. Believed to have been drugged by FBI informant William O'neil prior to the raid.
Mark Clark [BPP] (1947 - 1969)
Assassinated: December 4, 1969 While sleep in a pre-dawn raid in Chicago by the Special Prosecution Unit acting on behalf of the State Attorney Office.
Ron Black [BPP] (? - 1969)
Assassinated: April 5, 1969 - In Detroit.
Allah fka (Clarence "Puddin" Smith) [NGE] (1928-1969)
Assassinated: June 12, 1969- in the elevator of M.L.K. Towers on 112 St. In East Harlem
Eugene Anderson [BPP] (? - 1969)
Assassinated: October, 1969 - In Baltimore.
Sterling Jones [BPP] (1952 - 1969)
Assassinated: December 25, 1969 - Shot in the face at point blank range by an unknown assailant in Chicago.
Ralph Featherstone [SNCC] (? - 1970)
Assassinated: March 9, 1970 by a car bomb in Maryland outside of the court house where H. Rap Brown was to stand trial.
Che Payne [SNCC] (? - 1970)
Assassinated: March 9, 1970 by a car bomb in Maryland outside of the court house where where H. Rap Brown was to stand trial.
Larry Ward [BPP] (? - 1970)
Assassinated: May 15, 1970 - In Seattle.
Babatunde X Omowale [BPP] (1944 - 1970)
Assassinated: By Chicago Police who mutilated his body beyond recognition by placing it across railroad tracks. Fragments of his remains were found July 27, 1970.
Carl Hampton [PP] (? - 1970)
Assassinated: July 28, 1970 by Houston Police.
Jonathan Jackson [BPP] (1953 - 1970)
Assassinated: August 7, 1970 by San Quentin Prison Guards as he led an attempted prison break at Marin County Courthouse. single-handed, with a satchel full of handguns, an assault rifle and a shotgun hidden under his raincoat. To reporters gathering quickly outside the
courthouse, Jonathan shouted, "You can take our pictures. We are the
revolutionaries!"
Fred Bennett [BPP, PA] (? - 1971)
Assassinated: Victim of fratricide orchestrated by COINTELPRO following the internal "split" of the Party. Fragments of what was reported to be his remains were found February, 1971.
Robert Webb [BPP] (1949 - 1971)
Assassinated: March 8, 1971 - Victim of FBI orchestrated fratricide following the internal "split" of the Party.
Samuel Napier [BPP] (? - 1971)
Assassinated: April 17, 1971 by unknown assailants in Queens.
George Jackson [BPP, PA] (1941 - 1971)
Assassinated: August 21, 1971 by San Quentin Prison Guards
after numerous failed attempts on his life, the State
finally succeeded in assassinating George Jackson, then Field Marshall of
the Black Panther Party, in what was described by prison officials as an
escape attempt in which Jackson allegedly smuggled a gun into San Quentin
in a wig. That feat was proven impossible, and evidence subsequently
suggested a setup designed by prison officials to eliminate Jackson once
and for all.
Sandra "Red" Pratt [BPP] (? - 1971)
Assassinated: November, 1971 in Los Angeles while visibly in her eighth month of pregnancy and stuffed in a garbage dumpster.
Kwame Nkrumah [CPP, AAPRP] (?-1972)
Assassinated: April 27, 1972 poisoned by the CIA
Jimmy Carr [BPP, PA] (? - 1972)
Assassinated: April 6, 1972 - In San Francisco.
Joseph "Joe-Dell" Waddell [BPP] (1951 - 1972)
Assassinated: June 13, 1972 by Central Prison Guards in Raleigh.
Cindy Smallwood [BPP] (1955 - 1973)
Died due to complications associated with car accident while conducting Party business in Oakland.
Zayd Malik Shakur [BPP, BLA] (? - 1973)
Assassinated: May 2, 1973 by New Jersey State Troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike.
Twymon Myers [BPP, BLA] (1952 -1973)
Assassinated: November, 1973 by agents of the FBI in Manhattan.
Rory Hithe [BPP, BLA] (? - 1973)
Assassinated: November 13, 1973 at a community meeting in San Francisco. His assailant was released only days following the assassination.
Amilcar Cabral [PAIGC] (? - 1973)
Assassinated: January, 1973 in Guinea by Portuguese agents.
Herbert Chitepo [ANC] (? - 1975)
Assassinated: March 17, 1975 in Zambia.
Steve Bantu Biko [BCM] (1946 - 1977)
Assassinated: September 12, 1977 while in custody of pro-aparthied South African Police.
Mangaliso Sobukwe [PAC] (1924 - 1977)
Died of cancer shortly after release from prison at Robben Island in pro-apartheid South Africa. Believed to be exposed to carcinogens while in prison.
Fred Ahmed Evans (1928 - 1978)
Died of cancer while imprisoned in the Ohio State Penitentiary. Believed to be exposed to carcinogens while in prison.
Agostinho Neto [President - Angola] (1922 - 1979)
Died September 10, 1979 while serving as Angola's first President. Believed to be poisoned by Portuguese agents.
Walter Rodney [WPA] (1942 - 1980)
Assassinated: June 13, 1980 by a car bomb planted by agents of the CIA backed Guyana government.
Robert Nesta Marley (1945-1981)
Died under mysterious circumstances in a Florida hospital.
Mtayari Shabaka Sundiata (? - 1981)
Killed on October 20, 1981 while attempting to expropriate funds from an armoured truck to finance underground Revolutionary activities.
Maurice Bishop [Prime Minister - Grenada] (1944 - 1983)
Executed: October 19, 1983 in a counter-revolutionary military coup led by forces loyal to Bernard Coard.
Jacqueline Creft [Member of Cabinet - Grenada] (1946 - 1983)
Executed: October 19, 1983 in a counter-revolutionary military coup led by forces loyal to Bernard Coard.
Fitzroy Bain [Member of Cabinet - Grenada] (1946 - 1983)
Executed: October 19, 1983 in a counter-revolutionary military coup led by forces loyal to Bernard Coard.
Norris Bain [Member of Cabinet - Grenada] (1946 - 1983)
Executed: October 19, 1983 in a counter-revolutionary military coup led by forces loyal to Bernard Coard.
Vincent Noel [Member of Cabinet - Grenada] (1946 - 1983)
Executed: October 19, 1983 in a counter-revolutionary military coup led by forces loyal to Bernard Coard.
Unison Whiteman [Member of Cabinet - Grenada] (1946 -1983)
Executed: October 19, 1983 in a counter-revolutionary military coup led by forces loyal to Bernard Coard.
Kuwasi Balagoon [BPP, BLA] (1946 - 1986)
Died while imprisoned due to complications associated with the AIDS virus. Believed to be exposed to the virus while serving prison term.
Samora Machel [President - Mozambique] (1933 - 1986)
Killed: October 19, 1986 in a mysterious plane crash over South Africa.
Peter Tosh fka (Winston H. McIntosh) [Pan-Africanist - Reggae Artist] (1944-1987)
Murdered: September 11, 1987 by Jamaican Government Agents.
Thomas Sankara [President - Burkino Faso] (1950 - 1987)
Assassinated: October 15, 1987 in a counter-revolutionary military coup led by troops loyal to Capt. Blaise Compaore.
Huey P. Newton [BPP] (1942 -1989)
Murdered: 1989 by a supposedly low level drug dealer.
Chris Hani [ANC, SACP] (? - 1993)
Assassinated: April 10, 1993 by pro-apartheid forces in South Africa.
Ken Saro Wiwa, John Kpuinen, Barinem Kiobel, Baribor Bera, Daniel Gbokoo, Felix Nuate, Saturday Dobee, Paul Levura and Nordu Eawo [Ogoni Patriot] Murdered: November 10, 1995, by the corrupt Nigerian Government working in the interests of multinational oil companies
Kwame Ture fka (Stokley Carmichael) [SNCC, BPP, AAPRP] (1941-1998)
Assassinated: November 15, 1998 by the united snakes of amerikkka, poisoned with a "fbi-cia induced cancer".
Dimitri Tsafendas died: October 1999 while in the pro-apartheid South African government's custody for the 1966 elimination of racist Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd
Rosie Douglas Prime Minister Of Dominica Assassinated October 2000 with poison from british agents
Khallid Abdul Muhammad [NBPP] February 2001 dies under mysterious circumstances in a North Georgia hospital
ACL - African Communities League (International)
ANC - African National Congress (South Africa)
AAPRP- All-African People's Revolutionary Party (International)
BCM - Black Consciousness Movement (South Africa)
NGE-Nation Of Gods & Earths (International)
BLA - Black Liberation Army (USA)
BPP - Black Panther Party (International))
CRP - Cuban Revolutionary Party (Cuba)
FRELIMO - Mozambique Liberation Front
MMI - Muslim Mosque, Inc. (USA)
Mau-Mau-Kenya Liberation Movement (Kenya)
MPLA - Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
NBPP-New Black Panther Party (USA)
OAAU - Organization of Afro-American Unity (USA)
Ogoni Nine- Ogoni Liberation Front (Nigeria)
PA - People's Army (USA)
PAC - Pan Africanist Congress (Azania)
PAIGC - African Party for Independence of Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands
PLAN - People's Liberation Army of Namibia
PP - People's Party (USA)
SACP - South African Communist Party
SCLC - Southern Christian Leadership Conference (USA)
SNCC -Student Non-violence Coordinating Committee (USA)
UNIA - Universal Negro Improvement Association (International)
UPC - People's Union of Cameroon (Cameroon)
WPA - Working People's Alliance (Guyana)
Note:
Marcus Garvey is one of two individuals included on this list whose life, as far as can be determined, did not end as a direct result of involvement in the liberation struggle, however, he is considered a martyr by this author because the impact he made internationally had the direct result of his imprisonment, deportation, and the inability to bring his movement to its logical conclusion due of his forced isolation which contributed greatly to his demise.
Elijah Muhammad this Brother more so than any others instilled a sense of pride, dignity and respect among the lost and found Brothers and Sisters in amerikkka, and who society had totally given up on, what this master teacher taught was do for self, build your own and his program gave backbone to many Brothers and Sisters
John Brown is the only non-African person included in this compilation. The author is aware that some controversy exists surrounding the motivations behind Brown's actions, but feels that his goal of liberation for the slaves was sincere and that his actions were based on just principles. John Brown truly embodied the spirit of freedom loving African people around the world.