The end of colonial rule in Africa and the Caribbean was not the end of empire—it merely changed form. Neocolonialism, a term popularized by Kwame Nkrumah, described how former colonial powers maintained economic and political control over newly “independent” nations through multinational corporations, debt traps, puppet regimes, and military interventions. But just as colonization provoked resistance, so too did neocolonialism. Black people—across continents and diasporas—played decisive roles in confronting and dismantling its hold.

From Anti-Colonial Fire to Anti-Neocolonial Struggle

In the mid-20th century, leaders like Amílcar Cabral, Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, and Thomas Sankara refused to accept independence in name only. They led revolutionary movements aimed not just at freeing territory but transforming society. For them, the struggle was not simply about removing colonial rulers but about reconfiguring economic systems, reclaiming culture, and building genuine self-determination. They exposed the ways foreign capital, international financial institutions, and Western governments sought to keep Black nations in a state of dependency.

Nkrumah’s prophetic warning in “Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism” rang true: “The essence of neocolonialism is that the state which is subject to it is, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty. In reality, its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside.”

Fanon and the Psychological Struggle

No examination of neocolonialism would be complete without Frantz Fanon, the Martinican psychiatrist and revolutionary whose works “Black Skin, White Masks” and “The Wretched of the Earth” diagnosed not only the material dimensions of colonialism but its psychological and cultural violence. Fanon warned that national independence without true liberation would only create a native ruling class subservient to foreign interests. He argued that the struggle must go beyond changing flags—it must transform consciousness and society. His call for revolutionary humanism and violent rupture from imperial systems remains deeply relevant today.

Pan-Africanism as a Weapon

The fight against neocolonialism was deeply internationalist. The Pan-African movement—which included figures such as George Padmore, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Claudia Jones—was instrumental in linking struggles from Accra to Harlem, from Johannesburg to Havana. African Americans played a critical role in exposing U.S. imperialism abroad and connecting it to domestic racism. Malcolm X, shortly before his assassination, traveled across Africa building solidarity and pushing for the United Nations to recognize U.S. racism as a human rights violation. His vision of Black internationalism remains a blueprint for today’s global struggles.

Revolutionary Governments and the Price of Dissent

Some of the most impactful challenges to neocolonialism came from revolutionary governments that sought to break dependency through nationalization, land redistribution, and people-centered development. Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, often called “Africa’s Che Guevara,” rejected aid dependency and pushed for food sovereignty, women’s emancipation, and anti-imperialist unity. His assassination in 1987, widely believed to be backed by foreign intelligence and internal betrayal, underscores the deadly cost of standing against neocolonial powers.

Diaspora Resistance: Black Power Meets Global Liberation

The Black Power and civil rights movements in the U.S. also took up the anti-neocolonial cause. The Black Panther Party, the Republic of New Afrika, and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers viewed the conditions of Black people in the U.S. as part of a global system of imperialism. They built international solidarity with liberation movements in Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Their calls for self-determination, socialism, and revolutionary change echoed and amplified the struggles of Black people worldwide.

Today’s Struggle: The Battle Continues

Though the era of open colonial rule is long over, neocolonialism persists—through structural adjustment programs, debt crises, foreign military bases, and economic extraction by global corporations. But so does resistance.

Contemporary movements like #EndSARS in Nigeria, Black Lives Matter, the push to cancel African debt, and the uprisings in Haiti are all part of a continued fight for liberation beyond borders. Young Black activists are reviving anti-imperialist traditions and reimagining Pan-African unity with new tools and visions.

Call to Action: Reclaim the Legacy, Rekindle the Struggle

We are the heirs of Cabral, Fanon, Nkrumah, Sankara, and the millions of unnamed freedom fighters who resisted neocolonial domination in every form. Their struggle must not be reduced to history—it must live in our organizing, our art, our political education, and our collective action.

Join the movement to end neocolonialism today—not only by confronting imperial policies abroad but by building local power where you are. Study the revolutionary thinkers. Support liberation movements. Oppose U.S. military intervention. Invest in Black cooperative economics. Build global Black solidarity rooted in justice and self-determination.

Fanon told us, “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.” The mission remains. The time is now.