‘Walter Rodney: What they don’t Want you to Know’ is an original circa 72-minute documentary featuring a murder, Cold War conspiracies, Black Power, the end of Empire, and how that connects to the policing and surveillance practices of today. It feeds a growing appetite for history from a different perspective, as we grapple with the legacy of empire, colonialism, and its impact on the modern world. Rodney was assassinated in 1980 by the Guyanese regime put in power and supported by the British and Americans. It was only in 2021 that the Guyanese government accepted responsibility for the assassination. Contributors include Angela Davis, Gina Miller, former President of Guyana Donald Ramotar, Edward and Donald Rodney and Walter’s wife Patricia Rodney, who tells her story for the first time, as well as prominent historians. The documentary uses declassified security service documents, revealing interviews and reconstruction to tell an important, yet little known story. It reveals that Guyanese historian Dr Walter Rodney was under British security surveillance from the age of 19, after visiting Russia and Cuba while a student at UWI in Jamaica. He was seen as subversive both as an academic and as an activist who supported anti-colonial movements and civil rights. By the time of his death, he was under surveillance by at least five different nations. Shockingly, a British secret propaganda unit paid for negative review of his major work. It was perceived as a threat to western post-colonial narratives and interests. The book ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’ is now a staple of university courses across the globe and Rodney is an inspiration for the social movements of today, whether BLM, Pan-Africanist or reparations. This documentary was supported by the Walter Rodney Foundation and the Ameena Gafoor Institute.

Call to Action:

The Walter Rodney Foundation (https://www.walterrodneyfoundation.org) and The Ameena Gafoor Institute for the Study of Indentureship and its Legacies (https://ameenagafoorinstitute.org)