On October 2, 2016 the Thomas Sankara Memorial Project was launched in Burkina Faso. It is presided over by former Ghanaian president Jerry John Rawlings who attended the ceremony in a context of the revival of Pan-Africanism. This event gives a particular dimension to the 5th edition of this Thomas Sankara Annual Conference.

In Burkina Faso a people’s movement ended the 27 year rule of former president of  Blaise Compaore in October 2014 fueled by the ideals of Thomas Sankara.

The movement continues to inspire others across the African continent namely in countries such as the Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in Ivory Coast. In the United States of America, the Pan-African world has been reinforced by the rise of the Movement for Black Lives in reaction to the extrajudicial killings of Black people by police. Additionally, the left is experiencing political setbacks with the push back in South America of the right in Venezuela and Brazil.

This year’s conference will discuss the question of democracy in Africa and in the global south, the “Black Lives Matter Movement” and the state of Pan-Africanism and internationalism. In  honor of Thomas Sankara’s gender-conscious policies, this conference will feature an all women panel:

• Mary-Alice Waters, Socialist Workers Party and Pathfinder Press
• Heather Benno, ANSWER Coalition
• Msia Clark, Howard University
• Aline Piva, Brazilian Political Analyst with Council on Hemispheric Affairs and
• Shelley Green, Pan-African Community Action

Endorsers: Institute for Policy Studies, Friends of the Congo, All-African Revolutionary Party, Socialist Workers Party, ANSWER Coalition, Party for Socialism & Liberation, Revival of Panafricanism Forum, Pan-African Community Action (PACA), DC Metro Coalition in Solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, and All African People Revolutionary Party-GC.