Overview
Born in French Equatorial Africa, Andrée Blouin played a leading role in the struggles for decolonization that shook the continent in the 1950s and 1960s. From the colonial orphanage of her childhood, she escaped an arranged marriage to become an avatar of pan-Africanism, advising heads of state from Algiers to Abidjan. Her autobiography retraces this journey. In Guinea, where Blouin accompanied Sékou Touré’s campaign for independence, she came into contact with leaders of the liberation movement in the Belgian Congo, who recruited her to run their women’s organization. Blouin witnessed the Congolese tragedy up-close, as an adviser to Patrice Lumumba, whose arrest and assassination she narrates in unforgettable detail. Blouin’s memoir is an essential contribution to the history of anti-colonialism and radical black feminism. Beginning with the formative experience of colonial rule, she offers a sweeping survey of pan-African nationalism, encompassing the intricacies of revolutionary diplomacy, comradeship, and betrayal. Alongside intimate portraits of the movement’s leaders, Blouin gives insight into the often overlooked contribution of African women.
Full Product Details
Author: Andrée Blouin ,
Jean Mackellar ,
Adom Getachew ,
Thomas Meaney
Publisher: Verso Books
Imprint: Verso Books
Dimensions:
Width: 15.30cm
, Height: 1.90cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.361kg
ISBN: 9781839768712
ISBN 10: 1839768711
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 07 January 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Not yet available
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.
Reviews
Embodying pan-Africanism, Blouin befriended, counseled or lobbied the first presidents or prime ministers of Algeria, both Congos, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Ghana. -- Stuart A. Reid * New York Times * An amazingly good and moving description of a childhood blighted by the horrors of colonialism, told by an extraordinary woman . Riveting. -- Jessica Mitford A penetrating study of colonial society. -- Studs Terkel Magnificent ... Illuminates our understanding of how the politics of a country shapes its people's lives. -- Tillie Olsen Our enemies attack her all the time. Not for what she's done, but simply because she is a woman, and she is there, in the thick of it. -- Patrice Lumumba An extraordinary and vital work by one of the towering figures of anticolonial resistance. That Andrée Blouin has not been as renowned as Lumumba, Sankara, Cabral, has always been a scandalous injustice. This new edition of her memoir goes some way to redressing that, and is a publishing and political event of immense importance. -- China Miéville, author of <i>A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto</i>
Embodying pan-Africanism, Blouin befriended, counseled or lobbied the first presidents or prime ministers of Algeria, both Congos, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Ghana. -- Stuart A. Reid * New York Times * An amazingly good and moving description of a childhood blighted by the horrors of colonialism, told by an extraordinary woman . Riveting. -- Jessica Mitford A penetrating study of colonial society. -- Studs Terkel Magnificent ... Illuminates our understanding of how the politics of a country shapes its people's lives. -- Tillie Olsen Our enemies attack her all the time. Not for what she's done, but simply because she is a woman, and she is there, in the thick of it. -- Patrice Lumumba An extraordinary and vital work by one of the towering figures of anticolonial resistance. That Andrée Blouin has not been as renowned as Lumumba, Sankara, Cabral, has always been a scandalous injustice. This new edition of her memoir goes some way to redressing that, and is a publishing and political event of immense importance. -- China Miéville, author of <i>A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto</i> Through My Country, Africa, Blouin's extraordinary story is being released for a second time, this time into a world that shows greater interest in the historical contributions of women. New readers will learn of the girl who went from being stashed away by the colonial system, to fighting for the freedom of millions of black Africans. -- Wedaeli Chibelushi * BBC *
Embodying pan-Africanism, Blouin befriended, counseled or lobbied the first presidents or prime ministers of Algeria, both Congos, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Ghana. -- Stuart A. Reid * New York Times * An amazingly good and moving description of a childhood blighted by the horrors of colonialism, told by an extraordinary woman . Riveting. -- Jessica Mitford A penetrating study of colonial society. -- Studs Terkel Magnificent ... Illuminates our understanding of how the politics of a country shapes its people's lives. -- Tillie Olsen Our enemies attack her all the time. Not for what she's done, but simply because she is a woman, and she is there, in the thick of it. -- Patrice Lumumba
Embodying pan-Africanism, Blouin befriended, counseled or lobbied the first presidents or prime ministers of Algeria, both Congos, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Ghana. -- Stuart A. Reid * New York Times *
Author Information
Andrée Blouin was a central figure in the struggles for decolonization that swept Africa in the 1950s and 1960s. Her activism gave her a front-row seat to the triumph and tragedy of national liberation movements across the continent.
