Associate Professor of Africana Studies Nigel Westmaas presented a paper titled “Firebrands, Trade Unionists and Marxists: The Russian Revolution and the Emergence of the Left in Guyana 1917-1956” at the Institute for Black Atlantic Research, University of Central Lancashire, on Oct. 15.
His paper explores the contribution, activity, and varied ideological outlooks of early radical individuals and movements in British Guiana (Guyana) between 1917 and 1956. In analyzing the largely unrecorded impact of the Russian revolution on individuals and movements in the then colony, Westmaas located his analysis in two main periods: between 1917 and World War II; and from the immediate post-war period to 1956 when one of the main organizations splintered as a result of British colonial repression, the Cold War, and disunity in its ranks.
The conference “The Red and the Black: The Russian Revolution and the Black Atlantic” held in Preston, United Kingdom, commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution.
