Death of Jordan Neely reveals the depth of crisis of capitalism today

Vol. 87/No. 23 - June 12, 2023
Increase in drug abuse, homelessness, crime are result of dog-eat-dog capitalism. Inset, New York marijuana store. Cannabis use is actively promoted by state government, making conditions worse.

NEW YORK — The May 1 death of  Jordan Neely on the subway here followed by the district attorney charging Daniel Penny with second-degree manslaughter generated a wide-ranging debate and discussion on what happened and why. Neely, a 30-year-old African…


In victory for Sankara’s legacy, court finds killers accountable

Vol. 86/No. 17 - May 2, 2022
June 29, 2013, protest in Burkina Faso against dictatorial rule of Blaise Compaore, who had Thomas Sankara, pictured above, assassinated during October 1987 counterevolutionary coup. Compaore was toppled and forced to flee the country in 2014 by a popular insurrection.

Thirty-five years after a counterrevolutionary coup in 1987, a court in Burkina Faso, West Africa, rendered guilty verdicts April 6 after a six-month trial for the assassination of President Thomas Sankara, and 12 of his comrades and guards. Blaise Compaore,…


The murder of Thomas Sankara: a popular revolution overturned

Vol. 85/No. 37 - October 11, 2021
“The democratic and popular revolution needs a convinced people, not a conquered people,” says the sign above, quoting revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara under his photo. It’s carried in a June 29, 2013, protest against Blaise Compaore, who led the 1987 counterrevolution.

(For a French version of this article, click here.) Blaise Compaore, the iron-fisted ruler of Burkina Faso for almost three decades, will stand trial along with 13 others before a military tribunal Oct. 11 for the 1987 assassination of former…


French rulers expand military intervention into West Africa

Vol. 83/No. 46 - December 16, 2019

French ground troops are being deployed to Burkina Faso. This is the first major dispatch of imperialist troops to that West African country, an attempt to shore up a weakening capitalist regime in a region racked by instability. The deployment…


Uber, Yellow Cab drivers need unity to fight bosses

Vol. 82/No. 43 - November 19, 2018

NEW YORK — The cutthroat competition among Uber, Lyft, other e-hail car services, livery companies and the Yellow Cab fleet bosses has claimed a seventh suicide victim here. Fausto Luna flung himself in front of an oncoming subway train and…


Sankara books welcomed at NY Burkina Faso festival

Vol. 82/No. 35 - September 24, 2018
Above, participants in Festival Ouaga New York cultural event in the Bronx Sept. 1 enjoyed musicians and artists from Burkina Faso. Inset, table featuring books by Thomas Sankara and other titles by revolutionary working-class leaders attracted interest.

NEW YORK — The fourth annual Festival Ouaga New York, a two-day cultural event, attracted hundreds of participants, most of them immigrants from Burkina Faso now living in New York, other East Coast cities and abroad. Well-known musicians and artists…