Patrice Lumumba
“I only gave voice to words of freedom and brotherhood, words they couldn’t accept. Just words.”
Patrice Lumumba was born on July 2, 1925 in Onalua,
Belgian Congo. He was assassinated on January
1961 in theKatanga province. Lumumba started
his political career in Kindu-Port-Empain as an active member in the club of the educated Africans. In 1955 Lumumba was promoted to the regional president of a group of governmental employees, and they were strictly Congolese people that were not associated with the Belgian Socialists or Roman Catholics. After spending a year in jail during 1956, Lumumba went on to create the Congolese National Movement in 1958. Then in 1959 Lumumba was arrested again by Belgian authorities on account of being suspected of causing and participating in a riot against a Belgian program. His movement he created was able to get the Belgians
to release him in 1960, and later that year he succeeded in creating the first government for Congo on June 23. Lumumba and the citizens of Congo were sick of the Belgians occupation, so Lumumba tried to get the support of the UN to getthe Belgians out of Congo. The UN did not help him, so he turned to ask support of the Soviet Union to assist him. Since the Western powers were against the Soviets, this made them uneasy. This was one of the main reasons which led to the assassination of Lumumba in 1961. He was trying to get Congo to be a radicalized regime, with a powerful government. Outside powers feared this, so they did what they had to too stop this from happening. This caused more outside influence in Congo, which ultimately caused the citizens to get angry and continue to fight against them.
Belgian Congo. He was assassinated on January
1961 in theKatanga province. Lumumba started
his political career in Kindu-Port-Empain as an active member in the club of the educated Africans. In 1955 Lumumba was promoted to the regional president of a group of governmental employees, and they were strictly Congolese people that were not associated with the Belgian Socialists or Roman Catholics. After spending a year in jail during 1956, Lumumba went on to create the Congolese National Movement in 1958. Then in 1959 Lumumba was arrested again by Belgian authorities on account of being suspected of causing and participating in a riot against a Belgian program. His movement he created was able to get the Belgians
to release him in 1960, and later that year he succeeded in creating the first government for Congo on June 23. Lumumba and the citizens of Congo were sick of the Belgians occupation, so Lumumba tried to get the support of the UN to getthe Belgians out of Congo. The UN did not help him, so he turned to ask support of the Soviet Union to assist him. Since the Western powers were against the Soviets, this made them uneasy. This was one of the main reasons which led to the assassination of Lumumba in 1961. He was trying to get Congo to be a radicalized regime, with a powerful government. Outside powers feared this, so they did what they had to too stop this from happening. This caused more outside influence in Congo, which ultimately caused the citizens to get angry and continue to fight against them.
“Don’t weep my love. One day history will have its say. Not the history they teach in Brussels, Paris, or Washington, but our history. That of a new Africa. And on that day…”
