Raoul Peck & Lumumba...

On the last broadcast Guy spoke on a friend of his who goes by the name of Raoul Peck. Like Guy, Raoul Peck is a Haitian man who grew up in Congo. His family was displaced to Kinshasa by the Duvalier regime in the early 60s where his family, among 600 others including the Angrand's, sought asylum. He went to school in Kinshasa, Brooklyn, France and then finally Germany where he got his degree in engineering. He then came to New York where he became a cab driver as he awaited acceptance into film school in Germany in 1984. Read more about Raoul Peck and his achievements here:

Raoul Peck

And here is a review of his award winning film LUMUMBA:
Raoul Peck's ‘Lumumba:’ A tale of human suffering, sacrifice and hypocrisy
By Elombe Brath, Haiti Progres, Vol. 19 no. 14, June 20–26, 2001

Watch the trailer for LUMUMBA here:

the movie was filmed in French and Lingala and unfortunately this trailer has no subtitles but you can get a sense of the film and how powerful it is through this trailer...

WHO IS PATRICE LUMUMBA?


In bringing up Raoul Peck and his making of the film 'Lumumba' one must have an idea of who Patrice Emery Lumumba is. Taken from Wikipedia:

Lumumba was born in Onalua in the Katakokombe region of the Kasai province of the Belgian Congo, a member of the Tetela ethnic group. Raised in a Catholic family as one of four male children, he was educated at a Protestant primary school, a Catholic missionary school, and finally the government post office training school, passing the one-year course with distinction. He subsequently worked in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) and Stanleyville (now Kisangani) as a postal clerk and as a travelling beer salesman. In 1951, he married Pauline Opangu. In 1955, Lumumba became regional head of the Cercles of Stanleyville and joined the Liberal Party of Belgium, where he worked on editing and distributing party literature. After traveling on a three week study tour in Belgium, he was arrested in 1955 on charges of embezzlement of post office funds. His two-year sentence was commuted to twelve months after it was confirmed by Belgian lawyer Jules Chrome that Lumumba had returned the funds, and he was released in July 1956. After his release, he helped to found the non-tribal Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) in 1958, later becoming the organization's president. Lumumba and his team represented the MNC at the All-African People's Conference in Accra, Ghana, in December 1958. At this international conference, hosted by influential Pan-African President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Patrice Lumumba further solidified his Pan-African beliefs.

Read the rest of his life in detail here: PATRICE LUMUMBA

What is the significance of Patrice Emery Lumumba to Black/African peoples worldwide 47 years after his death? The great teacher, Dr. John Henrik Clarke a year after Lumumba's death wrote a fantastic article that explains Patrice Lumumba's importance to the global liberation movement of Black/African peoples.


The Passing of Patrice Lumumba by Dr. John Henrik Clarke

Find more info on Patrice Emery Lumumba from the site Africa Within: Patrice Lumumba



Featured in the 2000 film, Lumumba, was the song "Independence Cha Cha" by Le Grand Kalle et L'African Jazz. I linked it before but here it is again...
Independence Cha Cha

I will also leave you with the song "Bana Ya Lipopo" which means Children of Lipopo aka Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). Tabu Ley sings "Na kende mboka ya Lipopo, Ba tata ba mama ba zongi Lipopo, ba yaya ba leki ba kiti Lipopo..." I'm going to the city of Lipopo, Mothers and Fathers are going back to Lipopo, Siblings old and young are leaving for Lipopo... This song reminds me of the Haitian exodus to Leopoldville/Kinshasa in the early 1960s that the Angrand and Peck family took along with so many others. I love it. I hope you enjoy it too...until next time PEACE