PATRICELUMUMBA11_1
Assignment: Please answer the following questions after reading these two speeches by Patrice Lumumba. Your answers must be typed, spell-checked, and incomplete sentences. Your responses must make specific references to the reading assignment and must be at least 1-2 pages doesn’t have to be double spaced
TWOSPEECHES BY PATRICE LUMUMBA
Note: Patrice Lumumba was the first prime minister of the Republic of Congo after its
independence from Belgium in 1960. The two speeches you will read reflect Lumumba’s
analysis of the difficult situation that his country (and all African countries) faced in the
years after decolonization. The first speech is his announcement of his country’s
independence from Belgium in 1960. The second speech is his address to the Congress
for Freedom of Culture, an international organization dedicated to preventing the rise of
totalitarianism in the world.
Assignment: Please answer the following questions after reading these two speeches by
Patrice Lumumba. Your answers must be typed, spell-checked, and in complete
sentences. Your responses must make specific references to the reading assignment and
must be at least 2-3 pages.
1) According to Lumumba, what was the legacy of Belgian rule in his country? What
does he believe is necessary for his people to do to rebuild the Republic of Congo after
independence? What does Lumumba believe is necessary for all Africans to do to rebuild
their countries after independence? What challenges do these countries face, and what
does he believe are the keys to success?
SPEECH #1
SPEECH AT THE CEREMONY OF THE PROCLAMATION OF THE
CONGO’S INDEPENDENCE
June 30, 1960
Men and women of the Congo, Victorious independence fighters, I salute you in the name
of the Congolese Government.
I ask all of you, my friends, who tirelessly fought in our ranks, to mark this June 30, 1960,
as an illustrious date that will be ever engraved in your hearts, a date whose meaning you
will proudly explain to your children, so that they in turn might relate to their
grandchildren and great-grandchildren the glorious history of our struggle for freedom.
Although this independence of the Congo is being proclaimed today by agreement with
Belgium, an amicable country, with which we are on equal terms, no Congolese will ever
forget that independence was won in struggle, a persevering and inspired struggle carried
on from day to day, a struggle, in which we were undaunted by privation or suffering and
stinted neither strength nor blood.
It was filled with tears, fire and blood. We are deeply proud of our struggle, because it was
just and noble and indispensable in putting an end to the humiliating bondage forced
upon us.
That was our lot for the eighty years of colonial rule and our wounds are too fresh and
much too painful to be forgotten. We have experienced forced labour in exchange for pay
that did not allow us to satisfy our hunger, to clothe ourselves, to have decent lodgings or
to bring up our children as dearly loved ones. Morning, noon and night we were subjected
to jeers, insults and blows because we were “Negroes”. Who will ever forget that the black
was addressed as “tu”, not because he was a friend, but because the polite “vous” was
reserved for the white man?
We have seen our lands seized in the name of ostensibly just laws, which gave recognition
only to the right of might. We have not forgotten that the law was never the same for the
white and the black, that it was lenient to the ones, and cruel and inhuman to the others.
We have experienced the atrocious sufferings, being persecuted for political convictions
and religious beliefs, and exiled from our native land: our lot was worse than death itself.
Who will ever forget the shootings which killed so many of our brothers, or the cells into
which were mercilessly thrown those who no longer wished to submit to the regime of
injustice, oppression and exploitation used by the colonialists as a tool of their
domination?
All that, my brothers, brought us untold suffering.
But we, who were elected by the votes of your representatives, representatives of the people,
to guide our native land, we, who have suffered in body and soul from the colonial
oppression, we tell you that henceforth all that is finished with.
The Republic of the Congo has been proclaimed and our beloved country’s future is now
in the hands of its own people. Brothers, let us commence together a new struggle, a
sublime struggle that will lead our country to peace, prosperity and greatness. Together we
shall establish social justice and ensure for every man a fair remuneration for his labour.
We shall show the world what the black man can do when working in liberty, and we shall
make the Congo the pride of Africa.
We shall revise all the old laws and make them into new ones that will be just and noble.
We shall stop the persecution of free thought. We shall see to it that all citizens enjoy to
the fullest extent the basic freedoms provided for by the Declaration of Human Rights.
We shall eradicate all discrimination, whatever its origin, and we shall ensure for everyone
a station in life befitting his human dignity and worthy of his labour and his loyalty to the
country.
And in all this, my dear compatriots, we can rely not only on our own enormous forces
and immense wealth, but also on the assistance of the numerous foreign states, whose co-
operation we shall accept when it is not aimed at imposing upon us an alien policy, but is
given in a spirit of friendship.
Even Belgium, which has finally learned the lesson of history and need no longer try to
oppose our independence, is prepared to give us its aid and friendship; for that end an
agreement has just been signed between our two equal and independent countries. I am
sure that this co-operation will benefit both countries. For our part, we shall, while
remaining vigilant, try to observe the engagements we have freely made.
Thus, both in the internal and the external spheres, the new Congo being created by my
government will be rich, free and prosperous. But to attain our goal without delay, I ask all
of you, legislators and citizens of the Congo, to give us all the help you can.
I ask you all to sink your tribal quarrels: they weaken us and may cause us to be despised
abroad. I ask you all not to shrink from any sacrifice for the sake of ensuring the success of
our grand undertaking.
Finally, I ask you unconditionally to respect the life and property of fellow-citizens and
foreigners who have settled in our country; if the conduct of these foreigners leaves much
to be desired, our Justice will promptly expel them from the territory of the republic; if, on
the contrary, their conduct is good, they must be left in peace, for they, too, are working
for our country’s prosperity.
The Congo’s independence is a decisive step towards the liberation of the whole African
continent. Our government, a government of national and popular unity, will serve its
country.
I call on all Congolese citizens, men, women and children, to set themselves resolutely to
the task of creating a national economy and ensuring our economic independence.
Long live independence and African unity!
Long live the independent and sovereign Congo!
SPEECH #2
AFRICAN UNITY AND NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE
Note: This is a copy of the speech given by Lumumba at the closing session of the
International Seminar organized by the Congress for the Freedom of Culture held at the
University of Ibadan in Ibadan, Nigeria.
March 22, 1959
I thank the Congress for Freedom and Culture and the University of Ibadan for the kind
invitation they extended me to attend this international conference, where the fate of our
beloved Africa being discussed. It has been most gratifying to me to meet here a number of
African ministers, men of letters, labor union leaders, journalists, and international figures
interested in the problems of Africa.
It is through these person-to-person contacts, through meetings of this sort, that African
leaders can get to know each other and draw closer together in order to create that union
that is indispensable for the consolidation of African unity.
In fact, the African unity so ardently desired by all those who are concerned about the
future of this continent will be possible and will be attained only if those engaged in
politics and the leaders of our respective countries demonstrate a spirit of solidarity,
concord, and fraternal collaboration in the pursuit of the common good of our peoples.
That is why the union of all patriots is indispensable, especially during this period of
struggle and liberation. The aspirations of colonized and enslaved peoples are everywhere
the same; their lot too is the same. Moreover, the aims pursued by nationalist movements
in any African territory are also the same. The common goal is the liberation of Africa
from the colonialist yoke. Since our objectives are the same, we will attain them more easily
and more rapidly through union than through division. These divisions, which the
colonial powers have always exploited the better to dominate us, have played an important
role — and are still playing that role — in the suicide of Africa.
How can we extricate ourselves from this impasse?
In my view, there is only one way: bringing all Africans together in popular movements or
unified parties. All tendencies can coexist within these parties bringing all nationals
together, and each will have its say, both in the discussion of problems facing the country
and in the conduct of public affairs. A genuine democracy will be at work within these
parties and each will have the satisfaction of expressing its opinions freely. The more
closely united we are, the better we will resist oppression, corruption, and those divisive
maneuvers which experts in the policy of “divide and rule” are resorting to.
This wish to have unified parties or movements in our young country must not be
interpreted as a tendency toward political monopoly or a certain brand of dictatorship. We
ourselves are against despotism and dictatorship.
I wish to draw everyone‟s attention to the fact that it is the height of wisdom to thwart
from the very outset any possible maneuvers on the part of those who would like to profit
from our apparent political rivals in order to set us against each other and thus delay our
freeing ourselves from the colonialist regime.
Experience proves that in our African territories the opposition that certain people create
in the name of democracy is often not inspired by a concern for the common welfare; a
thirst for glory and the furthering of personal interests are the principal if not the only,
motives for this. It is only when we have won the independence of our countries and when
our democratic institutions are stabilized that the existence of a pluralist political system
will be justified.
The existence of an intelligent, dynamic and constructive opposition is indispensable in
order to counterbalance the political and administrative action of the government in
power. But this moment does not appear to have arrived yet, and dividing our efforts today
would he to render our country a disservice.
All our compatriots must be persuaded that they will not serve the general interest of the
country if they are divided or if they foster such divisions, any more than they would serve
it by balkanizing our country and partitioning it into weak little states. Once the territory
was balkanized, it would be difficult to achieve national unity again.
In the struggle that we are peacefully waging today to win our independence, we do not
intend to drive Europeans out of this continent or seize their possessions or persecute
them. We are not pirates. On the contrary, we respect individuals and the rights of others
to well-being. The one thing we are determined to do — and we would like others to
understand us is to root out colonialism and imperialism from Africa. We have long
suffered and today we want to breathe the air of freedom. The Creator has given us this
share of the earth that goes by the name of the African continent; it belongs to us and we
are its only masters. It is our right to make this continent a continent of justice, law, and
peace.
All of Africa is irrevocably engaged in a merciless struggle against colonialism and
imperialism. We wish to bid farewell to the rule of slavery and bastardization that has so
severely wronged us. Any people that oppresses another people is neither civilized nor
Christian.
The West must free Africa as soon as possible. The West must examine its conscience
today and recognize the right of each colonized territory to freedom and dignity. If the
colonialist governments promptly understand our aspirations, we will negotiate with them,
but if they stubbornly insist on considering Africa their possession, we will be obliged to
consider the colonizers the enemies of our emancipation. Under these circumstances, we
will regretfully cease to be friends with them.
We do not want to cut ourselves off from the West, for we are quite aware that no people
in the world can be self-sufficient. We are altogether in favor of friendship between races,
but the West must respond to our appeal. We have an imperative need for financial,
technical, and scientific aid from the West aimed at rapid economic development and the
stabilization of our societies. But the capital our countries need must be invested in the
form of mutual aid between nations. National governments will give this foreign capital
every sort of guarantee it wishes. The Western technicians to whom we make an urgent
appeal will come to Africa not to dominate us but to serve and aid our countries.
A twofold effort must be made to hasten the industrialization of our various regions and
the economic development of the country. To this end, we address an appeal to friendly
countries to send us an abundance of capital and many technicians.
The lot of black workers must be appreciably improved. The wages they earn at present are
clearly insufficient. The dire poverty of the working classes is the source of many of the
social conflicts that exist at present in our countries. Labor unions have a great role to play
in this regard, the role of protectors and educators. It is not enough merely to demand a
raise in wages; there is also a great need to educate workers in order that they may become
conscious of their professional, civic, and social obligations, and also acquire a clear
conception of their rights.
On the cultural plane, the new African states must make a serious effort to further African
culture. We have a culture all our own, unparalleled moral and artistic values, an art of
living and patterns of life that are ours alone. All these African splendors must be jealously
preserved and developed. „We will borrow from Western civilization what is good and
beautiful and reject what is not suitable for us. This amalgam of African and European
civilization will give Africa a civilization of a new type, an authentic civilization
corresponding to African realities.
Efforts must also be made to free our peoples psychologically. A certain conformism is
noticeable on the part of many intellectuals, and its origins are well known. This
conformism stems from the moral pressures and the reprisals to which black intellectuals
have often been subjected. The minute they have told the truth, they have been called
dangerous revolutionaries, xenophobes, provocateurs, elements that must he closely
watched, and so on. These moves to intimidate us and corrupt our morals must cease. We
need genuine literature and a free press that brings the opinion of the people to light,
rather than more propaganda leaflets and a muzzled press.
We hold out a fraternal hand to the West. Let it today give proof of the principle of
equality and friendship between races that its sons have always taught us as we sat at our
desks in school, a principle written in capital letters in the Universal Declaration of the
Rights of Man. Africans must be just as free as other citizens of the human family to enjoy
the fundamental liberties set forth in this declaration and the rights proclaimed in the
United Nations Charter.
The period of racial monopolies is now at an end. African solidarity must take concrete
form in facts and acts. We must form a bloc in order to demonstrate our brotherhood to
the world. In order to do so, I suggest that governments that have already won their
independence give every possible aid and support to countries that are not yet
independent. Territorial barriers must also be done away with so that Africans may travel
freely between the various African states. Scholarships should also be set up for students in
the dependent territories.
Africa will not be truly free and independent as long as any part of this continent remains
under foreign domination.
I conclude my remarks with this passionate appeal:
Africans, let us rise up!
Africans, let us unite!
Africans, let us walk hand in hand with those who want to help us make this beautiful
continent a continent of freedom and justice!
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