Samori Tarik Marksman (October 27, 1947 – March 23, 1999) was a Caribbean Pan-Africanist, Marxist, journalist, historian, political activist, teacher, and program director of

WBAI WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic music. ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

from 1994 until his death in 1999.

Biography

He was born Stanley Theodolph Marksman on the island of

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

to Sybil Providence and Stanley Marksman. He adopted the name Samori Tarik Marksman at the time he became a citizen of

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

in the 1970s, his work with the Guinean revolution earning him the Croix de Chivalry. During this period, Marksman lived in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

and taught at the University of Liberia and the

College of West Africa The College of West Africa is a Methodist high school in Monrovia, Liberia. The school was opened in 1839 (as the "Monrovia Seminary"), making it one of the oldest European-style schools in Africa. It has produced many of Liberia's leaders. Alumni ...

while serving as director of the African division of the

-based Pan African Skills Project, which recruited scientists and individuals with technical know-how to teach in Africa."Remembering Samori Marksman"
''2600: The Hacker Quarterly'' On his return to the United States, Marksman founded and published the magazine '' Caribbean Perspective''. He was also a frequent contributor to ''

Covert Action Quarterly ''CovertAction Quarterly'' (formerly ''CovertAction Information Bulletin'') was an American journal in publication from 1978 to 2005, focused primarily on watching and reporting global covert operations. It is generally critical of US Foreign Polic ...

'' and to the ''

New York Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...

''. From 1979 to 1983, Marksman was a publicist for the New Jewel Movement Marxist-Leninist

People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada The People's Revolutionary Government (PRG) was proclaimed on 13 March 1979 after the Marxist–Leninist New Jewel Movement overthrew the government of Grenada in a revolution, making Grenada the only socialist state within the Commonwealth. T ...

, in which capacity he was a co-producer of the documentary film ''Grenada: The Future Coming Toward Us'';
"Grenada: The Future Coming Towards Us" his service ended with the US

Invasion of Grenada The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...

. Marksman taught journalism part-time at

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

. Marksman’s programs ''Behind the News'' and ''World View'' offered analyses of the news from a leftist perspective. Goodman, Amy
"Tribute to Samori Marksman: A Man Who Democratized the Voices of the People"
'' Democracy Now!'', April 1, 1999.Moorehead, Monica
"Samori Marksman: Respected anti-imperialist journalist dies"
/ref> Marksman died in 1999, survived by his wife Rita and his children Lindiwe, Zindzi, and Kaifa.Copage, Eric V.

''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', April 4, 1999.

Notes

References

* Kelly, Erin St. John

''New York Times'', June 15, 1998.
"Remembering Samori Marksman"
''2600: The Hacker Quarterly''.

External links

*
Louis Clayton Jones Esquire - "The Slaying of Amadou Diallo"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marksman, Samori 1947 births 1999 deaths Saint Vincent and the Grenadines emigrants to the United States People from Saint Vincent (Antilles) Academic staff of the University of Liberia