Primary Artist: Terry Forman
Created: San Francisco Collective, late 1970s
Medium: Silkscreen, T-shirt
Dimensions: 9″ x 10″
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire) gained its independence from Belgium under the leadership of Patrice Lumumba in 1960. Lumumba was assassinated seven months later by the US CIA. Mobutu Sese Seko was installed as President to secure the West’s enormous investments in Congolese mines. The Congolese National Liberation Front (FLNC ) was formed clandestinely in Angola under the leadership of Nathaniel Mbumba with the express goal of expelling Mobutu Sese Seko and reestablishing a democratically elected government in the Congo.
In two offensives in 1977 and 1978, the FLNC defeated Mobutu’s army. Only after a massive intervention by the US was the FLNC defeated. Mobuto was forced from power in 1997. Since that time the Congo suffered years of civil war, military coups, and human rights abuses by a succession of corrupt government leaders. The US continues to turn a blind eye to US companies polluting and destroying the ecosystems of the Congo in pursuit of profits. The Congo is ranked one of the three poorest country in the world with an average annual income of $394 per year.
Read more about: Congolese National Liberation Front and Patrice Lumumba.
Image: Drawing of FLNC woman fighter coming out of the shape of the map of the Congo.
Words: Victory to Congolese National Liberation Front.
Color: black ink on a buff t-shirt
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