In the 25 years since Walter Rodney’s assassination much has changed in the world. The face of the oppression that has deepened the misery of working people worldwide has changed from its dictatorial manifestation into its "democratic" form. Everywhere, poverty and misery are now products of a democracy that has been reduced to electoral competition among a self-regarding elite who thrive by exploiting every division among the working poor - be it racial, religious, tribal, ethnic or other cultural difference - in order to hold them in subjugation, the better to be exploited by the new global masters.

The members of the Walter Rodney 25th Anniversary Commemoration Committee - friends, colleagues, and other associates of Walter Rodney in Guyana and the wider Caribbean, Africa, North America, London and elsewhere in Europe, and Latin America, all of whom share his vision of the emancipation of the working people and other oppressed sections of society - are organizing events to commemorate his inspiring life, work and insights and to draw attention to the challenges faced today by working people throughout the world. The commemoration takes the form of a series of “groundings” in Guyana from June 6-13 2005 to mark the 25 years since Walter Rodney’s assassination.