1962 – Launch of Algeria’s National Radio Highlights Afro-Arab Solidarity

On May 19, 1962, during the final months of the Algerian War of Independence, Algeria’s National Liberation Front (FLN) launched its national radio broadcast. The station amplified the anti-colonial message not just across Algeria, but throughout Africa and the Arab world. The FLN drew heavily from Pan-African and anti-racist networks, with leaders like Frantz Fanon—born in Martinique—providing ideological direction. The May 19 launch marked a new era of propaganda and resistance strategy, connecting Algerian independence with Black struggles in Angola, the Congo, and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. The station broadcast in Arabic, French, and Berber, symbolizing a multiracial and multilingual resistance. It laid the foundation for postcolonial media infrastructure across Africa and remains a critical chapter in the history of Black and Afro-Arab solidarity.