1963 - Nguy?n V?n Tr?i, Afro-Vietnamese Revolutionary, Sentenced to Death

On May 11, 1963, Nguy?n V?n Tr?i, a young Vietnamese electrician and revolutionary with Afro-Asian heritage, was sentenced to death by South Vietnam’s military court for plotting to assassinate U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara during a visit to Saigon. Tr?i was a member of the National Liberation Front and his actions became a symbol of global anti-colonial resistance. Though rarely discussed in Western or even pan-African history, Tr?i’s African lineage—likely from 19th-century Afro-Caribbean or African sailors who settled in Southeast Asia—links him to a broader diasporic struggle against imperialism. His calm defiance at execution inspired international solidarity, particularly in Cuba, where a school and street still bear his name. Tr?i’s story expands the narrative of Black resistance beyond the Atlantic, revealing how African-descended people played critical, though overlooked, roles in Asian liberation movements. His legacy lives at the intersection of global Black identity and anti-imperial action.