1973 – Trinidad and Tobago’s Stokely Carmichael Renounces U.S. Citizenship

On May 21, 1973, revolutionary activist Stokely Carmichael—later known as Kwame Ture—officially renounced his U.S. citizenship and committed fully to Pan-African politics in Guinea. Born in Trinidad, raised in the Bronx, and politicized through SNCC and the Black Panther Party, Carmichael’s break with America signaled a deep alignment with global Black struggle. He rejected Western imperialism, choosing instead to fight for African socialism and unity alongside Kwame Nkrumah and Sékou Touré. May 21 marks a rare act of radical international defiance—choosing diaspora identity over national allegiance. His shift influenced generations of African diaspora thinkers to look beyond borders for solutions to Black oppression. Ture’s renunciation wasn’t just symbolic—it embodied a lifelong mission to decolonize Black minds and connect global liberation movements. His May 21 decision resonates as a call for radical global citizenship rooted in Black liberation.