1988 - Cuban-African Soldiers Help End Apartheid Regimes in Africa

On May 19, Pan-Africanists often reflect on Cuba’s pivotal role in African liberation, particularly the decisive victory at the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1988. Cuban forces, many of African descent, fought alongside Angolan and Namibian forces against South Africa’s apartheid military. The battle weakened the apartheid regime and helped catalyze Namibian independence and the eventual end of apartheid in South Africa. This day also connects with Malcolm X’s vision of international Black solidarity. The campaign is viewed by many scholars as a cornerstone of transnational resistance against colonial and white supremacist systems. Commemorating May 19 as a day of Afro-Caribbean and African unity uplifts a little-known but critical chapter in the global fight for Black liberation. It also honors the legacy of those who viewed the struggle for justice as borderless.