How Louis Armstrong was "played" by the CIA
In 1961, everybody knew Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong. He was the “ambassador of jazz”, touring the world playing his hot jazz music for eager new audiences. The shows brought him to as far as Russia and the newly founded states in Africa.
What he himself did not know is that his shows were sometimes being used by the CIA as a cover for intelligence operations. And in the mineral-rich Katanga region, this led to the assassination of the young prime minister of the newly independent state of Congo, Patrice Lumumba
How Armstrong and other musicians were played by the authorities is detailed in the powerful award-winning documentary feature “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”.
“They gave us independence with no power”
Two forces were at work. On the one hand, decolonization was leading to the creation of new states across Africa, the largest of which was the Congo. Across the Atlantic, the civil rights movement was leading to the emancipation of colored people, led by musicians that were closely watching the events in Africa.
At the same time, the former colonial powers were terrified the Soviets would turn the continent Communist. Through a combination of charm, mercenaries and corruption they manipulated the new states to keep them on their side using, where they could, unsuspecting jazz musicians. “They gave us independence with no power,” as one Congolese person pointed out. At stake in the Congo were the immense riches offered by the Katanga region, effectively managed by Belgium’s Union Minière. The uranium deposits were of particular interest to the US authorities for their own use and to avoid them falling into Soviet hands.
The result was the creation of brutal dictators such as Mobutu in Congo (later Zaire). And even though jazz musicians including Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln actually stormed into a UN general assembly in New York to protest what was happening, it was too late. The future of Africa had been written behind closed doors.
“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” is currently showing in Belgium, with the Netherlands to follow in November. Details of the CIA's activities in Africa at the time can be found in Susan Williams' book "White Malice" (Hurst).
(Michael Leahy. Photo: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection)