Elaine Mokhtefi

Elaine Mokhtefi, 97, died on September 11, 2026. Elaine Mokhtefi was known publicly as an Algerian-American anti-colonial activist and writer. Born in New York, Mokhtefi began working as a translator for anti-racist and anti-colonial activist movements after moving to Paris in her twenties. She supported Algerian independence efforts, then lived in Algeria from 1962 until she was forced to leave the country in 1974. Her memoir of her time there, Algiers, Third World Capital: Freedom Fighters, Revolutionaries, Black Panthers, was published by Verso Books in 2018. Public biographical listings identify Mokhtefi as an Algerian-American anti-colonial activist and writer. This public record remains centered on Mokhtefi's work as an Algerian-American anti-colonial activist and writer and the documented milestones of that career.