The
years between the Great War and World War Two were the high tide of European
colonial rule. During these years The French colonial approach was that of Assimilation.
Through the process of Assimilation the French hoped to turn their African subjects
into proper Frenchmen by enveloping them within French culture. These new
Frenchmen, regardless of their color, would have all the legal and political
rights granted to natural French citizens. France’s African colonies were even
granted the right to send representatives to the French Parliament in Paris. Through this Assimilation the French were able
to break up many of Africa’s pre-colonial states, turn tribal chiefs into French
government agents and effectively destroy any form of African customary law
The
French idea of Assimilation was not met without resistance. Throughout France
and within her colonies French subjects were becoming aware of the loss of
their native customs and cultures. Equipped with better education, gained in
part to their subject privileges, many African descendants were ready to
reclaim their African heritage.
 |
| Image used claiming Fair Use. http://www.patrimoines-martinique.org |
The Negritude movement was an important way for colonized Africans to re discover their African roots while at the same time exploring the encounters between Europe and Africa, especially regarding the questions of colonization and decolonization. Negritude strives to be universal, encompassing all people of African descent. It is a complex movement which rejects Western domination denounces colonialism and most importantly promotes the acceptance of the black self.
The concept of Negritude was born in Paris, France with the publication of a student newspaper titled L'Étudiant noir (The Black Student). The 3 students responsible for the production of this newspaper became public figureheads and were known collectively to members of the movement as the three fathers. These three gentlemen had firsthand experience as citizens under the French colonial stytem. The three fathers are a Senegalese, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Martinican Aimé Césaire and Guyanese Léon-Gontran Damas
 |
| Léopold Senghor, image used claiming Fair Use. www.tumbler.com |
Léopold Senghor was born in a small fishing village in west-central Senegal at a time while it was still a French colony. Leopold was taught French while in elementary school and eventually won a scholarship to study in France
 | |
| Aimé Césaire, Image used claiming Fair Use www.alalettre.com |
Aimé Césaire was born in Basse-Point, Martinique part of the French Caribbean. Césaire completed his secondary studies in Pairs. It was in Paris that Aime met Léopold Senghor and the two went on to develop the theory of Negritude
 |
|
Léon Damas, 1937
Image used claiming Fair Use. Thepublicarchive.com
|
Léon-Gontran Damas was born March 28, 1912 in Cayenne (French
Guiana). After primary school in Cayenne, he continued his studies in
Fort-de-France, in high school SchœlcherIn. Damascus continued his secondary education at
Meaux in France. Damas settled in Paris in 1929 where hebegan studying
Russian and Japanese. He studied law, also attended
the Faculty of Arts and later the Institute of Ethnology of Paris. Among co-founding and editing L'Étudiant noir,
Damas was an author and a poet. His poetry reflected his feelings and conveyed
the spirit of Negritude.
From his poetry book Pigments,
FOR
SURE
For sure
I will be
fed up
without
even waiting
for
things
to take
on
the air
of a ripe
camembert
So
I will
put my foot in it
or simply
my hand
on the collar
of
everything
that pisses me off in large print
colonization
civilization
