Négritude
African identity philosophy
Négritude is a literary and intellectual movement affirming Black identity, culture, and consciousness, developed by French-speaking African and Caribbean writers in the 1930s.
The term, coined by poet Aimé Césaire, reclaims *nègre* (a derogatory French word for Black people) as a source of pride.
Négritude rejected European colonial values and celebrated African heritage, spirituality, and aesthetics: The négritude poets wrote in French while rejecting French cultural supremacy.
Movement for African unity
- decolonizationEnding imperial control
- anticolonialismOpposition to foreign domination
- francophoneNative speaker of French
- manifestoPublished statement of principles
postcolonial · independence · liberation · surrealism · diaspora · solidarity · intellectualism · Paris
Ancestral connection to Africa
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- rootsUnderground nutrient absorbers
- prideSatisfaction from one's achievements
- self-affirmationAsserting one's own worth
dignity · soul · essence · authenticity · reclamation · belonging · motherland · kinship
Patterned stress and silence
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
- tom-tomSmall cylindrical drum
- spiritualityConnection to the sacred
- communalismGroup-centered social organization
vitalism · emotion · intuition · poetry · verse · imagery · lyricism · incantation
Doctrine of fixed natures
- romanticismEmotional, imaginative worldview
- SartreFrench existentialist philosopher
- reductionismExplaining wholes through parts
- controversyProlonged public disagreement
debate · authenticity · exoticism · primitivism · universalism · particularism · ideology · limitation
pan-Africanism
Movement for African unity
- decolonizationEnding imperial control
- anticolonialismOpposition to foreign domination
- francophoneNative speaker of French
manifesto · postcolonial · independence · liberation · surrealism · diaspora · solidarity · intellectualism · Paris · Martinique
African heritage
Ancestral connection to Africa
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- rootsUnderground nutrient absorbers
- prideSatisfaction from one's achievements
self-affirmation · dignity · soul · essence · authenticity · reclamation · belonging · motherland · kinship · collective memory
rhythm
Patterned stress and silence
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
- tom-tomSmall cylindrical drum
- spiritualityConnection to the sacred
communalism · vitalism · emotion · intuition · poetry · verse · imagery · lyricism · incantation · drumbeat
essentialism
Doctrine of fixed natures
- romanticismEmotional, imaginative worldview
- SartreFrench existentialist philosopher
- reductionismExplaining wholes through parts
controversy · debate · authenticity · exoticism · primitivism · universalism · particularism · ideology · limitation · response
Négritudecultural assimilation
Adopting another group's norms
assimilation · Europeanization · whitening · passing · cultural alienation
Négritudewhite supremacy
Doctrine of racial superiority
Eurocentrism · scientific racism · primitivism · social Darwinism · colonialism