'Negritude and Nativism': In Search of Identity

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Periodical article

Title:	'Negritude and Nativism': In Search of Identity
Author:	Ahluwalia, Pal
Year:	1999
Periodical:	Africa Quarterly
Volume:	39
Issue:	2
Pages:	21-43
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Subsaharan Africa Africa
Subjects:	Negritude Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Ethnic and Race Relations
Abstract:	Because negritude has come under considerable attack, amongst others for its reaffirmation of racial binaries, its critical role as a predecessor to decolonization has received cursory attention. The present author argues that the negritude movement occupied a central position in the process of decolonizing the mind which was an integral part of the struggle for independence. He examines the conditions which gave rise to the negritude movement and seeks to trace its evolution in the thought of its founding fathers, Léopold Sédar Senghor and Aimé Césaire. Critics of the negritude movement include Ezekiel Mphahlele, Ayi Kwei Armah and, more recently, Edward Said. In their opinion, negritude was an exotic and nativist movement, symptomatic of the African's inferiority complex and slave mentality. The conclusion of this article is that the negritude movement played an important role in the development of a black awareness and consciousness which eventually paved the way for the liberation of Africa. Bibliogr., ref.