negritude

Negritude is a literary and ideological movement developed by French-speaking Black intellectuals in the 1930s and 1940s that sought to reclaim Black identity and cultures in opposition to colonial racism and assimilationist pressures. The term, often attributed to Aimé Césaire in his Cahiers d'un retour au pays natal (1939), was articulated as a collective consciousness of Black African, Caribbean, and diasporic experiences and as a critique of Western colonial domination. Key figures include Aimé Césaire of Martinique, Léon-Gontran Damas of French Guiana, and Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal; though others contributed, these writers framed the movement in Paris and in their nationalist political contexts.

Core ideas emphasize the value of African history, languages, folklore, and art; the image of Blackness as a source of dignity and resilience; and solidarity across the African diaspora. Negritude rejected assimilation into European cultural norms and argued that Black identity could be a basis for political liberation and cultural renewal. The movement intersected with anti-colonial struggles and helped shape postcolonial literary and intellectual currents, influencing poetry, prose, and political thought in Francophone Africa and the diaspora.

Critics have challenged negritude for what they saw as essentialism and romanticization of Africa, sometimes downplaying internal differences, gender, or class issues. Later critiques and developments, including Créolité and debates within feminism, sought more nuanced, plural identities. Today, negritude is studied as a foundational but contested moment in the history of postcolonial thought and Francophone literature.