Black Scholar Culture of Revolution 1969

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HE L CKSCHOL R

THECULTUREOFREVOLUTIONDOTEVIC RMCH ELCHRSM NCLE VERH REJ ONESK LL NSTOUR[ t


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THE BL CK SCHOL R has been born out of the struggl e ofbl ack schol ar s bl ck i nt el l ect ual s bl ack l e dersl l bl ackpeopl eor neducati on t hat wi l l provide meani ngful def i nit i ons of bl ck exi stenceSo born THE BL CK SCHOL R i s the f i r s t j our nal of bl ackstudi esand research i n thi s countrye recogni ze t hat wemust re def i ne our l i ves emust shape cul t ure pol i t i cs n economcs sense of our p st andfu ture hi story emust recogni ze what we have been and whatwe shal l be ret ai ni ng th t whi ch has been good and di scardi ngth t whi ch has beenworthl ess THE BL CKSCHOL R shal l be the j ourn l f or t hat def i ni t i on n i t s pages bl ack i deol ogi es wi l l be examned debated di sputed and eval uated by the bl ck i nt el l ect ual communi ty Ar t icl es whi ch research document and anal yzethebl ack experi ence

wi l l be publ i shed so t hat theory i s balanced w th fact andi deol ogy w th subst anti al i nformati one cannot af ford di vi si on any l onger i our st ruggl e i s t o be rf r u i t whether those di v i si ons be between cl ass c ste or f unct i o n Nothi ng bl ck i s al i en t o us

bl ack schol ar recogni zes t hi s f act He i s m n of boththought and acti on a whol em nwho t hi nks f or hi s peopl e andact s w th them m nwho honors the whol e communi ty ofbl ack experi ence m nwho sees the Ph. D the j ani tor thebusi nessman the mai d the cl erk the m l i t ant s al l shari ngthe same experi ence of bl ckness wi th al l i t s compl exi t i esand i t s rewardsTHE BL CKSCHOL R i s the j our nal f or such m n t i s yourj ourn l Support i t


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St af fPubl i sher Nathan HareEdi tor Robert Chri smanCoordi nator A lanRossProducti on BWFri endl yPromti on Jul i a ReedCi rcul ati on T BSmthAdverti si ng V ctori a Barnes

Contri buti ng and Advi sory Edi t orsAndrewBi l l i ngsl ey Ph.DAssi st ant Chancel l or f or Academc Aff ai rs

Geral d McWorter, Ph.DSoci al Theoret i ci an Chi cagoAl vi nF Poussai nt DDepartmnt of Psychi atry Harvard Universit ySoni a SanchezBack St udi es Program Uni versi ty of Pit tsburghChuck StoneJ ohnTDorrance Professor Tr i ni ty Col l egeJ esse Tayl orDepartmnt of Back Studi esSan Francisco State Col l egeJ ams Turner Ph. DDi rector Afroamri can Studi es Cornel l Universit ySi d Wal tonPri nci pal Marti nLuther Ki ngSchoolSausal i t o Cal i forni aPreston WlcoxChai rmn, Nati onal Associ ati on ofAfroamri can EducatorsA Ceci l W l l i amsM ni st e r of I nvol vemnt and Cel ebrati onG i de Urban Center

THEBLACKSCHOLAR

J ournal of Back Studi es and Research

Volume I Number 1 Novemer 1969

Contents2 TI TATHAN HARE

TheCri si s of HaroldCruse

The Back Schol ar i s publ i shed mnthl y, except J ul yand August by The Back Wrld Foundat i on, anon-prof i t educat i onal organi zati on Al l edi tori al cor-respondence shoul d be addressed to Box31245, SanFranci sco, Cal i f 94131 Al l subscri pti on correspond-ence shoul d be addressed to Box908 Sausal i to, Ca94965 Phone 415) 332-3152 Subscri pt i on rates 10 per year, 25 f or 3 years ; si ngl e copi es 1 . 25 Foreignrates on request Second cl ass pri vi l eges ap-pl i ed f or i n Sausal i to, Cal i f 94965 Copyri ght 1969Al l ri ghts i ncl udi ng transl ati on i nto other l anguages,reserved by The Back Schol ar

Universit y of Cal i f orni a Berkel eyJ Herman Bl ake Ph. DDepartmnt of Soci ol ogyUniversit y of Cal i f or ni a Santa CruzDolores CayouSecretary BackFacul ty Uni onSan Franci sco State Col l egeI Ieport on the PanAfri canCul tural Festi valSEKOUTOURSal ecti cal Approach to Cul ture

Pri ce Cobbs DDepartmnt of Psychi atry 27 STANSLASADOTEVUni versi ty of Cal i f or ni a Medi cal Center The Strategy of Cul tureEmry Dougl assM ni st e r of Cul ture Bl ack Panther PartyHerman Ferguson 36 STOKELYCARMCHAELM ni st e r of Educat i on Republ i c of NewAf r i caCarl t on Goodl et t D Ph. D Pan-Af r i cani smand andPowerPubl i sher The Sun Repor t erCharl esVHaml ton Ph. DProf essor of Pol i t i cal Sci ence Col umi a Universit y 44 ELDRDGECLEAVERVi ncent Hardi ng Ph. D EducationandRevol ut i onI nst i tute of t he BackWorl dMl ton Henry, LL. B Detroi t Mchi gan 54 M MUMEERBARAKA LERO J ONES)Maul anaRonKarengaFounder-Chai rmn, US ack Va ue Syst emJ ohn OKi l l e nsCreati ve W i t i n g Col umi a Universi ty 61 JOHN0 KLLENSJ oyceLadner Ph. DI nst i tute of t he BackWorl d Atl anta Georgi a The Art i st i n the Back Uni versi tyDonL LeeBackW i t e r i n Resi denceNort heaster n I l l i noi s State Col l ege 66 ROOSEVELT JOHNSONAckl yn Lynch Back Admni st rators andH gher EducationDepartmnt of Soci al Sci enceFederal Ci t y Col l e ge Washi ngton C Fl oyd McKi ssi ck LL. B 77 ROBERT CHRISMANPresi dent McKi ssi ck Enterpri ses NewYork


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ALGERS1969AREPORT ONTHE PAN AFRICANCULTUR L FESTIVAL

by N TH NH RE

N TH NH REwas t he f i r s t coor di nator o f bl acks t ud i e s pr ogr am i n t he country He on t he Adv i sory Counci l o f t he Nat i onal Conf er ence on Bl ackPower where most recent l y he was Chai rman o ft he Educat i on Commt tee Hare has wri t ten somes i x t y r t i l es andTheBl ack Angl o Saxons t o ent eri t s second pri nti ng i n December He r ecei ved t hePh D i n soci ol ogy f r om t he Uni versi t y of Chi cagoand an t i ve member o f t heNewYork Academyo f Sci ences He publ i sher of THE L CKSCHOL R

THE L CKSCHOL R NOVEM ER 1969


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THEREWASABATTLE I N ALGERS i n l at eJ u l y , wi t h l i g h t e r ski rm shes both ol dand new, and emer gi ng si gns o f st r uggl ewhi ch now l u r k ready t o boomerangar ound t he wor l d i n the year s (and mont hs)t o come The troops came t o g e t h e r , Af r i cangeneral s and f o o t s o l d i e r s i n t he war o fwor ds and p o l i t i c s t h a t spl ashed agai nstt he cal m water s of t he Medi t er r anean Seai n t he F i r s t PanAf r i can Cul t ural Fest i val-fromever ywher e i n gr eater number s thanever bef or e fromSan Fr anci sco t o Senegal ,f r omDakar t o t he D i s t r i c t of Col umbi a The c o n f l i c t was over whi ch course apotent i al l y uni f i ed Af r i ca coul d take t o-ward nat i onal and cont i nent al l i b e r a t i o n ,p a r t i c u l a r l y t he r o l e o f cul ture i n t he s t r u g -gl e f o r l i b e r a t i o n and i n s o c i a l and e c o -nom c deve l opment Whi ch, i n t he cont extof t h i n gs , r evol ves i n some pr esent l y i n-t r ansi gent way ar ound t he r e l a t i o n s hi p o fbl ack and whi t e r evol ut i onar i es Thoughant agoni st s centered t h e i r f i r e on t he ques-t i o n o f c ul t ur e , t he b a t t l e was r ecogni zedal l ar ound as 98 per cent p o l i t i c a l , andc l e a r l y hi nged at l a s t i n l ong and pass i on-at e debat e, pr i vat e and pub l i c , over t hef ut ur e di r ect i on of t he s t r ugg l e f or l i b e r a -t i o n on t he cont i nent and, i ndeed, t he en-t i r e wor l d HUNDREDSOFDELEGATES came f r om t h i r t y -one i ndependent Af r i can count r i es andr epr esent at i ves f r om s i x movement s f orAf r i can l i b e r a t i o n , f r om P a l e s t i n e t o An-gol a- Mozambi que and t he Congo- Br azza-v i l l e And there wer e Bl ack Pant her s and bl ack cubs and ol d l i o n s f r om t he Amer i -can cont i ngent Se c r e t l y e x i l e d El dr i dgeCl eaver chose t h i s occasi on t o r eveal hi swher eabout s , and expat r i at ed St okel y Car -m chael came wi t h hi s Sout h Af r i can- exi l edwi f e , M r i a m Makeba Kat hl een had herbaby dur i ng t he F e s t i v a l , and there wasPant her M ni st er of Cul t ur e, EmoryDoug-l a s s , i n t e r na t i o na l j a z z a r t i s t s , such as Ni naSi mone and Ar chi e Shepp, and J u l i a Her -vr e ( t h e l a t e Ri char d Wi ght s daught ernow i v i ng i n P a r i s ) Ler oi J ones ( whose passpor t had beenhel d up coul d not get o v e r , but thereTHE BLACKSCHOLAR NOVEMBER 969

wer e t he s er i o us and qui et l y char i smat i cyoung p o e t , DonL Lee Car m chael l i e u -t e n a n t s , Cour t l and Cox and Char l i e CobbPant her Chi ef of S t a f f , Davi d H i l l i a r d ,who had t o r et ur n t o t he Uni t ed S t a t e s be-f o r e t he f e s t i v a l was over t o t ake car e of ac r i s i s wi t h Chi cago pol i ce ; and t he com-pass i onat e bl ack Par i s i an p o e t , Ted J oans There were many young bl ack Amer i canswho had not been i n v i t e d , but who hadcared enough t o pi ece t oget her t h e i r ownf a r e ; i nc l udi ng Oakl and s Har r i et Sm t h,who, as of t h i s wr i t i ng, i s s t i l l i n Af r i catr avel i ng and l ect ur i ng Hoyt Ful l er of Negro D gest was there He had been a l so i n at t endance a t t heDakar F es t i v a l o f 1966 and s eemed p a r -t i c u l a r l y struck by t he c o n t r a s t i n t he t ypeof bl ack Amer i cans a t t he two f e s t i v a l s Dakar had col l ected t he most wel l - knowna r t i s t s and e nt e r t a i n er s , t he Duke E l l i n g -t ons and t he l i k e ; Al gi er s had attracted t henewbreed young m l i t a n t whet her those off ame, those on t he r i s e , or t hose yet t obegi n t he maki ng o f t h e i r names St udent s,of course, a l s o came, not abl y f r om SanFr anci sco S t a t e Col l ege, and others ar oundt he wor l d ( i ncl udi ng St o ke l y s c h i e f ai denowst udyi ng soci ol ogy i n Eur ope whosename oddl y s l i p s me a t t hemoment t houghI got t o knowand l i k e hi mwel l enoughbef or e l e f t t o gi ve himmy f a v o r i t e da-s h i k i ) and expat r i ated young Amer i cansf r om P a r i s , some o f whose names neverknew Li ke t h e i r Af r i can counterparts, theyhad j our neyed i n search o f newhopes f o rf r eedom t o a mos t appr opr i at e p l a c e, Al -g i e r s , Al ger i a- most f amous i n recent t i mesf o r t he r evol uti onar y overthrow o f a maj oroppr essi ve power AG ERs t he adopt ed home of t he l a t ebl ack Mar t i ni que ps yc hi a t r i s t , Frantz Fan-on , stands myst eri ousl y l i k e a quai nt andcompl ex ant h i l l al most i nhuman i n i t sa r c hi t e c t u r a l and natural beauty o v e r -l ooki ng the Medi t er r anean a t t he apex ofthe cont i nent of A f r i c a , t he cradl e of c i v i l -i z a t i o n On t he f i r s t ni ght of t he F e s t i v a l ,i t s s t r e e t s wer e f i l l e d wi t h mul t i - col or edbal l oons f l o a t i n g agai nst t he backgr ound of

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a g a i l y i l l um nated s k y , as t went y Af r i cancount r i es came t hr ough i n apar ade Gui neawas t he mos t appl auded, but there was f e l -l owshi p and ent er t ai nment f o r a l l f r omGui nean ba l l e t t o restr ai ned danci ng i n t hes t r e e t s The next day sawa somewhat d i f f e r e n tA l g i e r s , and what has been achi eved s i n c et he r e v ol ut i on , not al l of i t yet so good The ai r of cel ebrat i on cont i nued, but day-l i g h t r eveal ed, i n at l e a s t one maj or s e c -t i o n , pr oj ect housi ng t enement s as di l ap i -dated as any i n t he Uni t ed S t a t e s Essoservi ce s t a t i o n s appear ed, and S h e l l , andHertz, and Pepsi Col a and company) ;and t he French c o l o n i a l i s t s s l i ppi ng backi n predatory droves Some say that t he weakeni ng of c ul t u r a lr e s i s t a nc e has i ncr eased Al ger i an s u s c e p t i -b i l i t y t o t he r e - e n t r y of t he French andAmer i can i mpe r i a l i s t s And s o, there ar es i gn s of Al ger i an r e s i s t a n c e agai n on t heready r evol ut i onar y g r a f f i t i i n l a r g e peo-p l e s scraw on bui l di ngs, wal l s and f e n c e s ,and, p a r t i c u l a r l y , t he ol d pr e- r evol ut i onarysymbol of r e s i s t a n c e , t he hai k or v e i l )wornby so many of t he women Most oft he men, by c o n t r a s t , d r e s s i n Eur opean at -t i r e but they a l s o ar e i nf used w t h r evol u-t i onary fervor Besi des,

I n t he c o l o n i a l i s t program i t was t hewoman who was gi ven t he h i s t o r i c ms s i o no f shaki ng up t he Al ger i an man Conver t i ngt he woman w nni ng her over t o t he f ore i gnv al u e s , wr enchi ng her f r e e f r om her s t a t u s ,was a t t he same t i me achi evi ng a r e a l powerover t he man and at t ai ni ng a p r a c t i c a l , e f f e c -t i v e means o f dest ructur i ng Al ger i an cul t ure . lWth t he onsl aught of r e s i s t a n c e , t hewoman returns t o her t r a d i t i o n a l v al ue s , r e -t r e a t i n g i n t o t he i r r evocabl e sanctuary ofher ol d s oc i e t y s val ues, r ever si ng her r o l ei n t he c o l o n i a l i s t programNDET Al ger i an l eader s today seemrather mor e concerned w t h t he p i t f a l l s ofc ul t ur a l at t achment on t he par t of op-pressed peopl es They l ambast ed t he u l t r a -devot i on of many bl ack i n t e l l e c t u a l s t o j azzmusi c and bl ack a r t and ot her f or ms of f o l k l o r i c p r e s t i g e , and denounced Af r i canPAGE 4

i n t e l l e c t u a l s who ar e l i k ewse so f a s c i n a t e d ,who f a i l t o v i s u a l i z e a cert ai n s o l u t i o n f ort he p r e s e n t , and hol d on t o t he r e ac t i on -ar y theory of negr i t ude and t he excessi vec ul t o f a r evol ut i onar y past I f Af r i cansmus t l ean on t h e i r pas t , t h i s i s not t o regreta l o s t paradi se but t o recover i t i n order t oa s s e r t i t f u l l y today. 2Thi s was conspi cuousl y avi ew shared byLi byans and ot her Ar abi c and whi t e A f r i -can nati ons Even t he mos t un i v e r s a l -mnded bl ack l eader s and i n t e l l e c t u a l ss eemed much l e s s a f r a i d of any d i r e e f f e c t sof bl ack Af r i can nat i onal i sm t hough a de-bat e r aged t hr oughout t he symposi umandt he F es t i v a l bet ween t he more r evol ut i on-ar y bl ack Af r i cans and t he pr oponent s ofNegr i t ude - more about t h a t l a t e r The r evol ut i onary l eader f r om Angol a-Mozambi que f or exampl e, was unequi vo-c a l He spoke i n a c al m but emot i onalv oi c e , w t hout benef i t of any n o t e s , sayi ngt h a t t he l i b e r a l col oni zer al ways comeso v e r , at j us t t he moment when oppressedbl ack nati ons ar e achi evi ng a t akeof f i nr evol ut i onary consci ousness , t o i nt r oducet he dual i ty of whi t e- bl ack c ol l ab or a t i o n, t hus pr ol ongi ng t he debat e and di vi di ngt he f o r c e s of t he oppressed 5The r epr esent ati ve f r om Mozambi quewent on t o concede t h a t these endeavor son t he part of t he l i b e r a l col oni zer ar e al lal l r i g h t on t he s u r f a c e , i n t heor y, but t h a ta r evol ut i onary needs a s i n g u l a r i t y of pur -pose and has not enough t i me t o wr est l ew t h t he probl ems of assi m l at i ng h i s s t r ug -g l e However , he a l s o emphas i z ed t h a t c u l -t u r e mus t be b u i l t around st r uggl e Hewas1 Frantz Fanon ADyi ng Co l o ni a l i sm t r by HaakonCheval i er, NewYork: Grove Press, 1967, p 39

Quand tous l es a f r i cai ns se donnent l a mai n Al ge r i eActua l i te , semai ne du 20 au 26 j u i l l e t 1969, p 223 Fanonhas wri t t en of t he l atent revi val of rac i al f eel i ngsbetweenbl ack and whi t e Af r i c a Af r i c a i s di v i ded i n t oBl ackand Whi t e, and t he names that ar e subst i tu tedAf r i c a South of the Sahar a , Af r i c a North of the Sahara onot manage to hi de t hi s l a t ent racism See TheWetched of the Eart h, NewYork Grove Press, Ever -green Edi t i o n t r by Constnce Farr i ngt on) , p 161 I n t h i s regard, he corroborates the observat i on of aMarxi st Tuni s i an, Al ber t Memm The Col oni zer who

Ref used, The Col oni zer and t he Col oni zed, NewYork:Ori on Press, 1965 5 St oke l y Carmchael al s o has wr i t t en recent l y on t he wayl i beral oppressors tend t o represent t he l i a i s o n between

the oppressed and t he oppressor . See thepamphleton The P i t f a l l s of L ibera l i sm undated but current THEBLACKSCHOLAR NOVEMBER 1969


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one o f t he most appl auded speaker s i n t heconf er ence, t hough he was not al one Fromt he Vi ce Pr esi dent of t he Revol ut i onar yCounci l o f Congo- Br azzavi l l e a l s o came t hevi ew t h a tAf r i can cul ture i s a cul ture of combat , a

cul ture which i s f or ged i n af f r onti ng t he samepr obl ems, i n havi ng t he same cares I t i snecessary f o r us t o t o sur pass t hat which i scongeal ed We bel i eve i n and want t o marchf or war d t owar d moderni smBut t he most pe r s i s t e n t as ser t i o n t hatr evol ut i on i s t echni cal and economc, andmust encompass and connect , i t s e l f veryc l o s e l y w t h s c i e n t i f i c r a t i o n a l i t y and e co -nomc and s c i e n t i f i c di s c ov er i es , came f r omt he Al ger i an del egat i on, echoed once o r

t w c e by a Russi an del egat i on whi ch was,o f cour se, not an o f f i c i a l par t i ci pant i n t hesymposi um The Al ger i an l eader s went s of ar as t o say t hat t echni que opposes cul t ur eand t h a t whol e c i v i l i z a t i o n s have been s t e r -i l i z e d by t h ei r f ai l u r e t o appr eci at e t h a tone si mpl e f a c t Whi l e str uggl i ng f o r l i b e r a -t i o n , a peopl e must not gi veup s e l f buti t must l i s t e n t o t he wor l d .Yet bl ack del egates such as t he one f r omDahomey s p i r i t e d l y of f er ed a s i m l a r ap-pr eci at i on of t he i d ea l of pr ogr ess, f ear i ngt h a t there ot her w se mght r e s ul t a f r e e z -i ng of act i on and i deol ogy . The most ap-pl auded speaker o f t he e n t i r e symposi umhe hel d on t he one hand t h a t therecan beno peopl e w t hout a c u l t u r e , but i n t hesel f same br eat h a l s o i n s i s t e d t h a t there i sno soci et y whi ch does not change .

ONTHE PROPELLOR OF PROGRESS, Af r i ca i spr i mng i t s e l f f o r change, some c u l t u r a l ,some s c i e n t i f i c and ot her w se One hun-dr ed and t went y del egates r epr esent i ngmore t han t went y-f i ve count r i es met oneday and hel d a symposi umt o st udy peace-f u l u se s o f at omc ener gy f or t he economcdevel opment of t he i r c ount r i es , par t i c ul a r l yi n t he ar ea of agr i cul t ur e . They f ur t herpl anned a cer emony f or l ayi ng t he f i r s tst one o f a r egi onal nucl ear cent er . 7Sw ngi ng t he pendul um whi t e ( o r Ar ab)Af r i c an s , whi l e expr essi ng appr ehensi onst h a t r evol ut i onar y bl ack Af r i cans mght getTHEBLACKSCHOLAR NOVEMBER 1969

ent r apped by c ul t u r a l nat i onal i sm a l s o r e c -ogni zed pr ogr essi ve u se s of cul t ur e as ani nst r ument f o r l i b e r a t i o n i nst ead o f acrutch and more about t h a t l a t e r . Fort he moment Li bya, whi ch spends 27 o fi t s budget on educat i on ( the hi ghest i n t hewor l d) has , s i n c e i ndependence, s e t upmany c u l t u r a l c e n t e r s , about s i x t y cent er snow ( l i b r a r i e s , t h e a t e r s , sever al t hea t r i c alt r oupes and i n s t i t u t e s f o r musi c, i ncl udi ngf o l k t r oupes and f o l k studi es t owar d devel -opi ng nat i onal f o l k a r t ) . The pur pose ofsuch c u l t u r a l c e n t e r s , i n t he wor ds of t heLi byan del egate, i s t o r ai s e nati onal con-sci ousness .CONFLi cr s OVER cuLTVRE s i m l a r l y gr i ppedbl ack Amer i cans and was ostensi bl y at t hehear t of t he Stokel y- El dr i dge s p l i t whi cht r oubl ed t hem s o much mor e . Some hadcome t o t he F es t i v al i n par t t o hel p r esol veor at l eas t t o underst and t h a t cl eavage f i r s thand Onl y two or three o f t hem out o f t hedozens t h e r e , r egul ar l y at t ended t he symposi um at t he Pal ace of Nat i ons f o r onethi ng the t ax i f ar e was e i ght do l l ar s r oundt r i p unl ess you had u n l i k e l y access t o acar However , t he Pant her s, who had a c a r ,di d not at t end t he symposi a, concent r at i ngi nstead on a back- t o- t he- peopl e campai gnw t h t he Al ger i an popul ace t hrough Af r o-Amer i can Cul t ur al Cent er pr ogr ams andt he pr ess whi l e St okel y cour t ed t he Af r i canr evol ut i onar i es and F es t i v al del egates I got t he i mpr essi on t h a t bot h succeededr at her wel l i n what t hey wer e t r yi ng t o do,t h a t t hey wer e t ryi ng t o a t t a i n f unda-ment al l y t he same o bj ec t i v es t he l i ber a -t i o n f o r our peopl e but al ong r out est h a t wer e wor l ds apar t . They appear ed,t h e r e f o r e , t o have di vi ded up and made apact at l eas t on t h ei r t u r f . I never sawStokel y at t he Af r o- Amer i can Cent er and Inever saw El dr i dge at t he Pal ace o f Na-t i o n s Even at t he r e g i s t r a t i o n c e n t e r , I6 See A Dcti onary of the Soci al Sciences Free P r e s s ofGl encoe, 1964 p 544 45 f o r a d i s c u s s i o n of t h e r e l a -t i o n s h i p bet ween t he growth of b e l i e f i n t h e i d e a of

p r o g r e s s and r e v o l u t i o n a r y advances i n s c i e n t i f i c i n q u i r y See a l s o F r a n t z Fanon, The Al ger i an War an d Man sL i b e r a t i o n i n Toward the Afr i can Revoluti on t r byHaakon C h e v a l i e r New Y o r k : G r ove P r e s s 1967 pp144 497 El moudi ahi d 29 j u i l l e t 1969 p 1

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noted t h a t t he Pant her s and most of t h e i rai des wer e housed i n t he Hot el A l l e t t iwhi l e what Pant her s c a l l t he c u l t u r a l na-t i o n a l i s t s a te rmnowt oo l oaded t o havec l ear meani ng) wer e i n t he Hot el St .Geor ge

Wt h i n hour s a f t e r my a r r i v a l wasseated at an out door di ni ng t abl e whenEl dr i dge appear ed andgr eet edme ThoughI knewKat hl een, I had never actual l y metEl dr i dge bef or e He t o l d of t he Af r o- Amer i -can Cul t ur al Cent er and i nvi tedme t o dropby I woul d o f course be pl eased t o do so El dr i dge then l e f t my t a bl e ; and, when f i n a l l y got up t o go sawhimand Stokel ys i t t i n g i n avery pr i vat e andser i ous huddl e hey appear ed as ol d f r i ends or betterye t as est r anged spouses i n a de l i ber -a t e l y subdued quarrel s a i d he l l o t oSt okel y as passed by, havi ng knownhimas a st udent at Howard Uni ver si t y i n t hedays of t he passi ve r e s i s t a n c e movement ,and soon f e l l i n t o conver sat i on w t h someother bl ack Amer i cans Som whi l e l at e rSt okel y cam up and i nvi ted me t o t het a bl e where Makeba anda por t i on o f t h ei rent our age were seated I asked hi mwhathe was up t o these days and he r espondedi n a way t h a t most bl ack Amer i cans overthere f ound convi nci ng, es pec i a l l y as theygrew al i enat ed f r om t he Panthers, l ar gel ybecause o f t he pr omnence and arroganceof t he whi t es i n t he Pant her oper at i ons Thi s i ncl uded t he Af r o- Amer i can Cul t ur alCent er , whi ch some bl ack Amer i cans even-t u a l l y came t o c a l l t he Pant her Lai r . Theother bl ack Amer i cans compl ai ned of Pan-ther h o s t i l i t y and di s t a nc e and t he Pan-t h e r s compl ai ned that t he bl ack Amer i cansdi d not f r equent t he Center, usual l y over-f l owng w t h Al ger i an ent husi asts f r omt hes t r e e t The r e l a t i o n s h i p of bl ack Amer i cansand t he Pant her s was changi ng f or t hebetter i n t he l a s t days of t he F e s t i v a l buti t hadstarted t oo l a t e t o domchgood Li ke most bl ack Amer i cans, I t o o hadcom w t h some hope o f uni f yi ng thosetwo forces w t h i n our s t r u gg l e t hough be-i ngmre f a m l i a r than most w t h t he deepand f ar - reachi ng sources of t he s p l i t someof whi ch wi l l be expl ored l a t e r was con-PAGE

si der abl y l e s s opt i mst i c . ut I t o o hadsome mssi ng l i n k s t o connect and waspl eased t o have, i n any c a s e an e s s en t i a lf i rsthand communi cat i on Though r evol u-t i o n a r i e s not accust omed t o t he search f ora mddl e ground, most bl ack Amer i cansseemed t o t a l l y caught o f f guar d and, whent h ei r r epeat ed e f f o r t s mer el y t o get t hetwo t ogether f o r a subsequent t a l k c o n -t i nued t o f a l l t hr ough, became qui t e natur-a l l y di smayed . hey expr essed strong f e a r so f a comng bl ood bath w t h i n t he move-ment Som soon di scover ed and comp-l ai ned t h a t there i s no mddl e groundanymor e .THE SEARCHFORGROUND or l and ) i sj us t what separates El dr i dge, a Mar xi st -Leni ni st who s t r e s s e s c l a s s above c o l o rf r om St o k el y who be l i ev es t he mat t er oneof both c l a s s and col or and hopes t o ob-t a i n a l and base f o r bl ack Amer i cans byhel pi ng t o get Nkrumh back t o GhanaThi s l and- base woul d then have t he samerel at i onshi p t o bl ack Amer i cans as I s r aelnowhas t o Amer i can J ews I n contrast t oEl dr i dge, Stokel y chooses t he Pal esti nel i b e r a t i o n mvemnt over I s r a e l Af r i caover t he Thi r d Wor l d, and Pek i ng overMoscow I t i s not easy t o subs ume suchf ar- reachi ng mat t ers under t he umbrel l a o fcul t ur e al one And s o i t was i nevi t abl e that al l f a c -t i o n s of t he bl ack Amer i can cont i ngent , l i k et he Af r i can del egati on, woul d r e l a t e t o c ul -t u r e i n an ambi val ent way One i nst ancetook pl ace at a panel di scussi on put on byt he Panthers at t he Af r o- Amer i can Cul t ur alCent er . was t o have been a par t i ci pantbut was away f r om t he hot el al l day at -t endi ng t he Fest i val symposi umand mssedt he message l e f t there f o r me Later di dobt ai n a compl et e t ape of t he panel d i s -c u s s i o n whi ch was ki cked o f f by EmoryDougl ass, Mi ni st er of Cul t ur e f or t he Bl ackPant her Party Emory ear l y as s er t ed thatt he onl y cul t ure wor t h keepi ng i s a r evol u-t i onar y cul t ure and denounced c u l t u r a lnat i onal i sm as a bour geoi s concept hePanthers wer e popul ar w t h t he young Al -ger i ans who seemed consi der abl y t o ad-

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m re bl ack Amer i cans i n general We soonl ear ned t o say pouvoi r n o i r ( bl ack power )t o t a x i - d r i v e r s , who coul d t e l l , f r om ourski n col or and French, t h a t we wer e bl ackAmer i cans Thus we coul d avoi d ot herw sef r equent over chargi ng, or even obt ai n al ong f r e e r i de Anyway El dr i dge Cl eaver spoke, andt he di al ogue began He began by t e l l i n g ofa c a l l t hat mor ni ng f rom Bl ack Pant herChai r man Bobby Seal e about har assmentand per secut i on o f fe l low Pant her s backhome, i nvi t ed di al ogue and s a t downThen a young Al ger i an stood and en-gaged El dr i dge i n a l ong debat e . Hewascareful t o poi nt out t h a t he hadnot come

t o deni gr at e t he Bl ack Pant her s butwant ed t o r a i s e , f o r c l a r i f i c a t i o n , somequest i ons o f pri nci pl es . I t was hi s vi ewt h a t t he Pant her s shoul d shun p a r t i c i p a -t i o n i n t he worl d o f publ i ci t y and t he c ul t of per sonal i t y . He further was d i s -t ur bed by Pant her program i t em 6-whi ch reads Wewant al l bl ackmen t o beexempt f r omm l i t a r y s er v i c e on gr oundst hat i t excl uded other per sons i n t he Uni t edS t a t e s whomay oppose t he war . Cl eaverdef ended on grounds t h a t , t hough t heyknew t h a t persons and cat egor i es ot hert han bl acks are oppressed i n t he Uni t edS t a t e s , t he Pant her programwas bei ng ad-dressed s p e c i f i c a l l y t o bl a c ks , t h a t we notonl y have t o attack and f i g h t agai nst c ap i -t a l i sm but a l s o agai nst t he s p e c i f i c pol i cyof raci smt hey used agai nst us . TheyoungAl ger i an t hen caut i oned agai nst f a l l i n g i n t o t he trap t h at s been s e t f o r us by t he op-p r e s s o r s Then t he i n t e r p r e t e r , J u l i a Hervre,daught er of t he l a t e Ri chard W i ght , spoke j us t f or once on her own

I want t o t a l k t o you about Mal col mX,about a t r i p hemade t o Ghana and about ani nt ervi ewhe gave t o t he Al ger i an ambassadort o Ghana, whoasked hi mt o expl ai n t he s i t u a -t i o n i n t he Uni t ed S t a t e s , wh ch he di d TheAmbassador then asked h m t h i s quest i on `You s e e , Mal col m I suffered ; you s e e , Mal -col m I st ruggl ed ; and I was hurt But a f t e rhavi ng st ruggl ed and waged t he b a t t l e , yous t i l l l ooked a t me a s a whi t e man WhereMal col m do I st and i n your t heory o f bl ackrevol ut i on? [ appl ause] `You s e e , Ambassador ,Mal col mrepl i ed and t h i s has never beenTHE BL CKSCHOL R NOVEMBER1969

publ i shed but shoul d i n actual f a c t be pub-l i shed - he r e p l i e d , ` I v e been on t h i s con-t i nent nowf o r three or four months and i ti s t he f i r s t t i me t h a t I have no l onger used avery narrow t erm nol ogy o f bl ack nat i onal i smAnd t hat i s whywe t oday o f t he Bl ack Pant herParty whow sh t o be s p i r i t u a l h e i r s t o Mal -col m X, no l onger use t he narrow term ` b l a c knat i onal i smTheAl ger i an spokesman t hen ended t heexchange by sayi ng t h a t hi s group support st he str uggl e of t he bl ack peopl e i n t heUni t ed St at es , o f al l peopl e there s t r u g-gl i ng agai nst t he c a p i t a l i s t system commended t he courage of t he Bl ack Pant her sagai nst pol i ce oppressi on, and expl ai nedagai n t h a t t he quest i ons had onl y beenrai sed t o c l a r i f y what t he r e a l s i t u a t i o n

i n t h a t count r y i s and t he pr ogr ams o f t hebl ack organi zat i ons r epresent ed on t her ound- t abl e panel The quest i ons he rai sed and t he panel -i s t s comment ar y r e f l e c t e d t he currentgropi ng among revol ut i onar i es and ot heroppressed per sons i n Amer i ca and aroundt he worl d f or a s o l u t i o n t o t h e i r pl i ght Andi t was a l s o apparent t h a t there e x i s t s noi deol ogi cal c l a r i t y on anybody s part H DT NOTBEENf or t he s t r i c t l y f ormal -i zed structure and po l i c i e s o f t he symposi ahel d by t he Organi zat i on of Af r i can Uni t y,whi ch was sponsor i ng t he F e s t i v a l , t he e x -changes i n t he Pal ace o f Nat i ons mosts u r e l y woul d have been more s p i r i t e d and,f requent l y I am a f r a i d , consi derabl y l e s sf r i e n d l y . There t he r o o t s of c o n f l i c t s t r e t c hf a r t h e r back t hr ough t he years and, t o somee x t e n t , had generat i onal over t ones, or atl e a s t ref l ected t he anachr oni sms of a t l e a s tt wo e r a s , f i r e d by further d i v i s i o n bet weenconformst and r e v o l u t i o n i s t The c r u c i a l debat e i n t he Pal ace o f Na-t i o n s was t h a t o f t he f u t u r e , i f any, ofNegr i t ude I n Al ger i a t he debat e waski cked o f f by l eadi ng Negr i t ude t h e o r e t i -c i a n , Leopol d Senghor, who, r i s i n g abovet he conf i nes of Negr i t ude i t s e l f a s wel l asi t s fe l l ow t r a v e l e r , Arabi t y, cont ended t h a t8 For a d i s c u s s i o n o f t he c o n f l i c t over Negr i t ude i n t hee a r l y years o f t he Organi zati on o f Afr i can Uni t y, s e eB Bourt ros- Ghal i , La p e r s o n a l i t e a f r i c a i n e , L Or ganl -zat i on de I Uni t6 Af ri cai ne, Pari s L i b r a i r i e ArmandCo l i n , 1969, pp 28- 64.

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Af ri cani ty i s the thi ngwhi ch cuts acrossthe Fest i val the perenni al di al ogue be-tween Arabo-Berber and Negro-Afri cans,i t i s the symbi osi s of two compl ementaryethni ci ti es . He supported hi s vi ewwthl audatory accounts of howancient Af ri cagave bi r th t o the f i r s t human bei ngs i t shi gh ci vi l i zati ons, and harked back t o thecl assi cal monuments of anci ent Egypt Hewas not l ong i n comng under attack

Sekou Toure, whobel i eves that the cl asswar has been weakened by some effortst o set forth the i dea of cul t ural pl ural i smwarned fel l owAf ri can l eaders of whateverrank, who woul d l ead thei r peopl e t o aj ust combat, never t o permt the f al seconcepts of Negri tude t o gui de them9 Thepitfa l ls of Negri tude were once anal yzedat l ength by the l a te Frantz Fanon, and hewas much al i ve i n the debate i n Al gi ers,where he i s hi ghl y revered i ndeed wth acol l ege, a street and other enti ti es nowbeari ng hi s name Cab dri vers and wai terscan quote and cl i ng t o hi s words Therewas a l ong f eature st ory on hi mand aphoto i n the dai l y paper duri ng the f esti val

Fanon recogni zi ng st ages i n the devel -opment of the revol uti onary i ntel l ectual ,pl aced Negri tude i n the second stage, as areacti on agai nst the f i r s t stage of r evol u-ti on, and whi ch typi cal l y hampered ther evol ut i onary s l eap i nto the thi rd, the stageof actual combat Negri tude, on the con-trary, permtted an escape i nto excessi vegl or i f i cat i on of the past and the tr adi ti onal ,both i n terms of val ues and i n costumesworn and general wayof l i f e ; so that onefound di f f i cul t y i n i ncorporati ng the tech-ni ques of the present and the future or i nturni ng them ef f ecti vel y agai nst the op-pressor At that point i n the conf ront at i on,Negri tude contr ari l y becomes a l i teratureof mysti ci sm Fanon s poi nt of vi ew wasechoedby manybl ackAfri can del egates t othe A geri an Fest i val 0

St ani sl as Adotevi the del egate f romDahomey, est abl i shed a theory of mel an-i sm on grounds that there i s no cul tureseparated f roml i f e that the batt l e for c l l -ture i s the batt l e for pol i ti cal l i f e . Fanontoo, f or hi s part, had poi nted out i n hi sPAGE

earl y work that a t r ue cul t ure of op-pressed peopl es coul d not come t o l i f eunder oppressedcondi t i ons, that the fetterswoul d have t o be wthdrawn before thetrue attainments of a cul ture coul d beknown12

Those cri ti cal of Negri tude l ooked tocul ture as an i deol ogi cal weapon, poi nti ngt o the fai l ure of Negri tude up t o now nthe sei zure of Af ri can consci ousness Theconcept i n thei r vi ew amounted t o a col -l aborati on wth col oni al i sm l eavi ng thematter of oppressi on and l i berat i on i n thereal mof mysti f i cat i on, host i l e therefore toeven the cul t ur al devel opment of Af r i ca FromTanzani a came the vi ew that i t i simpossi bl e t o devel op an Af ri can cul turewthout f reedom 13Hai ti an poet now i vi ng i n Cuba al sotookup the cry agai nst Negri tude, prai si ngthe del egates f romthe Congo-Brazzavi l l e,Gui nea, Al geri a and thevari ous r evol ut i on-ary movements f or taki ng si m l ar st ands He summari zed the search for i dent i ty i nthe f ormul a Wemake the r evol ut i on,t heref ore we exi st . Andhe poi nted t o hi sf at her l and, Hai t i , as wel l as a number ofAfri can count r i es, f or exampl es of Negri -tude-ori ented di ctat ors who themel veswere enemes of l i berat i on Negri tude al sowi l l be r evol ut i onar y, he concl uded, ori t wi l l not be 1 4Therewas conf l i ct, however, i n themnds

of some revol ut i onary Af ri can l eaders whowshed not t o di scard the gl ori es of thei rpeopl e s troubl ed past yet l onged t o moveahead i nto anewgenerati on of bl ackmenon the r i se Thesol ut i on f or them as i n thecase of the vi ce- pr esi dent of the Revol u-t i onary Counci l of the Congo-Brazzavi l l e,was to take the best f romboth thei r own9 El moudjahi d, 23 j ui l l e t 1969 p 2

10 See On Nati onal Cul ture, The Wetched of theEarth, t r by Constance Farri ngton, NewYork GrovePress Evergreen Edi ti on 1968 pp 206-248 11 E moudjahid, 27-28 J u i l l e t 1969 p 7 12 B ack Ski n Wi te Mask, t r by Charl es LamMark-mann, NewYork Grove Press 1967 p 18713 C Fanon, I bi d 14 E moudjahid, 29 j ui l l e t 1969 p 3 See MohamedAzi z Lahbabi , Li bertJ ou l i berat i on?, Pari s Aubi er,1956 for an anal ysis of the f requent conf l i cts betweenl i ber ty and l i berat i on

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past and t he modern wor l d and l eave t her e s t behi nd .After a l l was s a i d and done by t heyounger c r i t i c s o f Negr i t ude, t he Mi ni st ero f Educat i on and Cul t ur e of Senegal an-g r i l y rebut t ed t he attacks He f r e e l y ad-mt t ed hi s f e a r s t h a t t he c ul t u r a l symposi um m ght r un t he r i s k of becom ng a p ol i t i c a l f or um He admtted a s wel l t h a twe Af ri cans mus t move beyond t he stagewher e we go on s t a t i n g t h a t our cul t uredoes e x i s t and observed t h a t s ome a s -pect s o f t he cul t ure under quest i on w i l lchange a s obj ect i ve condi t i ons change But he was adamant no l e s s i n hi s t enaci ousa l l e g a t i o n t h a t there i s i ndeed a geographyo f Negr i t ude i n t h a t Negroes are d i s -t i ngui shed by cert ai n p a r t i c u l a r i t i e s andval ues by whi ch t hey l i v e wherever t heyare f ound He was appl auded when heof f ered support f o r P a l e s t i n e and s a i d t h a tNegr i t ude does not prevent Li byans, Al -g e r i a n s , and ot hers f rom part i ci pat i ng i nAf ri can Uni t y

XCEPTIONwas made f or a represent a-t i v e o f t he Pal esti ni an Movement Al F a t h )who, t hough not amember of t he Organi -zat i on of Af ri can Uni t y, was al l owed t ospeak He was greet ed by heavy appl ausewhen he came t o t he stand He hel d t h a tt her e ar e onl y two worl ds - - col oni al i smand t yranny a s agai ns t the f orces of f r e e -domTo hi mAfr ica i s more than a c o n t i -nent ; i n f a c t , i t i s on t he same p o l i t i c a l mapw t h Pal est i ne He charged t h a t Bri ta i n andZi oni st f orces have uni t ed agai nst hi s peo-pl e exactl y a s t he i mpe r i a l i s t s have donei n Rhodesi a and Sout h Afr ica On anot heroccasi on he had suggest ed t h a t Russ i a t o o ,because of t he whi t e a l l i a n c e , i s i n concer tw t h and happy over t he s t a t e o f I s r a e l .Br i t ai n, i n hi s a na l y s i s , i s protect i ng I anSm t h j u s t as t he Uni t ed S t a t e s i s p r o t e c t -i ng I s r a e l , because econom c r e l a t i o n s h i p sw t h Sout h Afr ica and I s r a e l l ed t o c l o s er e l a t i o n s h i p s i n al l aspects.

Af r i can brot her s, our s t or y , Pa l e s t i n e , i syour s t or y i n Af r i ca They came t o our coun-t r y a s t he whi t e r a c i s t s came t o your s ; andwet r i e d , a s you have t r i e d , t o l i v e w t h themTHEBL CKSCHOL R NOVEMBER969

i n t he same s t a t e , under t he embl emof l awand peace But t hey want , a s t he whi t e m nor-i t y i n Af r i c a , t o establ i sh a purel y r a c i s tr egi me t o our det r i ment Thi s ki ndl ed t he revol ut i onary s e n t i -ment s among t he Af r i can del egat es a s t heyr et urned t o c u l t u r a l consi derat i ons number o f t hem had al r eady endorsed t henecessi t y f or armed st ruggl e ; and t he de l e -gat e f rom Tanzani a was onl y one of t hoset o wn appl ause when he r emar ked t h a t f r eedom w i l l onl y be wonby t he gunandt he bu l l e t T FL MSOF REVOLUTION wer e h o t t e rs t i l l i n t he hearts o f t he Pan Af r i can Movement f or Yout h Ear l y i n t he F e s t i v a l , t heyout h had been rather suspi ci ous of t h e i rrevol ut i onary e l de r s and t ook pai ns a t oncet o see that s o l u t i o ns [ com ng out of t heF e s t i v a l ] conf orm t o t he aspi rat i ons o f t heyout h They wat ched i mpat i ent l y t he t o o -ready accept ance of neo- col oni al i st dom -nat i on and i mperi al i st aggressi on onAf r i c a s i mmense l and and r i c h e s . And t heyspoke of a newresi st ance on t he r i s e t o parry and t h r u s t agai nst c o l o ni a l con-s p i r a c i e s on t he m l i t a r y , p o l i t i c a l andeconom c pl ane rather more t han on t hec u l t u r a l .I n t he end t h e i r Execut i ve Comm t t eehel d a p r e s s conf erence and condemnedt he at t empt a t secessi on i n Afr ica and con-grat ul ated t hose gover nment s wor ki ng f ornat i onal uni t y and soci o- econom c pr omo-t i o n o f t h e i r peopl e 1 6 They a l s o sal ut edarmed st ruggl e f or na t i o na l l i b e r a t i o nwherever i t i s occurr i ng, denounced ai dgi ven by N TO and ot her i mpe r i a l i s tpower s t o preserve t he s t a t u s quo, andurged mor al pressure f r om Af r i can s t a t e sand progressi ve peopl es around t he wor l dagai nst i mpe r i a l i s t s power s t o f o r c e themt o ha l t i mpe r i a l i s t i c ai d t o oppressi ve gov-ernment s Support was r e i t e r a t e d f or t he peopl es o fAngol a, Gui nee- Bi ss ao and I s l e s o f Cape15 The i s s u e o f Zi o ni s t a ggr e s s i o n was r a i s e d i n OA. U a f f a i r s by Gamal Abdel Nasser, t he Conf erence ofCasabl anca) a s e a r l y a s 1961 Bourt ros- Ghal i , op c i t .pp 83 , 84 16 El Moudfahid 31 j u i l l e t 1969, p 1

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Ver de Mozambi que Nai bi e Sout h A f r i c a ,Zimbabwe and t he Uni t ed Ar ab Republ i c They sal ut ed t he r evol ut i onar y and l i b e r a lmovements i n t he Sudan and bes t owedcondemnat i on on at t empts t o overthrowpr ogressi ve r egi mes i n A f r i c a , not abl y i nt he Sudan and i n Gui nea The yout h a l s osuppor ted the Lati n Amer i can st r uggl esand showed s o l i d a r i t y w th t he popul arr e s i s t a nc e t o i nt er f er ence i n t he i n t e r n al af -f a i r s of t h e i r s t a t e s by i mper i a l i s t power s I n t he M ddl e East they r e i t e r a t e d s o l i -dari ty and suppor t t o t he Pa l e s t i ne Revo-l u t i o n , Al - F at h , and ur ged t he w t hdr awalof Z i o n i s t occupyi ng t r oops . Andthey ap-pl auded of cour se t he r evol ut i onar y p r o -v i s i o na l gover nment of Sout h Vi etnamwhi ch they r ecogni zed as a new phase i nt he s t r uggl e agai nst ne o - c ol on i a l i s t US aggr essi on F i n a l l y , t he Execut i ve Commttee af f i rmed t he n ec es s i t y f o r i n t e n s i f y -i ng i t s ac t i on , i n t he i mmedi ate f ormat i onof young Af r i can cadres and f ormed acommssi on t o devel op and bui l d a con-c r e t e pr ogr amt oward t hat v i t a l endI t was l e f t onl y t o Al ger i an Presi dentBoumedi enne t o say t h a t :

The wor l d has di scovered t h a t despi te t het r agedi es o f s l a ve r y , e x i l e , t r anspor tat i on ordepers onal i zat i on Af r i ca succeeded i n p r e -servi ng i t s d i gn i t y , i t s s p i r i t , i t s s e n s i t i v i t y

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AOF THS WRI TI NG however t he unf or -t unat e f a c t r emai ns t h a t al l o f t hat has notbeen qui t e enough The f i r s t Pan- Af r i can Cul tur al F es t i v alshowed Af ri ca on t he verge of f i ndi ng at

l a s t what ever e l s e i s needed The peopl ethere began i n t he t en days of t he F e s t i v a l ,t o t a c k l e t he pr obl em they f a c e , but theyf a i l e d t o f i nd a common sol ut i on as t hesymposi um commt t ees br oke down i nheat ed di scussi ons f a r i n t o t he ni ght

For one t h i n g, t he Af r i can peopl e on t hecont i nent and i n Amer i ca ar e s t i l l s u f f e r -i ng f rom t he i nf l uence and i nt er vent i on ofwest er n l i b e r a l s and t hus have onl yf eebl y begun t he c l a r i f i c a t i o n of t he usesand msuses of cul ture i n t he st r uggl e f o rl i b e r a t i o n Bef or e there i s c l a r i t y , bef or ethere i s a t r u e and e f f e c t i v e i deol ogy therehas t o be extensi ve and s e r i o us debat e But there a l s o cannot be any f undament aldi scussi on o f cul t ur e i t was c l e ar f romt he Festy al - unl ess economc s o c i a l ,p o l i t i c a l and other t o p i c s a l s o have becomec l e ar When once t h i s i s done Af ri ca mayno l onger stand dar kl y honor ed as si mpl ythe cradl e o f c i v i l i z a t i o n , but t he cradl eo f f r eedom per haps and br ot herhoodand peace as wel l

The Af r i can every t e r r i t o r y of t h i s va s t cont i nent has been awakened andthe st ruggl e f or f r eedomw i l l goon I t i s our duty as the vanguard f or ce to o f f e rwhat ass i st ance we can t o those now engaged t he bat t l e t h a t we our sel veshave f ought and won Our t a s k i s not done and our own saf ety i s not assur edu n t i l t he l a s t v es t i g es of col oni al i sm have been swept f rom A f r i c a

KWAMENKRUMAHf rom Ghana The Aut obi ogr aphy o f Kwame krumah



13/92

DALECTICAL PPRO CHTOCULTURE

THE P THOF TRIBULATIONS undergoneby t he concept of cul t ure i s t oday,l ong i ndeed The opi ni ons of comm t t eeso f i n t e l l e c t u a l s cancel each ot her out i n as t e r i l e d i a l e c t i c ; vari ous symposi a bri ngi ncomprehensi on and a hol l ow humani smi n t o a t i m d encount er w t h h i s t o r i c a l t r u t hand t he progressi ve det erm nat i on o f manup agai nst t he g r e a t e s t cal amt y known t ohi story i mper i a l i smI n count r i es where a c a p i t a l i s t r egi mei s o l a t e s t he general popul ace f rom s c i e n-t i f i c and t echni cal at t ai nment s, t he i n t e l l e c -t u a l f i g h t s t o ret ai n h i s f a l s e f r eedomand quest i ons hi msel f i n vai n about t hef ut ure of a decadent econom c and s o c i a ls t r u c t u r e He i s he l p l e s s He somehowcon-s t r u c t s a c u l t u r a l pol i cy i n an at t empt t ost rengt hen a soci et y whose upheaval s ar et he undeni abl e sympt oms of degenerat i on,and i nst ead o f usi ng t he f aded l i g h t of h i spoor aut ocrati c reason t o seek a new c u l -t u r a l consci ence, he s i n k s i n t o scept i ci smor , r a t h e r , i n t o t he t e r r o r o f a f ut ure over-shadowed by capi t a l i smEuropean t rends have dom nat ed t hest udy of c u l t u r a l probl ems i n Af r i ca Fora l ong t i me l a t t e r - d a y Angl o- Saxon ant hro-pol ogy, concerned w t h j u s t i f y i n g t he r e -SEKou ToupE i s t he Presi dent o f t he Republ i c o fGui nea and one o f A f r i c a ' s most em nent revol u-t i onary t h i n ke r s Wen KwameNkrumah was de-posed i n Ghana, Toure gave hi mp o l i t i c a l asyl umTHE BL CKSCHOL R NOVEMBER 969

by S EKOUTOURSact i onary i d ea s of c o l o n i a l i s m c i t ed Af r i caas t he home of backwar d peopl es whoshoul d be f or ced t o accept c o l o n i a l i s t hu-mani t ari an c i v i l i z a t i o n Hi st or y has shown t h a t revol ut i onarymat ur i t y cannot be t he obj ect of an e di c twhi ch i mper i a l i sm woul d, i n any c a s e ,never s i gn he Angl o- Saxon school oft hought al l owed f o r a pseudo- real i smwor t hy of Hume' s successors a pseudo-real i sm t he react i onary i deol ogi cal cont ento f whi ch was soon t o be exposed Vi e r -kandt ' s d i s c i p l e s , c ul t u r a l i s t s such asGr abner and Ankermann, and f unc t i o na l -i s t s l i k e Mal i nowski , bel i eved t hey haddi scovered t he ba s i s o f our cul t ure Thei rempi ri ci sm and i t s hat red of h i s t o r i c a l mat e r i a l i s m produced a f l ood of d i s j o i n t e dmonogr aphs i n whi ch t he c l a s s war and t hei mpe r i a l i s t ' s e x p l o i t a t i o n o f our peopl eswere deni ed and r educed t o an a n t i - s c i e n -t i f i c c u l t u r a l pl ural i smCHAEOLOGSTs pi ckaxes had evi dent l ynot reached t he Af r i can cul t ure whi ch l ayt oo deepl y bur i ed under t he i r r emovabl eheap of d i r t , l e f t behi nd by t he c o l o n i a l i s t s ,whi ch our peopl es have nowsucceeded i nuncoveri ng The anxi et y t o e x t r i c a t e ana u t h e n t i c i t y whi ch i s f o r obvi ous r e a s o n s ,i ndi scoverabl e, gave r i s e t o a f a i r l y accur-ate represent at i on o f prel ogi sm of Levy-Bruhl , whowas al ready bl i ndl I n any casethere i s no di f f erence o f concept bet ween

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t he bl ackmanunawar e o f t he l o g i c a l c a t e -go r i es of t he c l as s i c al worl d on t he onehand, and t he i dea o f t he e s s e n t i a l l y s en s i -t i v e bl ack man as a s o r t o f p as s i v e waxc r e a t u r e onl y f i t t o remai n at a pr i maryi n t u i t i v e l e vel i n hi s percept i on of t he o u t -s i d e wor l d, on t he other Thus i t i s no acci dent t h a t Af r i can s t a t e ss t i l l have t o dedi cat e a symposi umt o at opi c such as t h a t whi ch uni t es us t oday Af r i can cul t ure and i t s r e a l i t i e s Wer e c a l lt h a t t went y years agomanypages wer e de-voted t o anot her t opi c whi ch at t h a t t i meseemed provocat i ve and t h a t was , bl ackman i s a human bei ng I t has becomet oday our h i s t o r i c a l dut y t o r e - e s t a b l i s hours el ves i n a f i e l d such as c ul t u r e becausewe are emergi ng f rom a l ong peri od o fe c l i p s e dur i ng whi ch t he mos t el ement aryat t r i but e s of man, not abl y t h a t of hi s c r e a -t i v i t y wer e contested and deni ed t o us

Accordi ng t o a wel l - nur t ured p r e j u di c eAf ri cans took no p a r t i n t he general t a s kof shapi ng c i v i l i z a t i o n Af r i ca i s accusedo f bei ng w t hout h i s t o r y and w t hout c ul -t u r e because i t was necessary t h a t t h i s bes o Europeans sl aught ered Amer i can I n-di ans whi l e at t he same t i me adm ri ng t h e i rt empl es and pal aces They admtted t h a tthey massacr ed t he men t o take over t h e i rl and Wth t h e i r conquest s and domnat i on,Europeans dest royed ml l enni al c i v i l i z a -t i o n s i n As i a but they never deni ed t heexi st ence of t hes e c i v i l i z a t i o n s as s u c h andnever contested t he qual i t y of t h e i r c r a f t s -manshi p and t h e i r human at t r i but e s

Concer ni ng A f r i c a Europe s f i r s t noti onwas not t o extermnate t he men w t h t hes o l e i dea of s e i z i n g t h e i r t r e a s u r e s but t ot r e a t them as beast s t o be s o l d i n t o sl averyand as they pl eased, s o l d on t he s pot or ex-port ed t o Amer i ca, or even k i l l e d whent h e i r c a p a b i l i t i e s and s e l l i n g p r i c e nol onger assured an adequat e p r o f i t To guarant ee t he success of such a ven-t u r e a prel i mnary s t e p was necessary t h a t o f easi ng o n e s consci ence and reas-suri ng onesel f by t hi nki ng t h a t i t was aques t i on of deal i ng w t h beast s and nothumanbei ngs Hence t he al l eged barbari t yPAGE 1

o f Af ri cans and t he deni al of t h e i r cul t ureand c i v i l i z a t i o n gave b i r t h t o t h e i r est range-ment f r om t he humanrace But t i me di d not s t o p and progress con-t i nued t o st rengt hen i n t he f ace of opposi -

t i o n and e x p l o i t a t i o n More at t ent i on waspai d t o t he l egends, t he epi c poem andt he t a l e s passed by word o f muth f r omgenerat i on t o generat i on o f t he Gr i ot s Archaeol ogy f i n a l l y penet rat ed t he var i ouscont i nent s, t hrust i ng deep i n t o t he dept hsof hi story and t he s o i l s o as t o revi ve andbri ng t o t he surf ace t he remai ns o f en -tombed c ul t ur e s

I n f a c t even w t hout archaeol ogi cal r e-search and t he t a l e s o f t he G r i o t s ordi narycommn sense was adequat e t o r e a l i z e t heabsurdi t y or rather t he cl ass- consci ousnesso f those whomanaged t o i magi ne a c u l -t u r e l e s s peopl e By c ul t ur e we under s t and al l t he mat e-

r i a l and i mmat er i al wor ks of a r t and s c i -ence, p l u s know edge, manner s, educat i on,a mde o f t hought , behavi or and a t t i t u de saccumul at ed by t he peopl e bot h t hroughandby v i r t u e of t h e i r st ruggl e f o r f reedomf r om t he hol d and domni on o f nature ; wea l s o i ncl ude t he r es ul t o f t h e i r e f f o r t s t odes t r oy t he d e v i a t i o n i s t p o l i t i c s s o ci a lsys t ems of domnat i on and e x pl o i t a t i o nt hrough t he producti ve process o f s o ci a ll i f e Thus cul t ure st ands reveal ed as both anexcl usi ve c r e a t i o n of t he peopl e and asource o f c r e at i o n as an i ns t rument ofsoci o- economc l i b e r a t i o n and as one o fdomnat i on Cul t ure i mpl i es our st ruggl e i t i s ourst ruggl e

Cul t ure as bot h t he expressi on and t her e s u l t of t he r e l a t i o ns hi p s bet ween manand s o ci et y and bet ween manand s o ci et yon t he t he one hand and nature on t heot her - i s f ound amngal l peopl es and i s i n-herent i n t he very process of l i f e Acul t urei s t o be f ound wher ever consci ous l i f eexi s t s

Cul t ure i s t he sum o t a l of t he mat eri aland s p i r i t u a l val ues created by humani t yTHEBLACKSCHOLAR NOVEMBER 969


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t hroughout i t s hi story Thi s creati on i s bothconti nuous and necessary I t i s t he c o r o ll a r y t he yardst i ck and t he r e s ul t of man sacti on t o adapt t o hi s envi r onment s o t h a the can both survi ve and f l o u r i s h I t i s i nspi red by t he i n s t i n c t f or s u r v i v a l a t t hef i r s t stage andby an awar eness o f t he l awsof exi st ence a t a hi gher stage Theref or e i tf i r s t obeys a si mpl e bi o l o g i c a l l aw r e gu l a ti ng t he survi val of the i ndi vi dual and t hespeci es bef or e obeyi ng a more compl expsychol ogi cal and soci o- econom c l awNowt he i n s t i n c t f or s e l f p r e s er v a t i o n andt he need f or s e l f f ul f i l l men t ar e common t oa l l s o c i e t i es and peopl es Every peopl emus t st ruggl e t o ex i s t by creat i ng t hemateri al means of i t s exi st ence FR Neopl es, l i k e a l l peopl es, havecome al ong t he l ong road of hi story t hr oughrecurrent c o n f l i c t s whose overal l r e s u l t hasbeen i nc r eas i ng succes s The c r ea t i o n ofmateri al v a l ue s t h e creati on o f s p i r i t u a l

val ues, t he creati on and devel opment oft h i s gl obal cul t ure progresses conti nuousl yi n s p i t e of momentary sl ow ng- down, s t a gnat i on and setbacks Mater i al c u l t u r a l pr oduct i on and s p i r i t u a l c u l t u r a l pr oduct i onar e d i a l e c t i c a l l y l i nked and e x er c i s e a r ec i pr o c a l i nf l uence on each other ut t heabsol ut e p r i o r i t y mus t r e s t w t h materi alpr oduct i on, whi ch i t s e l f pa r t i c i pa t e s dir ec t l y i n man s concrete acti on or human h i s t o r y has more than oncerecorded a sl ackeni ng of s pi r i t u al t e n s i o na st agnat i on of i n t e l l ec t ua l and p o l i t i c a ll i f e or even a t o t a l anni hi l at i on of a l l i n t e ll e c t u a l and p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y but i t hasnever recorded a l ong- term t o t a l i n t e r r u pt i o n of t he devel opment of mate r i al c i v i li z a t i o n Thi s evol ut i on c a n of c o u r s e s l owdown but i t can never s t o p a s i t s st oppi ngwoul d s i g n i f y t he end of man s creati vea c t i v i t y t he di sappearance of hi s power s o fadapt at i on, andmean hi s ext i nct i on

Thi s mate r i al pr oduct i on i s a mat t er o fv i t a l necessi t y a condi t i on and s i gn ofl i f e Man s mater i al acti on i s t he pr i memover , t he source of a l l e l s e I t ai ms a tt he s a t i s f a c t i o n of needs, f i r s t v i t a l physi calTHEBLACKSCHOLAR NOVEMBER 969

needs and then l e s s i mmedi at e ones r e l a ti ng t o t he asserti on and enr i chment o f t hepe r s o n a l i t y t he i n t e l l e c t u a l and mor alneeds Thi s acti on of both men and s o c i e t yi s di r ect ed agai nst t he envi r onment ,agai nst man hi msel f and agai nst nature I t i s desi gned t o meet t he needs of a l l andt h i s r a i s es t he pr obl emo f i t s e f f i c i e n c y andp r o f i t a b i l i t y To meet t he needs of l lmater i al acti on must have a t a c t i c s a s t r a te g y an i n t e l l e c t ua l ef f or t t o a c t i o n a c e rt a i n degree of pl anni ng, both c r i t i c i s m ands el f c r i t i c i s m i n t he l i g h t of t he r e s u l t s anda met hodol ogy bri ngi ng i n t o pl ay a whol es er i es of i n t e l l e c t ua l operat i ons Cul t ur e i sa mater i al and s pi r i t u al a c qui s i t i o n botht he product and t he pr i ce of acti on Creati ve act i on spr i ngi ng f r om a uni ver-s a l i mperat i ve and c ul t ur e whi ch i s i t s r ef l e c t i o n subj ect and e f f e c t both c o n s t i t u t euni vers al r e a l i t i e s Wherever there i s t henecessi ty o f c r e at i o n we f i n d cul t ure Asthe expr es si on of the rel ati onshi ps bet weenmanand s o c i et y bet ween man, s o c i e t y andnature, cul ture poses i n t he mos t pressi ngt er ms t he pr obl em of t he d i a l e c t i c of t hegeneral and t he part i cul ar Cul t ur e i s anexpressi on, i n p a r t i c u l a r s p e c i f i c form, ofa general pr obl em t h a t of t he r e l a t i o nshi ps l i n k i ngmant o hi s envi r onment ut these r e l a t i o n s i n tur n t ake on a s p ec i f i c character determned by geogr aphi calcondi t i ons, t he l e ve l of devel opment o f pr o-duct i ve f o r c e s and t he nature of t he meanso f pr oduct i on a s determned by t he h i st o r i c al and s o c i a l context The c u l t u r a ll e ve l of a peopl e ( i nc l udi ng t he peopl eso f Af r i ca) , i t s means o f conquer i ng know -edge, i t s manner o f expl ai ni ng phenomena,wi l l dependon t he power that i t has gai nedover natural f o r c e s and the degree o f ob-j e c t i v i t y and abst racti on att ai ned i n t heheat o f acti on t o gai n mast er y over evermore perf ected t echni ques The s p e c i f i c part i cul ar nature o f a c u lt u r e i s a r e a l i t y i t i s one of t he a t t r i but e so f nat i onal r e a l i t y i n general and o f c l a s sr e a l i t y i n part i cul ar I t expresses condi t i onsof l i f e shared i n common a s i m l a r i t y o fa t t i t ud e s and o f reacti ons t o natural ands o c i a l phenomena

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ut there i s a gener al aspect even t ot h i s s p e c i f i c p a r t i c u l a r i t y Even i f these at -t i tudes and r eact i ons ar e marked by t hei r r at i o nal at cer t ai n st ages of h i s t o r i c a l de-vel opment even i f they der i ve f r o m si mpl eemot i on at cer t ai n poi nt s i n t he act i on o reven i f they occur at t he l e ve l o f r e f l e x e s ,t hey ar e f undament al l y s e t i n mot i on andgui ded by reason w t h a vi ew t o r eachi ngwel l - def i ned obj ecti ves and f i ndi ng s o l u -t i o n s t o wel l - def i ned pr obl ems Sp e c i f i cp a r t i c u l a r i t y i s not s p e c i f i c t o Af r i c an c u l -t u r e , but t o every c ul t u re

Thi s s p e c i f i c i t y i s a gener al r e a l i t y Butapart f r o m t h i s gener al aspect o f s p e c i f i c -i t y c u l t u r e , by vi r t ue of i t s cont ent t heexpr essi on o f man s eternal aspi rat i on t ohappi ness and t o t he f i n a l unf ol di ng of h i snature w t h ever - i ncreasi ng power overt he envi r onment cul ture i s i n perpetualmovement t owar ds t he uni versal Thespeed at whi ch c ul t u re t ends t owar ds t heuni versal i s i n f unct i on o f t he d i a l e c t i c o fc u l t u r a l f or ms and cont ent at a gi ven stageof hi s tory The uni versal i zat i on o f t he cont ent ofc ul t u re i n i n t e r p r e t i n g t he aspi rat i on of al lpeopl es wi l l go hand i n handw t h agreaterper f ect i on of i t s f or ms o f expressi on due

t o t he gener al devel opment o f f or ms andt he revol ut i oni zat i on o f i n dus t r i a l r e l a t i o n s Af r i c an c ul t u r e , l i k e any c u l t u r e , or i gi nat edw t h t he Af r i c an hi msel f and embodi es h i sf i r s t pr eoccupat i ons h i s f i r s t s t r u g g l e s , h i sf i r s t successes and setbacks

THE cour s e of hi s tory and t he successi onof Af r i c an c u l t u r e s devel opment havec l o s e l y r e f l e c t e d t he course o f t he devel op-ment of pr oduct i ve forces I t s i n i t i a l s i mp l i c i t y , l ow i n t e l l e c t ua l l e v e l and s l ow r a t eo f pr ogr ess i on al l r e f l e c t e d t he weakness ofman s p o s i t i o n and t he precar i ousness ofh i s exi st ence Then over t he cent ur i es anddown t he a g e s , f o l l ow ng t he devel opmento f pr oduct i ve t echni ques cul t ur e devel -oped became d i v e r s i f i e d , took on shadeso f meani ng and i ncor porated s c i e nc e , t e c h -nol ogy l i t e r a t u r e , musi c danci ng andscul pt ur e P GE 1

Thi s whol e e vo l ut i o n, t h i s pr ogr essi veq u a l i f i c a t i o n i s subordi nated t o reason t ot he l aw o f gnoseol ogy t o t he t r a n s i t i o nf r o m i gnor ance t o an i ncreasi ngl y deeperand mor e exact degree o f knowl edge Anyant hol ogy of Af r i c an c ul t u re t endi ng t os i t u a t e i t out s i de t he r e al m o f reason o fr a t i o na l thought o f t he l awand of gnose-ol ogy t ends t o down- gr ade i t and devi at ei t f r o m i t s t r u e end whi ch i s t o qual i f ymanki nd and s a c r i f i c e s i t t o t he myth o fs i n g u l a r i t y and s p e c i f i c i t y

Af r i c an cul ture nei t her has nor needsany f oundat i on other than t he concretel i f e of t he Af r i c an Wth i t s r o o t s deep i nt he i nner mos t l i f of t he peopl e i t expressest he l i f wor k i de al s and aspi rat i ons of t heAf r i c an peopl e I t has cont r i but ed al ongw t h other peopl es t o t he devel opment o fsci ence and t echnol ogy Pr i or t o t he con-t a c t w t h other cont i nent s Af r i ca had be-gun t o smel t met al and t o fo rge t o o l s andweapons She had l earned t o weave f a b -r i c s The not i on of che mst ry had devel -oped through vari ous r eci pes needed t omake s o a p , i n d i go , i nk , t o t an h i de s , e t c

B u t , t o a f a r gr eater ext ent than s c i e nc e ,whi ch was handi capped by t he per si st encet hroughout t he ages of a l owl e ve l of t e c h -nol ogy Af r i c an a r t , Af r i c an l i t e r a t u r e , A f r i -can scul pt ur e musi c and danci ng w i l l o c -cupy or al r eady occupy an i mpor t ant pl acei n humani t y s c ul t ur a l her i t age The r e a l i t yof Af r i c an c ul t ure needs no further demon-s t r a t i o n , but i t s i n f i n i t e r e a l i t i e s ar e s t i l l t obe di scovered recorded and descr i bed On t he other hand i n Af r i ca as e l s e -wher e cul ture r e a c t s upon those pr oduci ngi t manand s o c i e t y at t he same t i me asi t i s produced and devel oped Cul t ur e i s an accumul at ed experi encewhi chmodi f i es man i n a l i ne ar , pr ogr essi veand quant i t at i ve manner but w t h addi -t i o na l qual i t a t i ve phases of mut at i on Ther e s u l t i s a newman a news o c i e t y , more

s k i l l f u l and more a p t , i nt egr at i ng t o anever - i ncreasi ng ext ent t he means and t heend o f a c t i o n, and per f ect i ng t o an evergreat er ext ent t echnol ogy and means o fac t i on THEBL CKSCHOL R NOVEMBER 969


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Exper i ence acqui r ed by and f o r a ct i o nbecomes an i nexhaust i bl e sour ce of ener gy bot h t he i nst r ument and t he gui de of p r e s -ent and future act i on Cul t ure appearst h en at one and t he same t i me as a c r e a -t i o n and a means of creat i on of man ands o ci e t y a s an expressi on of t he d i a l e c t i c a lr e l a t i o ns hi ps bet ween t he cr eat or and hi screat i on I t c l e a r l y appar ent i n t r e a ll i g h t t h a t of a f act or det ermni ng and con-di t i oni ng al l e l s e The conquest of cul t urehas obl i gedmant o mobi l i ze al l hi s physi caland i n t e l l e c t u a l resources Once t was con-quer ed cul t ure became a f l ame ani mat i ngand i nt oxi cat i ng t he conqueror man So t scar cel y an exaggerat i on t o say t h a t manequal s t he cul t ure t h a t f ormed himandwhi ch i ns pi r es hi s behavi or and act i on The f a c t of a cul t ur e condi t i ons bot h t heexi stence of t he peopl e and t h e i r ex er c i s e ofsover ei gnt y and power For us t o speakof cul t ure t o f i g h t and al t hough hi st or yhas very edi f yi ng exampl es t o o f f e r suchas t hose whi ch domnat e t he f ormat i on off eudal i sm we have chosen t o carry t hedat a of t h i s combat f or ward i n t o t he p r e s -ent er a

Ever yone knows what a f o u l use wasmade of cul t ure by t he pr edat or y power si n t he course of mdern hi s t o r y i n t h e i rappr opr i at i on among ot her t h i ng s of t heAf r i can peopl es Af t er havi ng l a i d t he i r hands on t he es -s ent i a l el ement s of t he cul t ure of t h e i r ownpeopl e t he upper c l a ss e s of t he c o l o n i a l i s tpower s used t h i s weapon i n t h e i r en-deavor t o domnat e and ex pl o i t our con-t i nent I t was f i r s t of al l necessar y t o l e g i t i m z et he var i ous ki nds of p i l l a g e and c ol o ni a ldomnat i on i n t he eyes of establ i shed mor -a l i t y To t h i s end t he nat ur al di f f er encebet ween our cul t ure and t h a t of t he peo-pl e s of t hese power s was used t o j u s t i f yand accredi t t he i gnomni ous as s er t i on thatwe di d not have any cul t ure and t h a t acul t ure shoul d be best owed and i mposedupon us Her e started t he cr usade f o r humani za-t i o n t hr ough t he c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n of t heTHEBL CKSCHOL R NOVEMBER 9 9

margi nal peopl es of t he peopl es whi chhave r emai ned at t he stage of r aw mat e-r i a l - peo pl es of peopl es wai t i ng t o bemanuf act ur ed i n t he Bi g Fact or y of c i v i l -i zed men And present l y s o as t o ensuret h a t col oni zat i on was e v e r l a s t i n g t he c o l -oni zers i nt r oduced t he systemat i c i n d o c t r i -nat i on of nat i ve wor ker s whi chcont r i but edt o t he smoot h f unct i oni ng of t he Bi g Fac-tory The corps of c o l o ni a l e l i t e s men ofc ul t ur e nat i ves of any l e v e l of any e xpe r i -ence and p o l i t i c a l hue was createdv t he eve of t he d i s i n t e g r a t i o n of t hec ol o ni a l empi r es an i nt e l l ec t ual e l i t eemer ged I t was opposed t o t he ol d col on-i al e l i t e but s u b j e c t i v i s t i n t he nat ur e ofi t s opposi t i on Thi s newe l i t e t r i e d t o make use of al lavai l abl e means I t had suf f er ed f r omt her a c i s t bl ows t h a t i mper i al i smhas deal t t oA f r i c a but t had not under st ood t h a t al -t hough i deol ogy and r a c i s t pr acti ces maybe an e f f e c t i v e weaponwhen w el ded byi mper i al i smwhi ch an acti ve r ac i smanda non- cul t ur e i n hi s t or y t h a t r ac i s t i d eo l -ogy used by t hose who are i n r e v o l t cannotbe but a doubl e- edged weapon whi ch i nt he l a s t r e s o r t prof i t abl e onl y t o t hei mper i a l i s t enemy Theref or e Hol y Negr i -t ude be t Ar ab- Ber ber or Et hi opi an- Bant ut h i s Negr i t ude obj ecti vel y an i deol ogya u x i l i a r y t o t he gener al i mper i a l i s t i d e o l -ogy The Mast er t r ansf orms hi s s l av e i n t o aNegrowhomhe def i nes as a bei ng w t hout

r eason subhuman and t he embi t t ered s l av et hen p r o t e s t s : as you ar e Reason I amEmot i on and I take t h i s upon mysel f Thi s howwe l oop t he l oops The Mast er as -sumes hi s pre- emnence and t he Sl ave hi ss er v i t ud e but t he l a t t e r cl ai ms hi s r i g h tt o weep a r i g h t whi ch t he Mast er grantshim e c o n c i l i a t i o n has come about and oneunder st ands e a s i l y why t he i mper i a l i s t

pr opaganda syst em p r e s s r a di o ci nemaet c goes t o such t r oubl e t o spread t hecomor t i ng concept of Negr i t ude Negr i -P GE 1


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tude a c t ua l l y a good mysti f yi ng anaes-t h e t i c f or Negr oes who have been whi ppedt oo l ong and t oo s e ve r e l y whi pped t o apoi nt where they have l o s t al l reason andbecome pur el y emot i onal s s e r i o us a na l y s i s shows t he col on-i al s i t u a t i o n by no means contested byt h i s l i t and t h a t obj ect i vel y speaki ng,f a r f r om mobi l i z i ng and ar m ng t he subj u-gat ed peopl es, t gi v es the col oni zers aneasy consci ence by accredi t i ng t he e x i s t -ence o f cert ai n l i b e r t y of t hought andacti on wth i n t he c ol o ni a l systemROhi s poi nt of vi ew t he i nt e l l ec t ua le l i t e whi l e bei ng s u b j e c t i v e l y i n opposi t i on,obj ect i vel y compl et es t he arsenal o f c o l o n-i al dom nati on Whi l e t he l a t t e r appr opr i -a t e s popul ar cul tur e f o r i t s own p r o f i t tdepr i ves t he col oni zed peopl e of t bestdef ensi ve and of f ensi ve weapons, an au-t onomousl y c r eat ed cul t ure nurtured byt hemsel ves Thecombi nat i on o f t wo ci r cumst ances apeopl e depr i ved of t own cul tur e on t heone hand, and t he t r emendous devel op-ment o f sci ence and t echnol ogy el ement sof cul t ur e by t he i mp er i al i s t made a c e r -t a i n k i nd of cul ture i n t o a deadl y weaponi n t he hands of t he ne o=c o l o ni a l i s t at t het i me t he f ormer col oni es wer e att ai ni ngnat i onal i ndependence

I t mus t be admtted that t he f r i ght eneda t t i t u d e of many Af r i c an gover nment s t o -war ds cyni cal i mp er i a l i s t ar r ogance, t hehel pl essness o f t he peopl es who wer e v i c -t i ms o f ne o- c ol o ni a l i s t coup d e t a t s wer ea r es ul t o f t he f a c t t h a t these peopl es hadbeen depr i ved of t h e i r cul ture The mos tpower f ul weapon f o r t he rape andrenewedsubj ugat i on o f our peopl es nowavai l abl e t oi mper i al i sm and neo- col oni al i sm i s a c e r -t a i n k i nd of cul ture The i nvi nci bl e weapon, def ensi ve agai nsti mper i al i sm and col oni al i sm and of f ensi vef or t he compl et e emanci pat i on of our peo-p l e s i s cul tur e whi ch has once agai n be-

come t he creat i on of an e n t i r e soci et y andthe sour ce o f al l progr essi ve creat i on Thi s a na l y s i s l e a ds t o t he concl usi onPAGE 1

t h a t c ul t ur e a superstructure bor n f r om ani nf r a s t r u c t u r e whi ch t modi f i es and q u a l i -t a t i v e l y t r ansf or ms i n t t u r n t he r e a l i t yo f a c l a s s of i deol ogi cal c l a s s es NEshoul d not mstake t h i s expr essi on f ora f o rm of neo- i deal i sm by i deol ogi calc l a s se s we ar e r e f e r r i n g t o c l a s s e s whi char e by no means bor n f r om a si mpl e e c o -nom c and s o ci al s t r a t i f i c a t i o n ; we ar ef aced her e w t h a f undament al choi ce be-t ween two and nomore p o s s i b i l i t i e s whi char e mut ual l y e x cl us i v e vi z bet ween 1 The i deol ogy of dom nat i on, andpr ostr at i on under dom nati on

The i deol ogy o f st r uggl e agai nst anyk i nd o f dom nati on and o f t he compl et esover ei gnty of t he peopl e, power bei ngexer ci sed by and f or t he peopl e Al l t he a c t i v i t i e s of t he Gui nean Democ r a t i c Party ar e based on t h i s second i d e o l -ogy whi ch mani f est i n al l t he aspects o f

l i f e w t hout a s i n g l e except i on Thus i t under st ood t h a t cul ture i s af i e l d of acti on whereman, s o ci e t y nature,men and peopl es conf r ont one anot her I nt h i s mer ci l ess combat , t he r econnoi t er i ngand conquer i ng o f gr ound ar e e s s ent i a l f orvi ctor y The super i or i ty of ar ms i s a s up er i -o r i t y o f c ul t ur e at l e as t i n t mat er i al andt echni cal aspects And t t h i s superi ori tyi n t he product i on of cul t ur e whi ch enabl esa peopl e t o dom nat e ot her peopl es andi mpose t s p i r i t u a l cul tur e on t hemCuLTVRE amor e e f f e c t i v e weapon thanguns f o r t he pur pose of dom nati on Fori t was s c i e n t i f i c t echni cal and t echnpl ogi -c a l cul ture whi ch pr oduced t he guns Thepr er equi si t e f o r any dom nat i on, e x p l o i t a -t i o n and oppr essi on t he deni al t o t heoppr essed man or peopl e of h i s o r t h e i rhuman a t t r i b u t e s and t h e r e f o r e i n t he f i r s ti ns t a nc e c ul t ur a l a c t i v i t i e s Bef or e conquer i ng, dom nati ng and sub-j ugati ng a peopl e, t he r u l e r a s s e r t s t hesuper i or i ty o f h i s cul tur e and c i v i l i z a t i o nand procl ai ms i t s c i v i l i z i n g m ssi on t ot hose he has decl ared a r b i t r a r i l y and un i -l a t er al l y t o be barbar i an, savage, uncul -



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t u r e d and w t hout c i v i l i z a t i o n The r u l e r stake i t f or granted t h a t t he under st andi ngof nature w t h a vi ew t o expl oi t i ng i t i norder t o pr omot e t echni cal advancement i st h e i r excl usi ve p r i v i l e g e t h e i r property ut opi ni ons more aut hor i t at i ve and morej u s t i f i e d than those of i mper i al i sm col on-i a l i smand neo- col oni al i sm stated t h a t na-t u r e was under st andabl e t o any i ndi vi dualand t h a t man, pr ovi ded he was awar e oft he h i s t o r i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e of hi s ex i s t enc ewas capabl e of penetr ati ng further everyday i n t o t he s ec r et s o f nature, and i n c r e as -i ng hi s power over i t i n or der t o i ncr easehi s control of i t What i s i mpor t ant , at a gi ven h i s t o r i c a lmoment i n t he process of t he know edgeand control o f natural f o r c e s i s not somuch t he qual i ty of know edge and i t s con-f o rmty t o t he absol ut e truth as t he waymen and peopl e ar e aware of t h e i r a b i l i -t i e s and p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r under st andi ng, andof t h e i r unf ai l i ng wi l l to progress I n t h i sp r o c e s s t he c h a r a c t e r i s t i c factor i s an at -t i t u de a turn o f mnd l eadi ng t o s e l f - r e l i a -ance and conf i dence i n t he peopl e Ac-qui r ed know edge and t he degree o f t ruthwhi ch char acter i zed i t bel ong t o a quant i -t i v e f act or l i nked w t h f a c i l i t i e s used i n r e-search, exper i ment , and appl i cat i on Thi s i s a h i s t o r i c a l st age i n devel opmentwhi ch each peopl e wi l l achi eve more orl e s s qui ckl y accor di ng t o t h e i r means, t hepr e- r equi si te bei ng once agai n t he b e l i e ft h a t what i s unknown can be known Nopeopl e ar e more g i f t e d mor e i n t e l l i g e n tthan o t h e r s but ther e ar e di f f er ences i n h i s -t o r i c a l contexts I mper i a l i s t s and ex pl o i t e r sbl i nded by t he wi l l t o ex pl o i t ar e i ncapabl eof under st andi ng t h i s pr i mar y t ruth Thei rcul t ur e i s made up of guns, whi ps, hardl abor and t r ai ni ng whi ch deny, huml i ateand depersonal i ze those under t he c o l o ni a lyoke or t he bour geoi si e and i t s c o l o n i a l i s ta l l i e s masses must be kept i n i gnor ance, f o ri gnor ant i ndi vi dual s can d i s t o r t cul tur e ithey a t t a i n i t Peasants and worker s ar ei ncapabl e o f preser vi ng c ul t u r a l val ues, l etal one creati ng newones Thi s pr opagandahas been pr oved t o be absur d i n thoseTHEBL CKSCHOL R NOVEMBER 969

count r i es where soc i al i sm i s bei ng i n t r o -duced Revol ut i on i s t he onl y way t o i n-sure that sci ence and cul tur e w i l l t h r i v eand not decl i ne Cul t ur e, t hr ough a r t l i t e r a t u r e t e c h -ni ques, et c i s t he i mage of men s a c t i v i t y Thus, hunt dances imta te t he movementand pace of t he game hunt ed The s t y l i z e dchor eogr aphy o f t he Af r i can savannahhunt er imta t ing t he l i o n or t he el ephanteven so f a r as t o i nc l ude i t s appear ance,i s a e s t h e t i c a l l y poor onl y i n t he mnds oft he ex pl o i t e r s who hate al l t h a t i s con-nected w t h t he peopl e War i s a huntwhereman i s t he game, and cul tur e i s ani m t a t i o n of war epi sodes The dances oft he Sof as o f Samor i or t he t udos of t heDame Tagne l at Di or , t he oko ( chal l engedances) o f a N Beur - Kat ( Senegal esewr estl er ) l i k e t he f amous wr est l er ModumKhul e whoa c t u a l l y e xi s t e d ar e r e a l mas-t er p i e c es e s p e c i a l l y when accompani ed bysongs and gestures of attack l i k e those oft he phal anges ment i oned by St anl ey Cul -t u r e i s t he i mage, t he record of both ex -per i ence and t he t echni ques of product i on Sayi ngs, proverbs, t a l e s and f o l k songsexpr ess the w sh f o r a bount i f ul product i onand t he exper i ence o f mast er y over nature hence t he nai ve mat er i al i smof peasant c u l -t u r e s c o- e x i s t i n g w t h t he i deal i sm a r i s i n gf r om t h ei r i gnor ance

AuTxoRs as perspi cac i ous as Frazer, i nt h ei r r e j e c t i o n of h i s t o r i c a l materi al i smwer e not abl e t o account s c i e n t i f i c a l l y f o rmagi c The exper i ence of t he f i g h t agai nstnat ur e enabl es man t o acqui r e know edge ut gi ven hi s l im t e dmeans andsomet i meseven the i mpl acabl e h o s t i l i t y o f physi co-chemcal det er mni sm t he maj or s e c r e t sof nature ar e a l l t he more d i f f i c u l t t o pene-t r a t e i n t ha t t he i r wor l d i s unknown Magi cthen becomes a conj ur ati on, and r i t e s r e-pr oduce gestures acqui r ed f r omexper i ence,whi ch ar e regarded as val uabl e i f occul tcreatures ar e f avor abl e Hence man i n-vokes t he exper i ences ai mng a t l i m t i n gdamages , natural di s a st e r s and at k i l l i n gbeasts whi ch destroy t he c r o p s e t c

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Shoul d devel opment stop at that s t a g ei t woul d l ead t o i gnor ance I mper i al i smsoon f ound out t h a t i t s power l ay i n t hi s I t had t o transformus i n t o sacred, he l pl e ssbei ngs f aci ng natural and h i s t o r i c a l neces-s i t i e s Kept i n such an i gnor ant s t a t e op-pr ess ed peopl es ar e pr ey t o prej udi ce andt e r r o r before i n v i s i b l e power s whi ch ar e al lthe more al i enati ng i n t h a t they ar e c l o s e l yl i nked w th t h e i r cul ture M sery andphysi -c a l decl i ne are gi ven an expl anat i on exceptwhen t h i s l a t t e r unvei l s t he monst r ous r es p o n s i b i l i t i e s of t he i mper i a l i s t expl o i t e r s Cul t ur e i s t he s y nt he s i s of peopl e s a c t i v it i e s To f i g h t together agai nst di seases andhunger , t o control nature and t o wden thescope of know edge ar e the t a s k s o f thewhol e of , manki nd S c i e n t i f i c and techni calcul tur e i s t he hi ghest mani f est ati on o f c o ll e c t i v e creat i veness I t has l ed t o t he e r a d icati on of sever al natural scour ges From t he h i s t o r i c a l poi nt of vi ew nocul ture can be f r e e of a c l a s s content Unl e s s i t i s a f ake t o camouf l age some st upi d-i t y of t he i d e o l o g i s t s of expl oti ng regi mes,every cul ture f ol l ows a wel l - def i ned p o l i t ic a l l i n e Af r i can f eudal i smf or exampl e di dnot exper i ence pr i vate l and control whi l e,on the c o n t r a r y i t was t he case i n Euope,where t he l o r d s came t o consi der thems e l v es as t he owners of the l and they wer eentrusted w t h si mpl y def endi ng agai nstpossi bl e i nvader s That i s t he ori gi n of t hec o l l e c t i v e nature of peasant dances, wher et he gestures cover the whol e range o f f r eea g r i c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t y Cul ture, l i k e al l s oc i a l phenomena, i scharacter i zed by c l a s s st ruggl e Cul tur alpower , the contai ner and contents o f e c onomc and p o l i t i c a l power , i s thus apower -f ul oppress i ve weapon i n t he hands of t hee x p l o i t e r s Cul t ur e f o r the peopl e hasr i g h t l y been consi der ed as the bete noi reof t he i d e o l o g i s t s of capi t al i smIT i s l o g i c a l f o r c a p i t a l i s t i c expl oi tati on t odeny worker s access t o t he cul t ur e t heyhave created Thus i t i s t h a t s o c i o l o g i s t sr eacti onary h i s t o r i a n s w th a vi ew to j u s t if yi ng such a monopol i zat i on and t o pr ai si ng i t put f or war d t he theor y o f t he de-P GE 1

vel opment of cul ture by an e l i t e The i deai s t h a t manki nd i s i ndebted t o ahandful ofsuch geni al i ndi vi dual s as Darw n, Ei n-s t e i r i Shakespeare, and Beethoven f o r i t sachi evement s i n a r t s c i e nc e t echnol ogy,and l i t e r a t u r e f c o u r s e tr i bute shoul d bepai d t o thesemen ut i f i t i s true t ha t t he i racti ve exi st ence i s a pr oof that cul ture i screated by an e l i t e how can one expl ai nt h a t i ndi vi dual s endowedw th equal geni usdi d not e xi s t i n t hedays o f t he Leakey manor Si nant hr opus?Sci ence has never been a one- man con-cern I t i s usual l y retorted t h a t i n t he p a s ta schol ar used t o work by hi mel f I n f a c ta s c i e n t i s t can make di scoveri es or i nven-t i o n s and enr i ch t he her i tage of manki ndonl y i n a f avor abl e s oc i a l and c u l t u r a lcontext Nowadays , t he method o f s c i e nt i f i c research has al tered The s c i e n t i s tform part o f a team The demonst r at i ono f t h i s met hod has not yet l ed t o t he r e a l izati on t h a t c o l l e c t i v e work was a necess i t ydue t o the compl exi t y o f pr obl em and t hescope of modern sci ence I t i s a l s o due t othe f a c t t h a t capi tal i smai m a t monopol i z -i ng and e x p l o i t i n g bri gades of brai ns Butas f a r as we ar e concer ned we ar e f u l l yawar e t h a t t h i s met hod, of whi ch c a p i t a li sm consi der s onl y the e f f e c t s i s the veryba s i s o f s c i e n t i f i c i nvent i veness Besi des,s c i e n t i f i c worker s ar e t he per petuator s o fthe e f f o r t s of past gener ati ons

I t i s her e t h a t and the poet Vi ctor Hugoar e i n agr eement I wr ote one d i scover y may f undament al l y or p a r t i a l l yquest i on a s c i e n t i f i c pri nci pl e pr evi ousl yconsi der ed sacrosanct andwhi ch hadthere-f o r e prevai l ed t i l l t hen undoubt edl y i ti s t he l aw o f cont i nuous advance whi chpr e v ai l s . Hugo wr ote Sci ence i s cont i n-uous scr atchi ng w th f r ui t f u l r es ul t s ; s c ience i s a l adder . The f oundat i ons ofcul ture have been created and the condi -t i o n s f or i t s progress ar e created by t hewor ki ng masses whi ch ar e the maker s o fhi story LI TERATUREand a r t have thr i ved f or a l ongt i me i n the fo rm of f o l k l o r e e pi c poem,l egends, t a l e s proverbs, songs ser ved as a

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ba s i s f or wr i t e r s Pai nt er s nd a r t i s t s drewi n s p i r a t i o n f r o m t he appl i ed a r t s createdby t he peopl e popul ar ar t i s an i nexhaust -i b l e treasury of patterns nd met hodssource of exal t at i on f or wr i t e r s nd a r t i s t s I t gener at es and f eeds t he nati onal f o r mof t he ar t and l i t e r at u r e of every count r y sci ence s t ems f r o m t he peopl e s geni us

Consequent l y cul t ur e i s not t he p r i v i l e g eof those e x p l o i t e r s whohave by depr i vi ngt he mas s es of t he benef i t s of sci ence ndcul t ur e ndby keepi ng them n i gnor ancef ound j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r t h e i r c l a s s supremac y or i n t e l l i g e n c e and t a l e nt ar e not t hepr i vi l ege of c l as s t he f or ce of t he s p i r i tt a l e nt nd wi l l of t hous ands of workers i sr e f l e c t e d i n al l c u l t u r a l creat i ons Cul t ur e weapon of domnat i on w i l l beone of l i b e r a t i o n I n t h i s i ns t a nc e one mus tf i g h t on gr ound of t he enemy s choosi ngbut one wher e t he i s s u e of t he f i g h t w i l lbe gover ned by an adequat e weaponpopul ar cul t ur e The i mpe r i a l i s t s use c u lt u r a l s c i e n t i f i c t e c hni c al economc l i t e rar y nd mor al val ues i n or der t o j u s t i f ynd per pet uat e t h e i r r egi me of e x p l o i t a t i o nnd oppr essi on Theoppressed peopl es a l s ouse c u l t u r a l v a l u e s but of a nature con-t r a r y t o t he f or mer i n or der t o f i g h t mores u c c e s s f u l l y agai nst i mper i al i s m nd i nor der t o f r e e t hemel ves f r o m t he c o l o n i a lr egi me Resi st ance nd then t he o f f e n s i v e w i l lbe organi zed f i r s t of l l i n t he c u l t u r a lf i e l d Col oni zed man must f i r s t r e c ol l e c thi ms e l f c r i t i c a l l y anal yze t he r e s u l t s oft he i nf l uences t o whi ch he w s subj ect edby t he i nvader whi ch ar e r e f l e c t e d i n hi sbehavi or way of t hi nki ng nd ac t i ng hi sconcept i on of t he wo r l d nd s o c i e t y nd i nhi s way of assess i ng t he val ues created byhi s own peopl e I NTHEFIRST PLACE he mus t under t ake t or e- conquer hi s own per sonal i t y by denyi ngt he c u l t u r a l val ues whi ch have deper sonal -i z ed hi m by de- c ol oni z i ng hi s own mndhi s custom and hi s a t t i t u d e s by d i smant l i ng t he phi l osophi cal s y s t e m j u s t i f yi ng domnat i ons p a r t i c u l a r l y Levy- Br uhl sTHE BLACKSCHOLAR NOVEMBER 969

not or i ous myth of pr i m t i ve nd pr el ogi cmnd as opposed t o t he i n t e l l e c t u a l ndmor al super i or i t y co mpl ex of t he col oni zer The col oni zed manmust f r e e hi m el f f r o mhi s i n f e r i o r i t y compl exes nd embodymani n wh t he represents of absol ut e v al u e saspi rat i ons t o t he uni vers al Thi s f i r s t s t age of l i b e r a t i o n of s t r u ggl ef o r t he l i qui dat i on of t he vari ous compl exesof t he col oni zed man i s not t o be d i s s o c iated f r o mt he f ol l owi ng stage t h a t of t her econquest of l o s t val ues of possessi onsdeni ed nd l o s t a t t r i b u t e s of s e ns i bl emanwho t hi nks ndac t s i n a di gni f i edwaynd i s awar e of hi s p o t e n t i a l i t i e s Nat ur eabhors a vacuum even on t he c u l t u r a ll e ve l One cannot e x t i r p a t e f r o m t he mndof col oni zed man t he cul t ur e whi ch hasbeen i mpos ed upon himnd whi ch haspoi s oned hi m except by o f f e r i n g hims u b s t i t u t e c u l t u r e namel y hi s own c u l t u r ewhi ch i mpl i es an ac t i on t o res tore t o l i f er e v a l o r i z e nd popul ari ze t h a t cul t ur e Howeve r t h i s act i on i s poss i bl e onl y i nt he l ar ger f r amewor k of t he st r uggl e f o rnati onal l i b e r a t i o n nd s oc i a l pr omot i on Cul t ur e cannot f l ower pr oper l y wi t houtput t i ng an end t o t he causes whi ch havebeen s t i f l i n g i t but convers el y t he c u l t ofc u l t u r a l a u t h e n t i c i t y t he st r uggl e f or t her econquest of t h i s aut hent i c i t y by a c t i v a ti ng t he awareness of popul ar mas s es ndt h e i r mobi l i zat i on a c t i v a t e t he process ofp o l i t i c a l nd s oc i al l i b e r a t i o n as wel l asf or gi ng t he nat i on t hr ough t he creat i on of mel t i ng pot i n whi ch t he si mpl e c i t i z e n i sf or med wi t hout any cons i der a t i on of t r i b eor r ace Thi s f r e e man wi t hi n a f r e e peopl e whohas r edi scovered hi s physi cal nd ment albal ance c an t he nc e f or wa r d as s ume t he en-t i r e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f or hi s own dest i ny Hecan ndmus t wi den boundl essl y t he bas esof hi s c ul t u r al he r i t a ge d i v e r s i f y t hem dir e c t them i n or der t o c l a r i f y any a c t i o nl i k e l y t o be undert aken wi t h a vi ew

Black Scholar Culture of Revolution 1969

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