Towards Freedom and Dignity ---- Frantz Fanon was an astonishing figure!
A Martinican who regretted the fate of the Antilles, which were unable
to free themselves from colonial rule, he pursued psychiatry studies.
Although practicing his profession, it was through his political
commitment alongside the FLN and the Algerian cause, and later the
peoples subjected to colonialism, that he acquired this stature and
notoriety beyond death. He would seem rather forgotten today.
Fortunately, the reissue of his major works, such as The Wretched of the
Earth, Black Skin and White Mask, Year V of the Algerian Revolution,
allows for a reinterpretation in light of the evolution of these
countries. Add to this the publication of a political and intellectual
biography by Adam Shatz, entitled Frantz Fanon, A Life of Revolutions,
published by La Découverte.
Regarding Africa, he expresses deep concern. Independence would come too
late. "It would not be easy to rebuild and offer direction to societies
traumatized by colonial domination." Paradoxically, he emphasizes that
this independence emerged too early and gave power to national
bourgeoisies who "suddenly discovered great appetites," not to mention
the lack of ideology. These are quite timely reflections!
From Algeria to the Liberation of the People...
But it is above all his commitment to the struggle of the Algerian
rebels, his identification as an Algerian, that mobilized him to
intervene throughout Africa as a roving ambassador of the FLN, at the
risk of his life. Adam Shatz provides us with both facts and Fanon's
reflections on the internal struggles of the FLN, and the harshness of
the fighters affected by psychological suffering. The pages devoted to
his meetings with Lumumba, Sékou Touré, and other leaders of African
struggles, and their journeys, are intertwined with current events on
this continent. His analyses are almost prophetic.
A revolutionary but also a therapist, the constant balancing of these
two aspects leads him to understand the suffering, the places of
confinement, even "the prison of race that he knew all his life because
of being Black." His first book, Black Skin, White Masks, attempts to
"understand the shadow that racial oppression cast over the lives of
Black people."
A Reference for All Revolutionaries
His book The Wretched of the Earth was a reference, required reading for
all revolutionaries in national liberation movements. Frantz Fanon also
intended to mobilize intellectuals. Yet some rejected the glorification
of violence. The violence of the colonized was, in his eyes, a
counter-violence that was only adopted after other, more peaceful forms
of opposition had proven powerless. A form of reclamation of dignity for
some of his readers, such as the philosopher Jean Améry. You will
discover or rediscover the behavior of French intellectuals Sartre,
Beauvoir, Jeanson, and Camus.
His work is focused on freedom and justice. After enlisting in the Free
French Forces, where he witnessed the lies about the outcome of the war,
he remained tense, often taciturn, and uncompromising about the rightful
place of every human being.
He died of leukemia on December 6, 1961, at the age of 36. His fame grew
to the point of becoming a cult figure worldwide, even though he was no
longer appreciated by the Algerian leadership. This man of revolutions
led a life of revolutions, to borrow the subtitle of this fascinating
and rich biography.
* Adam Shatz
Frantz Fanon
A Life of Revolutions
Published by La Découverte, 2025
https://monde-libertaire.fr/?articlen=8442
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
A Martinican who regretted the fate of the Antilles, which were unable
to free themselves from colonial rule, he pursued psychiatry studies.
Although practicing his profession, it was through his political
commitment alongside the FLN and the Algerian cause, and later the
peoples subjected to colonialism, that he acquired this stature and
notoriety beyond death. He would seem rather forgotten today.
Fortunately, the reissue of his major works, such as The Wretched of the
Earth, Black Skin and White Mask, Year V of the Algerian Revolution,
allows for a reinterpretation in light of the evolution of these
countries. Add to this the publication of a political and intellectual
biography by Adam Shatz, entitled Frantz Fanon, A Life of Revolutions,
published by La Découverte.
Regarding Africa, he expresses deep concern. Independence would come too
late. "It would not be easy to rebuild and offer direction to societies
traumatized by colonial domination." Paradoxically, he emphasizes that
this independence emerged too early and gave power to national
bourgeoisies who "suddenly discovered great appetites," not to mention
the lack of ideology. These are quite timely reflections!
From Algeria to the Liberation of the People...
But it is above all his commitment to the struggle of the Algerian
rebels, his identification as an Algerian, that mobilized him to
intervene throughout Africa as a roving ambassador of the FLN, at the
risk of his life. Adam Shatz provides us with both facts and Fanon's
reflections on the internal struggles of the FLN, and the harshness of
the fighters affected by psychological suffering. The pages devoted to
his meetings with Lumumba, Sékou Touré, and other leaders of African
struggles, and their journeys, are intertwined with current events on
this continent. His analyses are almost prophetic.
A revolutionary but also a therapist, the constant balancing of these
two aspects leads him to understand the suffering, the places of
confinement, even "the prison of race that he knew all his life because
of being Black." His first book, Black Skin, White Masks, attempts to
"understand the shadow that racial oppression cast over the lives of
Black people."
A Reference for All Revolutionaries
His book The Wretched of the Earth was a reference, required reading for
all revolutionaries in national liberation movements. Frantz Fanon also
intended to mobilize intellectuals. Yet some rejected the glorification
of violence. The violence of the colonized was, in his eyes, a
counter-violence that was only adopted after other, more peaceful forms
of opposition had proven powerless. A form of reclamation of dignity for
some of his readers, such as the philosopher Jean Améry. You will
discover or rediscover the behavior of French intellectuals Sartre,
Beauvoir, Jeanson, and Camus.
His work is focused on freedom and justice. After enlisting in the Free
French Forces, where he witnessed the lies about the outcome of the war,
he remained tense, often taciturn, and uncompromising about the rightful
place of every human being.
He died of leukemia on December 6, 1961, at the age of 36. His fame grew
to the point of becoming a cult figure worldwide, even though he was no
longer appreciated by the Algerian leadership. This man of revolutions
led a life of revolutions, to borrow the subtitle of this fascinating
and rich biography.
* Adam Shatz
Frantz Fanon
A Life of Revolutions
Published by La Découverte, 2025
https://monde-libertaire.fr/?articlen=8442
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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