Negritude as Memory, Revolt and Solidarity in Aimé Césaire

Abstract

Considered one of the most important and characteristic contributions of Caribbean thought, the concept of Negritude is generally translated as a reaction to French colonialism and a glorification of the identity of African cultures and societies. However, since Aimé Césaire presented it, the concept has become internationalised and has not stopped its movement of continuous creation, transforming and expanding its original meaning, which generates many controversies in its interpretation. In order to contribute to the debate on what Negritude would be for Aimé Césaire, in this article we propose to investigate the subject by analysing the author's most important works and interviews through the prism offered by Reinhart Koselleck's History of Concepts. We will examine the meanings given by Césaire from the appearance of the term for the first time in 1935, in his article Nègrerie: jeunesse noire et assimilation, to his 1987 Discourse on Negritude. Césaire presents Negritude as a collective memory, a necessary revolt against European reductionism, an awareness of difference, and fidelity and solidarity. We will see that Césaire's concept of Negritude cannot be understood if it is not related to his criticism of colonialism and that the question of identity must also be linked to his ideas of memory and solidarity. However, more than political ideology, more than identity rhetoric, we will see that in order to understand the complexity and scope of the concept, it is necessary, as Césaire wanted, to consider it from a literary and poetic point of view and as a personal ethic.