The Fact of Blackness

Presented by Sami ul HaqM Phil English Literature 3rd Semester

Lahore Leads University

Author (short introduction) Introduction of the essay Demographics of the world (Race) Afro American’s Racism / pride and prejudice/superior

inferior /Oppressor, oppressed Explanation of essay Conclusion/ lesson of the essay

Sequence of presentation

Frantz Fanon

Born on Caribbean island Martinique, a French colony on 20 July 1925, died 06 Dec 1961.

His father ,a descendent of enslaved African’s, his mother , an illegitimate child of African ,Indian and European descendent.

He was a psychiatrist, philosopher,

revolutionary and writer, famous in postcolonial study, critical theory and Marxism, concerned with psychopathology of colonization .

Frantz Fanon

The Fact of Blackness

Fanon in this essay says:

I am cast out on the basis of color prejudice. About color Fanon says: it is not self created but

is thrown by nature. “his customs and the basis on which they

were based, were wiped out because they were in conflict with civilization.”

“In America , negroes are segregated.” “they objectively cut away slices of my reality”

The Fact of Blackness

“Blackness” is a social “uniform” which

functions as a means to set apart and ultimately alienate the black man.

(Ashcroft 2006 et al, P292) Chinua Achebe in his 1975 speech: An Image

of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” argues that Africa has been “set up as a foil” to western world, i.e his choice of title “Heart of Darkness” in which “darkness” refers to Africa.

Blackness

Michael M Wright in “Becoming Black 2003”

explores that the black other is as old as western white self, by creating inferior African / Black other’s, white forged a superior image of themselves.

Blackness

Demographics of the world: Religion

World total population is about seven Billion.

Major religions Christianity, Islam , Hinduism and Buddhism.

Demographics of the world race

White , Black , Hispanic , Asian etc

White in 1900 were 35% , now loosing their number, some says by 2060 they will be in single digit.

“to be American you first had to be white”(Jackson era ist half of 19th century)

www.sciencechatforum.com

Racism

5th century BC treatise Airs, waters, place by Hippocrates, about which Aristotle notes:

“ the idea that dark people are cowards, and light people courageous fighters, is found in Air , Water places” Hegel; blackness is

due to environment.

“Mama see the negro! I am frightened!” I am

frightened! I am frightened!” “look how handsome that negro is!...” “Kiss the handsome negro’s ass, madame!” “the handsome little boy is trembling because

he thinks that the nigger is quivering with rage”

“the little white boy throws himself into his mother’s arms: mama , the nigger’s going to eat me up”

RACISM

Races

White Mullato Nigger

African American : Slavery

African American : Share Cropper

African American :Jim crow

African American : Lynching

African American : Civil rights movement

African American : Emancipation

Emancipation Terms such as nigger

and other were replaced by “Colored” which means “Black”.

Struggle for new identity

Great Depression First identity

slavery , now they want to create new identity.

Racism/ identity crises

Native Son (Bigger Thomas)

Dalton’s white cat gazes at Bigger (Symbolizing white society)

“White Man Black Masks” “Grapes of Wrath” “The White Man’s Burden” “Things Fall Apart” “Heart of Darkness” “The Bluest Eyes” (Picola Breedlove) “Sula”

Racism/ identity crises

Fanon says; Blackness is a constructive

identity that exist for the purpose of distinguishing between black and white.

Discourse (blackness as negativity) They are forced to wear uniform of blacks. Their identity is fixed, so it is fact of blackness. “being for others”

The Fact of Blackness

Fanon: “Every ontology is made un attainable

in a colonized and civilized society” “not only the black must be black; he must be

black in relation to the white man” “the black has no ontological resistance in the

eyes of the white man”

The Fact of Blackness: quotations

“it is difficult to develop own schema.” Hegel: two type of self consciousness is

created independent and dependent. “black customs were wiped up as they were in

conflict with civilization” “ to whiten their selves and throw off the

burden of the corporeal malediction” (as Michael Jackson did)

The Fact of Blackness: quotations

Fanon says the philosophy professor told me:

“whenever you hear any one abuse the Jews, pay attention, because he is talking about you” An anti-Semite is inevitably anti-negro” Bigger Thomas: “all those white men in a

group, guns in their hands, can not be wrong. I am guilty, I do not know of what, but I know that I am no good”

The Fact of Blackness: quotations

Fanon says I was bettered down by;1. Cannibalism “what an idea to eat one’s

father!”2. Intellectual deficiency3. Racial defects4. Slave ships

Problems with nigger

“William Black on The Lord’s Prayer” says: “The knave who is converted to Deism and the knave who is converted to Christianity is still a knave. But he himself will not know it, though everybody else does.” Fanon: “I am locked into the infernal circle” “I attached myself to my brothers, Negroo’s

like myself. To my horror, they too reject me. They are almost white.”

Color prejudice

“no exception was made for refined

manners ,or my knowledge of literature ,or my understanding of the quantum theory”

French men said in train where Fanon was sitting: “Just let the real French virtues keep going and the race is safe.”

Color prejudice

But Fanon wants change in identity, he says: “I want to be a man among other men” “The white man’s happiness can not be

purchased by the black man’s misery”(Frederick Douglass)

“ I felt knife blades open within me. I resolve to defend myself. As a good tactician, I intended to rationalize the world and to show the white man that he was mistaken.”

Purpose

Blackness is linked with negativity by whites. Fanon says , all those negativity and attached discourse

is the fact of Blackness. Fanon and all nigroo’s are discarded on the basis of

color prejudices. Fanon knows and accepts shortcomings of his own race. He is fed up ,he wants change in their identity. Heart of Darkness is written with racist point of view. Fanon wants equality. Fanon life was a tragedy , there was no outlet , this

essay is his catharsis.

Conclusion

Jim crow is intact even in the present age, but

modified shape. After emancipation words like nigger and other

were replaced by colored (black). NAACP Obama as a president. Still race problems. ASU: US race theory and the problem of

whiteness (SP ,2015)

Conclusion

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