Page 384 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

senghor, léopold 1685

power in Africa.Although he wrote his poetry in French,
Senghor, Léopold the language of the colonizer, Senghor gave homage to

(1906–2001) being black. His poetry celebrated the beauty of African
African politician women, the rhythms of the land, and the cultures of
Africa, including music, art, poetry, religion, and politics.
éopold Sédar Senghor was an African poet, a politi- In his poetry he rejected the subjugated place that Euro-
Lcian, and a black Frenchman whose life shaped pean civilization had defined for Africa and Africans. His
African politics, literature, and the intellectual movement poetry transcended African, European, and U.S. borders
known as “Negritude.” He blended French, U.S. Carib- to be widely read and discussed.
bean, and African ideas during a time of historic change. As an African living in France, Senghor met Aimé
Senghor was born in Joal, Senegal, as the fifth child of Césaire, who would become his lifelong friend, and this
Basile Diogoye Senghor and Gnylane Bakhoum.Accord- meeting proved another turning point for him.Through
ing to family legend, at the moment of his birth he was Césaire, Senghor was introduced to the Caribbean dias-
possessed by a great spirit that had previously dwelled in pora (scattering) in Paris, leading black intellectuals, the
a large baobab tree. The tree cracked and fell to the Harlem Renaissance, its ideas, music, and literature.
ground the moment he was born.Thus, people believed Studying the advancement of U.S. blacks gave Senghor
that the spirit had found a new host. His family always hope for Africans. As co-founder of the Negritude move-
referred to him by his birth name, “Sédar,” and he was ment, Senghor sought to infuse African identity with dig-
seemingly destined for greatness. His first seven years nity, pride, and honor. The essential objective of the
were spent among the Serer, a matrilineal (tracing descent movement was to define black as beautiful against a back-
through the matrilineal line) clan, and he grew up with drop of worldwide racial injustice and discrimination.
his mother. His childhood presented him with the prob- Using literature and poetry, Negritude attempted to
lem of competing family claims: those of his mother, his rebuild the validity of African culture and to establish a
uncle, and his father. He quickly learned to recognize positive image of black consciousness; Negritude held
what was appropriate to each and to discipline his own that a special social quality and humanness exist in
wishes in order to live harmoniously.At age seven he was blackness.
exposed to his father’s world of international trade and In 1948, after reaching success as a poet, publishing
to the missionary and French education systems. He numerous books, and co-founding the cultural journal
quickly grew to understand old and new Europe and Présence Africaine, Senghor returned to Senegal and
Africa. He learned to balance the demands of multiple made the leap to politics full-time. His life had prepared
responsibilities and loyalties.This balance prepared him him well, and he was the consummate politician. He
for his life as a French politician and an African leader. spoke publicly of broad idealistic goals, he was a shrewd
His greatest disappointment perhaps led him to deal maker, and he retained a sense of balance necessary
become a poet and politician.When a racist priest failed for a Christian leader in a Muslim country. He pro-
to recommend Senghor for seminary school he was moted African socialism, accepting the German political
crushed. However, when given a second opportunity to philosopher Karl Marx’s ideas that people should not be
attend seminary his response was,“I felt I would not there alienated from the products of their labor. He believed
get the instruments necessary for the liberation of black that people have natural rights and that people have to
Africa” (Vaillant 1990, 41). He continued his education remain free agents and creators of culture. However, he
in Dakar, Senegal, and in Paris, using poetry and prose rejected Marxism and Communism because he disagreed
as an outlet for his emerging views. His first poetry with the ideas that social complexities universally fit
appeared during the late 1930s at the height of colonial into the concept of class struggles and with Marxism’s