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Towards the African Revolution
This powerful collection of articles, essays, and letters spans the period between Black Skin, White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon's landmark manifestos on the psychology of the colonized and the means of empowerment necessary for their liberation.
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First published January 1, 1964
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About the author
Frantz Fanon
63 books2,707 followersFrantz Fanon was a psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary, and author from Martinique. He was influential in the field of post-colonial studies and was perhaps the pre-eminent thinker of the 20th century on the issue of decolonization and the psychopathology of colonization. His works have inspired anti-colonial liberation movements for more than four decades.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
May 19, 2016
Another one of those game changing books you come across occasionally. Fanon writes and comes across as he is speaking with unbelievable clarity. He makes such draconian statements against the colonising countries (in this example it’s the French) with such acuity and logic that you can do nothing much else but agree, not necessarily to his logic, but to the way he says it. It reminded me of the example of Charles Darwin who while certainly not the first to come up with the theory of evolution, he was, certainly the first to articulate in on his journey on The Beagle in a way that landed well and fitted with the masses. Survival of the “fittest” indeed and his version survived.
I wish I had read this straight after / before a savage war of peace because like the latter this book was about the way the Algerians were spearheading an impending revolution which Fannon was hoping would galvanise the potential creation of the United States of Africa. The following were a few of the more interesting points raised in the short book:
• “The object of racism is not the individual man but a certain form of existing”
• “There comes a time when silence becomes dishonesty. The ruling tensions of personal existence are not in accord with the permanent assaults on the most commonplace values."
• In the War against Algeria, especially, once the allegations of torture and the debate around that had been aired, a lot of western and to - great extent, Global sentiment turned against France. Part of this was the desire of other leading nations who had jettisoned their stronghold on Africa (UK, Italy, Belgium etc), to see France fail in a similar vein. This meant that France, sans Algeria, would compete with other European nations in particular on a level economic footing.
• By virtue of what Algeria was doing against the French, Fannon believed that all other occupied territories barring none had modified what it meant to be under the yolk of another nation.
• Fannon believed that ultimately, post-independence, one of the biggest challenges that Africa faced was the lack of an ideology. The same thing can be said of many iPhone crazed zombie – esque mutant humans today.
I wish I had read this straight after / before a savage war of peace because like the latter this book was about the way the Algerians were spearheading an impending revolution which Fannon was hoping would galvanise the potential creation of the United States of Africa. The following were a few of the more interesting points raised in the short book:
• “The object of racism is not the individual man but a certain form of existing”
• “There comes a time when silence becomes dishonesty. The ruling tensions of personal existence are not in accord with the permanent assaults on the most commonplace values."
• In the War against Algeria, especially, once the allegations of torture and the debate around that had been aired, a lot of western and to - great extent, Global sentiment turned against France. Part of this was the desire of other leading nations who had jettisoned their stronghold on Africa (UK, Italy, Belgium etc), to see France fail in a similar vein. This meant that France, sans Algeria, would compete with other European nations in particular on a level economic footing.
• By virtue of what Algeria was doing against the French, Fannon believed that all other occupied territories barring none had modified what it meant to be under the yolk of another nation.
• Fannon believed that ultimately, post-independence, one of the biggest challenges that Africa faced was the lack of an ideology. The same thing can be said of many iPhone crazed zombie – esque mutant humans today.
March 11, 2019
الثقافة في المخيال :
كان يدور ببالي منذ البداية لماذا يقاتل فانون الغير جزائري مع الثورة الجزائرية للتحرير بينما اكتفى كامو المولود في الجزائر بالنقد لسياسة فرنسا تجاه الجزائريين، الإجابة كانت في ماذا تعني اللحظة القادمة بالضبط لكل منهما ، ثقافة فانون أن تحرير الإفريقي الواحد من الاستعمار هي تحرير لأفريقيا بالكامل ، العقبة الكاملة أمامه هي الاستعمار الذي لا يتميز داخله أيضا الفكر المحلي حيث يصبح تحرك داخل نفس الفضاء الاستعماري وعلى هذا ينتقد فانون موسيقى البلوز أنها تصور الإفريقي عن نفسه داخل فضاء الاستعمار ، إذا لا ثقافة بلا تحرير بالنسبة لفانون ، أما كامو فلم يكن لديه هذا الشرط هو يرى في فرنسا الأنوار مستقبل آخر مستقبل الجزائري داخل هذا الفضاء ، فانون يسمي نوع كامو من المفكرين بالمثقف المرهق فهو في نفس الوقت الذي لا يرضى الانتهاكات التي يمثلها نظامه فإنه لا يفعل شيئا حيال ذلك
الهوية والجغرافيا ما قبل وبعد الاستعمار
يصف فانون سكان جزر الهند الغربية بأنهم زنوج تعبيرا عن الحالة التي يتعامل بها المستعمر معهم، ان الزنجي هو الدون للمستعمر الأعلى ، عقدة أعلى وادنى خلقها المُستعمِر نفسه كجزء من السيطرة على نفسية المُستَعمر ، الحالة ما قبل الاستعمارية هي الهوية الذاتية بينما بعد الاستعمار هي هوية مشوهة وان حاولت التعبير عن نفسها في نفس السياق فلن تفعل شيئا ، المكان نفسه يمتد في ذهنية المستعمِر بحيث تصبح الجزائر امتدادا لفرنسا بينما امتداد الجزائر العكسي إلى فرنسا هو توهمي فقط لموازنة الخطاب الذي يخفي وراءه السيطرة ، والتعذيب بالإضافة إلى الاستفادة الاقتصادية ، هنالك امتداد جغرافي آخر بالنسبة ل فانون هو امتداد المُستعمِر داخل بلده ، بحيث ان المُستعمِر هو ليس فقط فرنسا بل الفرنسيين العنصرين في بلدانهم الذين قاموا بطعن الكاتب اوينو و بالتعدي على المنظمات المضادة للعنصرية و الذين لم يهتموا بالمجازر التي تقوم بها بلادهم وامتداد آخر لنظام الاستعمار بكامله يقابله امتداد داخلي في البلدان المُستعمَرة
فانون والعنف
بالنسبة إلى فانون عنف المضهطدين هو عبارة عن فعل تحرر يقوم بإلغاء العنف الأولي للمُستعمِر ، تفكيك وسائله و نزع لسلطته ، فعل إعادة لسيطرته على أرضه وحياته ، إذا هو عنف مضاد ، فانون يعتبر مثل هذا العنف نوع مما يسميه الجنون الخلاّق الذي يقوم بترتيب الأحداث في اتجاه معين ، فهو مثلا يقول ان الدول التي لم تقوم بثورات عنف ضد المُستعمِر لابد لها ان تمر بلحظات عنيفة تجاه نفسها في مرحلة ما بعد الاستقلال كنوع من التحرر من القمع الذي كان واقعا عليها ، فالعنف ليس بغاية لحد ذاته بالنسبة ل فانون بل وسيلة تحرر
فانون وتحرير أفريقيا
يعتبر فانون ان الحرب الجزائرية كانت بمثابة اشارة تحرير لبقية المناطق الواقعة تحت الاستعمار حينها وفعل التضامن ما بين الدول الإفريقية الأخرى اشعار بضرورة وحدة افريقية قادمة ، هذه الرؤية نابعة من أثر الاشتراكية في فكر فانون مخلوطة بسيكولوجيا التحرير التي يتحدث عنها ، لكنه لا يضع خطوط مفصلة عن طبيعة الفكرة الغير مكتملة ، بهذا فانون كان يضع في باله ليس فقط استقلال الدول بل وحدتها في نظام قادم له ملامحه الافريقية
July 1, 2014
يبدوا هذالكتاب في هذه اللحظات العصيبة التي يمر بها عالم المشرق العربي كالوحي الذي يهمس و يبعث الحياة في قلوب الثوار والناشطين. لم يكون فانون قائدا ثوريا فهو ليس بجيفارا ولا جمال عبد الناصر, لقد كان ناشطا لم يتمكن من السكوت على الظلم, فتحدث فكانت عينه ثاقبة و كلماته التي وضع روحه فيهاالباعث و المرشد لي ثورة جديدةو ولملاين من "فانون" لم يعودوا يحتملون الصمت.
علمني فنون أن اقدم كل مالدي لما أومن به, حتى وأن كنت لا املك إلا القليل...في مؤلفاته, التي اصبحت فيما بعد مرجع لكثير من الدراسات اللتي تعتبر بدورها امهات لتخصصات رئت الضوء يما بعد بفضله, نجد نصائح و اشارات لاهم القضاية التضرم النار بين الثقافات.
علمني فنون أن اقدم كل مالدي لما أومن به, حتى وأن كنت لا املك إلا القليل...في مؤلفاته, التي اصبحت فيما بعد مرجع لكثير من الدراسات اللتي تعتبر بدورها امهات لتخصصات رئت الضوء يما بعد بفضله, نجد نصائح و اشارات لاهم القضاية التضرم النار بين الثقافات.
October 22, 2025
«O povo concreto, os homens e as mulheres, as crianças e os velhos do país colonizado apercebem-se facilmente de que existir no sentido biológico da palavra e existir enquanto povo soberano coincidem. A única saída possível, a única via de salvação para este povo, é responder tão energicamente quanto possível à empresa de genocídio conduzida contra ele.».
October 15, 2008
An interesting collection of Fanon's thoughts and political writings.
July 30, 2025
Brilliant from start to finish.
July 4, 2020
5 estrellas no solo a la lucidez intelectual de Frantz Fanon por la cuestión argelina y la necesidad de articulación conjunta de los pueblos colonizados del África para su liberación nacional, sino que también para la prosa que utiliza para los temas que plantea: la situación del norafricano en Francia, el racismo disfrazado de cultura y la hipocresía de los países colonizadores.
July 29, 2012
يختلف عن بقية كتابات فانون كونه تجميع لمقالات على فترات مختلفة في موضوع الاستعمار الفرنسي الجزائري + المغربي.. فهو من ناحية توثيقي يعرّفك بشكل أكبر بجبهة التحرير الوطني، ومن ناحية أخرى تشخيصي يفضح الاستعمار.ويؤكد كيفية صمود شعوب المغرب العربي بشكل عام والجزائري بشكل خاص.
June 25, 2020
Slowly we’re watching one of the most consequential Black thinkers develop his ideas. The book is a collection of articles, letters, and notes he wrote between the year he published White Mask, Black Skin and Wretched of the Earth. 👍🏾👍🏾
September 20, 2023
Baby's first post colonial theory! It maybe is invalidated by the fact that I read it at the pool at a costly resort/hotel in Dakar. I've heard his name off an on, of course, but I didn't know how much more than a theorist he was--that he was involved in the NLF in Algeria and close to Lumumba. Eager to read more of him--I'm quite positive that his work is part of the inspiration behind the whiteness disease in Ngugi wa Thiong'o's WIZARD OF THE CROW. What a blazing life.
March 9, 2022
All of it, timeless.
July 10, 2020
This book really is a deep dive into Algeria's fight for independence from France. In addition, Fanon presents the case for African unity. It's not an easy read, but worthwhile. There is also much presented that helps to understand the yolk of colonialism in Africa.
September 15, 2022
“It is the colonial peoples who must liberate themselves from colonialist domination.”
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December 28, 2020Contexto: na década de 30 (século XIX), a França adentra-se em território argelino; dá-se uma intervenção militar que dura quase 30 anos. Em 1871, consolidou-se o domínio francês, tendo a Argélia sido anexada à França, iniciando-se uma colonização de facto. As terras argelinas foram apropriadas por países europeus, e os agricultores rurais expulsos das suas terras. O árabe deixa de ser a língua primária no ensino, para dar lugar a uma educação francófona.
Este livro compila alguns dos textos políticos publicados no período mais ativo da vida do autor (1952-1961). Podemos afirmar que estes textos acompanham uma linha de raciocínio par a par com uma linha de combate. Os dois primeiros capítulos captam a experiência médica em psiquiatria, em concomitância com o estudo da pessoa colonizada, já que Fanon escolheu fazer clínica na Argélia, o palco do colonialismo. Assiste, num primeiro momento, às consequências psíquicas dos pacientes, arrancados da sua humanidade - como restituir alguém à vida, se a identidade de um povo é destruída por um capricho ocidental? O Norte-Africano é, nesta altura, um homem doente, sem relações humanas; de um modo patológico, vive quebrado, sequestrado da comunhão com a coletividade.
A França forçou os portões e proclamou-se legítima, ocupando uma terra que disse ser sua. Mas a ocupação foi, aliás, extensa, tanto em território como em ocupantes. Nesta medida, Fanon alberga, em seu discurso, a luta de todos os colonizados, não só os antilhanos ou argelinos. Todavia, não deixa de haver um foco na Argélia, até pela sua militância na Frente de Libertação Nacional, o que origina numa vontade de estender a Revolução Argelina à de todo um continente: a Revolução Africana. Mas é importante não esquecer que as colónias justapostas (Porto Rico, Jamaica, Trindade, Barbados, Haiti e Antilhas), apesar de terem sido colonizadas por europeus, não sofrem de homogeneidade, visto que são culturalmente distintas, vítimas de processos heterogéneos de ocupação militar e económica.
Encontramos, nos capítulos seguintes, ensinamentos notáveis acerca de diversos povos colonizados, assim como as consequências do racismo, fruto da colonização. Destaco as seguintes: a destruição dos valores culturais, da linguagem, do vestuário, mormente o esvaziamento dos valores; seguem-se a necessidade de escravização do povo autóctone, a expropriação, o despojamento e o assassínio objetivo. Como o autor sublinha, a implantação do regime colonial significa uma “agonia continuada”, cujo objetivo último será a mumificação do pensamento individual. A pessoa colonizada torna-se num objeto, sem razão de ser, segundo o qual o exotismo é uma das formas desta simplificação. “A culpabilidade e a inferioridade são as consequências habituais desta dialética”. Fanon está certo: um país colonial é um país racista.
É no seguimento da leitura que caímos a pique na realidade argelina. O autor não viveu para presenciar a vitória da independência deste povo, mas entregou parte da sua breve vida à causa. Para este, a libertação do território nacional argelino seria uma derrota para o racismo e para a exploração continuada, em que a tortura é uma modalidade das relações ocupante-ocupado. A verdade é que libertação não viria, jamais, do povo colonialista (basta analisar o conluio com a ONU e outros tantos). Quem se posiciona em vantagem não quererá abdicar desse estatuto; logo, quando as nações europeias se precipitaram a condenar a ocupação francesa, foi na tentativa de ver uma França amputada das suas colónias, confinada ao plano da livre concorrência (não em defesa do povo colonizado).
E se o colonialismo é fundamentalmente indesculpável, o que se exigiu foi uma restituição das terras (e tudo o que isso acarreta), não uma qualquer ocupação do lado contrário. Ademais, Fanon, enquanto marxista, critica os partidos de esquerda europeus, uma vez que a maioria pediu cautela à FLN. Ora, é inegável que os 10 anos de guerra de libertação nacional argelina foram sangrentos, mas e o que dizer dos campos de concentração construídos pelos franceses, em que se confinou cerca de 30% da população argelina? É lamentável que o argumento da ação democrática supere a liberdade de um povo ocupado, este que serviu inúmeras vezes de arma de arremesso nas lutas armadas francesas com outras potências bélicas.
Este livro compila alguns dos textos políticos publicados no período mais ativo da vida do autor (1952-1961). Podemos afirmar que estes textos acompanham uma linha de raciocínio par a par com uma linha de combate. Os dois primeiros capítulos captam a experiência médica em psiquiatria, em concomitância com o estudo da pessoa colonizada, já que Fanon escolheu fazer clínica na Argélia, o palco do colonialismo. Assiste, num primeiro momento, às consequências psíquicas dos pacientes, arrancados da sua humanidade - como restituir alguém à vida, se a identidade de um povo é destruída por um capricho ocidental? O Norte-Africano é, nesta altura, um homem doente, sem relações humanas; de um modo patológico, vive quebrado, sequestrado da comunhão com a coletividade.
A França forçou os portões e proclamou-se legítima, ocupando uma terra que disse ser sua. Mas a ocupação foi, aliás, extensa, tanto em território como em ocupantes. Nesta medida, Fanon alberga, em seu discurso, a luta de todos os colonizados, não só os antilhanos ou argelinos. Todavia, não deixa de haver um foco na Argélia, até pela sua militância na Frente de Libertação Nacional, o que origina numa vontade de estender a Revolução Argelina à de todo um continente: a Revolução Africana. Mas é importante não esquecer que as colónias justapostas (Porto Rico, Jamaica, Trindade, Barbados, Haiti e Antilhas), apesar de terem sido colonizadas por europeus, não sofrem de homogeneidade, visto que são culturalmente distintas, vítimas de processos heterogéneos de ocupação militar e económica.
Encontramos, nos capítulos seguintes, ensinamentos notáveis acerca de diversos povos colonizados, assim como as consequências do racismo, fruto da colonização. Destaco as seguintes: a destruição dos valores culturais, da linguagem, do vestuário, mormente o esvaziamento dos valores; seguem-se a necessidade de escravização do povo autóctone, a expropriação, o despojamento e o assassínio objetivo. Como o autor sublinha, a implantação do regime colonial significa uma “agonia continuada”, cujo objetivo último será a mumificação do pensamento individual. A pessoa colonizada torna-se num objeto, sem razão de ser, segundo o qual o exotismo é uma das formas desta simplificação. “A culpabilidade e a inferioridade são as consequências habituais desta dialética”. Fanon está certo: um país colonial é um país racista.
É no seguimento da leitura que caímos a pique na realidade argelina. O autor não viveu para presenciar a vitória da independência deste povo, mas entregou parte da sua breve vida à causa. Para este, a libertação do território nacional argelino seria uma derrota para o racismo e para a exploração continuada, em que a tortura é uma modalidade das relações ocupante-ocupado. A verdade é que libertação não viria, jamais, do povo colonialista (basta analisar o conluio com a ONU e outros tantos). Quem se posiciona em vantagem não quererá abdicar desse estatuto; logo, quando as nações europeias se precipitaram a condenar a ocupação francesa, foi na tentativa de ver uma França amputada das suas colónias, confinada ao plano da livre concorrência (não em defesa do povo colonizado).
E se o colonialismo é fundamentalmente indesculpável, o que se exigiu foi uma restituição das terras (e tudo o que isso acarreta), não uma qualquer ocupação do lado contrário. Ademais, Fanon, enquanto marxista, critica os partidos de esquerda europeus, uma vez que a maioria pediu cautela à FLN. Ora, é inegável que os 10 anos de guerra de libertação nacional argelina foram sangrentos, mas e o que dizer dos campos de concentração construídos pelos franceses, em que se confinou cerca de 30% da população argelina? É lamentável que o argumento da ação democrática supere a liberdade de um povo ocupado, este que serviu inúmeras vezes de arma de arremesso nas lutas armadas francesas com outras potências bélicas.
October 20, 2025
Geralmente não escrevo reviews em português, mas neste caso acho que se aplica não só porque o livro que li foi a tradução portuguesa, mas também há diversos paralelos entre a experiência que Fanon relata sobre a guerra colonial argelina e a guerra colonial portuguesa, alusão presente na capa da tradução portuguesa, em que Amílcar Cabral se encontra presente. Este livro é valioso não só pela experiência vivida de Fanon, mas também pela sua análise crítica do colonizador perante o colonizado tanto durante o processo de colonização como durante a revolta, que ele desenvolvera mais profundamente em "Peles Negras, Máscaras Brancas" e "Os despojados da Terra". Os paralelismos que se encontram presentes nas revoltas das colónias francesas e das portuguesas tornam a sua análise mais pertinente. E acima de tudo, a interpretação da psicologia por trás do colonizador é refletida nos processos de colonização atuais, como por exemplo, na Palestina. Recomendo vivamente a leitura deste livro como uma introdução a Frantz Fanon para qualquer pessoa interessada em pensamento decolonial.
January 20, 2013
زمن الأحلام النرجسية بتوحيد المستعمَرين في العالم ــ تغطي نصوص فرانز فانون السياسية المنشورة في هذا الكتاب <لأجل الثورة الافريقية> الحقبة الأكثر نشاطا في حياته النضالية، منذ نشر كتابه بشرة <سوداء وأقنعة بيضاء> في العام ,1952 حين كان فانون في الثامنة والعشرين من عمره، وصولا الى تاريخ نشر كتابه الأشهر <معذبو الأرض> في عام ,1961 والذي تزامن صدوره مع تاريخ وفاته بفارق أيام معدودة. وتعيد هذه النصوص رسم طريق تسلكه أفكار فانون المتعلقة بظاهرة الاستعمار التي لا بد من تطويرها اليوم بشكل مغاير عن مرحلة الخمسينيات. لكن تبقى أهمية هذا الكتاب كامنة في اختبار فانون لظاهرة الاستعمار من الداخل، إذ يستكشف فانون دوريا حالة المستعمر، ويعرضها بشكل علمي يكاد يكون محايدا أحيانا، مستعينا بخبرته اليومية في مجال الطب النفسي. كما يبين فانون موقف مثقفي اليسار من حرب الجزائر، وأبعاد التقاء كفاح المناضلين كافة في حركات التحرر الوطني الأفريقية، معلنا ثقته بالتحرير القريب لإفريقيا بكاملها، انطلاقا من تجربته الجزائرية النضالية في خمسينيات القرن الماضي
March 27, 2025
Overall a good book, a lot of information about Algeria and it kind of took my a long time to get through this. Unity of the colonized with an emphasis of fighting the colonizer seems to be the theme of this book. This book still applies today as we continue to fight against colonization. The last sentence of the book is still relevant and should be something we all think about because of the role we play in this world and how what happens in Congo affects us: "Let us be sure never to forget it: the fate of all of us is at stake in the Congo."
August 6, 2007
Just re-read this last year; and, it just dropped my jaw and made me feel so good, when I was sick and had it bad!
July 4, 2015
A strong collection of letters and journalistic prose from the front lines of the Algerian Wars of Liberation.
January 16, 2019
A wonderful testimony from an African hero
April 7, 2024
Letter to a Frenchman (pp. 47-51)
p.58
The fact is that the revolutionary commitment proved to be more and more total and the collaborators became aware of the gigantic awakening of a people in arms
This treatment of a demand for national liberation as if it were a peasant uprising, or a manifestation of social discontent, resulted from a double confusion: the idea that there is no Algerian national consciousness, on the one hand, and on the other, the conviction that the promises of improvement of the living standard of the populations would suffice to bring back order and peace.
p.59
The mistake common to these various manoeuvres is that the French authorities obstinately overlook the fact that the FLN identifies itself with the Algerian people. The husbands of the women who had been raped were in the local FLN group. In the evening they would come down from their operational sectors to kiss their children. And the houses of the wrecked douar had been built by the moudjahidines who held the surrounding mountain. The staff headquarters
p. 654
The Algerian Revolution, by proposing the l beration of the national territory, is aimed both at the death of this configuration and at the creation of a new society. The independence of Algeria is not only the end of colonialism, but the disappearance, in this part of the world, of a gangrene germ and of a source of epidemic.
The liberation of the Algerian national territory is a defeat for racism and for the exploitation of man; it inaugurates the unconditional reign of Justice.
p.71
The police agent who tortures an Algerian infringes no law. His act fits into the framework of the colonialist institution. By torturing, he manifests an exemplary loyalty to the system. And indeed the French soldiers can hardly do otherwise without condemning French domination. Every Frenchman in Algeria must behave like a torturer. Wanting to remain in Algeria, there is no other solution for France than the maintenance of a permanent military occupation and of a powerful police structure.
p.95
No man's death is indispensable for the triumph of freedom. It happens that one must accept the risk of death in order to bring freedom to birth, but it is not lightly that one witnesses so many massacres and so many acts of ignominy
p.105
Liberation is the total destruction of the colonial system, from the pre-eminence of the language of the oppressor and "departmentalization," to the customs union that in reality maintains the former colonized in the meshes of the culture, of the fashion, and of the images of the colonialist.
Any evocation of "former ties" or of unreal "communities" is a lie and a ruse.
p.58
The fact is that the revolutionary commitment proved to be more and more total and the collaborators became aware of the gigantic awakening of a people in arms
This treatment of a demand for national liberation as if it were a peasant uprising, or a manifestation of social discontent, resulted from a double confusion: the idea that there is no Algerian national consciousness, on the one hand, and on the other, the conviction that the promises of improvement of the living standard of the populations would suffice to bring back order and peace.
p.59
The mistake common to these various manoeuvres is that the French authorities obstinately overlook the fact that the FLN identifies itself with the Algerian people. The husbands of the women who had been raped were in the local FLN group. In the evening they would come down from their operational sectors to kiss their children. And the houses of the wrecked douar had been built by the moudjahidines who held the surrounding mountain. The staff headquarters
p. 654
The Algerian Revolution, by proposing the l beration of the national territory, is aimed both at the death of this configuration and at the creation of a new society. The independence of Algeria is not only the end of colonialism, but the disappearance, in this part of the world, of a gangrene germ and of a source of epidemic.
The liberation of the Algerian national territory is a defeat for racism and for the exploitation of man; it inaugurates the unconditional reign of Justice.
p.71
The police agent who tortures an Algerian infringes no law. His act fits into the framework of the colonialist institution. By torturing, he manifests an exemplary loyalty to the system. And indeed the French soldiers can hardly do otherwise without condemning French domination. Every Frenchman in Algeria must behave like a torturer. Wanting to remain in Algeria, there is no other solution for France than the maintenance of a permanent military occupation and of a powerful police structure.
p.95
No man's death is indispensable for the triumph of freedom. It happens that one must accept the risk of death in order to bring freedom to birth, but it is not lightly that one witnesses so many massacres and so many acts of ignominy
p.105
Liberation is the total destruction of the colonial system, from the pre-eminence of the language of the oppressor and "departmentalization," to the customs union that in reality maintains the former colonized in the meshes of the culture, of the fashion, and of the images of the colonialist.
Any evocation of "former ties" or of unreal "communities" is a lie and a ruse.
May 28, 2024
Highly recommend this to anyone who wants to read Fanon or thought about reading, “The Wretched of the Earth.” Read this first, as it will give context into the Algerian Revolution.
This book is composed of letters, essays, articles from 1952-1961 and traces Fanon’s development and thought-process behind colonialism, racism and culture, national liberation and African unity.
The Algerian Revolution was a catalyst for other African states to attain national liberation through armed struggle. As expected, the French empire was shook about Algeria attaining independence, as it would set forth a wave of decolonization efforts in Africa.
Colonialism is barbarism, it is savagery. It is not a civilizing mission. The function is to dominate, dehumanize and alienate an indigenous people, and exploit labor, land and natural resources.
The collapse and death of French colonialism in Algeria was a threat to the other colonial empires who ruled throughout Africa. The break of the African states from colonial rule into national independence did not guarantee economic independence from neo-colonial rule.
The book ends with the assassination of Patrice Lumumba and the coups that would mark the re-colonization of Africa through economic means: banks, loans, debts and aid.
This book is composed of letters, essays, articles from 1952-1961 and traces Fanon’s development and thought-process behind colonialism, racism and culture, national liberation and African unity.
The Algerian Revolution was a catalyst for other African states to attain national liberation through armed struggle. As expected, the French empire was shook about Algeria attaining independence, as it would set forth a wave of decolonization efforts in Africa.
Colonialism is barbarism, it is savagery. It is not a civilizing mission. The function is to dominate, dehumanize and alienate an indigenous people, and exploit labor, land and natural resources.
The collapse and death of French colonialism in Algeria was a threat to the other colonial empires who ruled throughout Africa. The break of the African states from colonial rule into national independence did not guarantee economic independence from neo-colonial rule.
The book ends with the assassination of Patrice Lumumba and the coups that would mark the re-colonization of Africa through economic means: banks, loans, debts and aid.
September 9, 2025
"o racismo não é uma descoberta acidental. não é um elemento escondido, dissimulado. não se exigem esforços sobrehumanos para o pôr em evidência. o racismo entra pelos olhos dentro precisamente porque se insere num conjunto caracterizado: o da exploração desvergonhada de um grupo de homens por outro que chegou a um estádio de desenvolvimento técnico superior. é por isso que, na maioria das vezes, a opressão militar e económica precede, possibilita e legitima o racismo."
"não se devia recorrer a ONU. a ONU nunca foi capaz de resolver validamente um único dos problemas postos à consciência do homem pelo colonialismo, e sempre que interveio foi para ir concretamente em socorro da dominação colonialista do país opressor."
"não se devia recorrer a ONU. a ONU nunca foi capaz de resolver validamente um único dos problemas postos à consciência do homem pelo colonialismo, e sempre que interveio foi para ir concretamente em socorro da dominação colonialista do país opressor."
April 22, 2023
A dying revolutionary's last words to a world on fire. These are short pieces on big subjects, from the rape of the Congo by the United States and the United Nations to the National Liberation Front in Algeria on the verge of victory to Fanon trying to reconcile, for his own sake and that of his Black brothers and sisters, Marxism with Pan-Africanism. Fanon died just on the cusp of Black Revolution of the 1960s. These letters and essays are his legacy and testament to a generation he would inspire but not live to see in action.
June 28, 2021
If the Black Man and Woman is serious about their dignity. If the Black Man and Woman wants to at minimum feel like they have every inch of dignity that God blesses a people with in connection to a land, to a river, to forest, to the wildlife. . to a Nation-State! Then I highly advise one to not just read but study the success of Frantz Fanon and The FLN in attaining independence in Algeria. It will set you free, if not one day physically, mentally.
RIP Frantz Fanon.
-Kelly Marlett
RIP Frantz Fanon.
-Kelly Marlett
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October 30, 2024Toward the African Revolution by Frantz Fanon echoes the themes of his earlier work, A Dying Colonialism, with its deep focus on Algeria while also broadening its lens to other parts of Africa, which I appreciated. My only minor criticism, though not a fault of Fanon’s, is that I wished for more writings that addressed the continent as a whole. However, this critique speaks more to what the book could have been than to any shortcomings in what it actually is.
December 30, 2021
Typical Fanon. Some good stuff some bad stuff. Probably easier to read than most of his other stuff because it’s just a collection of essays that he wrote at different times rather than one homogenous book. Easy enough to skip the chapters you’re not interested in and focus on the ones I did like.
The el moujahid essays were essentially propaganda but were still often very good
The el moujahid essays were essentially propaganda but were still often very good
June 1, 2022
A posthumous collection of Fanon’s unpublished works. Still very high quality, though a little meandering at times. There are moments where I felt Wretched of the Earth could have been made clearer by the inclusion of some passages from this work
March 19, 2024
A fine collection of Fanon’s writings that may not have the same impact at Wretched of the Earth and Black Skin, White Masks, yet still offers profound insight into Fanon’s positions on postcolonial matters.
June 10, 2021
Incredible collection of dispatches from a revolution in progress.
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