Concerning Violence & Other Issues
Following up on last week’s post about black radicalism versus pacifism, I was reminded of The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon. This landmark work has become the handbook for black radicalism in the United States and anti-colonial movements worldwide.
“The colonized man finds his freedom in and through violence,” says Fanon in his book. But are his words still relevant today, and how have social movements really benefited from this rhetoric? I plan to reread this book in the next few weeks, and give a more thorough analysis. I hope you will want to read the book too and follow along in the discussion.
In the meantime, you should check out this 2014 documentary called Concerning Violence, which is based on the book. Narrated by Lauryn Hill, the film uses archival footage from notable anti-colonial campaigns in Africa, and features interviews with Robert Mugabe, Amilcar Cabral and Tom Sankara.
Unfortunately, the full movie was just taken off of YouTube for free viewing, but you can still watch it in other places like Netflix. For now, check out the trailer here and an interview with the director below: