IN DEFENCE OF SARTRE’S CRITIQUE OF SENGHORIAN NEGRITUDE

Negritude responded vigorously to the alienated position of the blacks in history. The study clearly shows that the Negritude movement was inspired by many Africans to protest colonial rule, as black students, scholars, and artists from French colonies came together in the face of growing fascism, to push criticism of Western culture, colonialism, nostalgia for and glorification of Africa. The study also reveals that aim and objective of Leopold Sedar Senghor in Negritude, which was promoting appreciation of the history and culture of black people. The study equally shows that Leopold Senghor was a major theoretician of
Negritude. The study further reveals that the essence of Leopold Senghor's political thought was for the Africans to find pride in his culture, while Jean - Paul Sartre praised Negritude as the revolutionary poetry of the time, he maintained the traditional Marxist view about the proletariat being the true revolutionary class and actor of history. This work adopts method of Hermeneutics to argue a case for Sartre’s “Orhée Noir”.