Discourse on Colonialism

This classic work, firstpublished in France in 1955, profoundly influenced the generation ofscholars and activists at the forefront of liberation struggles inAfrica, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Nearly twenty years later,when published for the first time in English, Discourse on Colonialisminspired a new generation engaged in the Civil Rights, Black Power, andanti-war movements and has sold more than 75,000 copies to date.

Aimé Césaire eloquently describes the brutal impact of capitalism andcolonialism on both the colonizer and colonized, exposing thecontradictions and hypocrisy implicit in western notions of "progress"and "civilization" upon encountering the "savage," "uncultured," or"primitive." Here, Césaire reaffirms African values, identity, andculture, and their relevance, reminding us that "the relationshipbetween consciousness and reality are extremely complex. . . . It isequally necessary to decolonize our minds, our inner life, at the sametime that we decolonize society." An interview with Césaire by the poetRené Depestre is also included.