Born on 20th of July 1925 in Fort-de-France on the Caribbean Island of Martinique, Baba Frantz Omar Fanon grew to become one of “the major anti-colonial thinkers of the 20th century. “ (1) He is also the third of the “Triple Centenary” triumvirate being celebrated this year along with Omowale Malcolm X (born 19th May 1925) and Patrice Lumumba (2nd July 1925). (2)
He received a typical colonial education until his mid-teens when he was introduced to the concept of Negritude, by his then teacher, poet Aimé Césaire. This moved him closer to his Afrikan roots. Nevertheless, he went on to join the French Army aged 18 and fought in World War 2, serving in Morocco and Algeria. The racism he experienced in the army led him to concede WWII as a “white man’s war.” (3)
After the war he moved to France when he studied to become a Psychiatrist. He used his military experiences to explore the racial dynamics of Black Identity, colonialism and Double Consciousness, for example how Black individuals internalize white norms —speaking French, adopting European customs —to gain acceptance, only to fracture their sense of self known as “white masks.” These studies formed the basis of his book, Black Skin, White Masks, published in 1952.
“The colonized is elevated above his jungle status in proportion to his adoption of the mother country’s cultural standards.” (4)
His next books, A Dying Colonialism published in 1959 and The Wretched of the Earth published in 1961, would give a voice to the anti-colonial movement of that time, advocating armed resistance against oppression. These were influeneced by his working in the Algerian liberation movement, first in Algeria then in Tunisia:
“Colonialism is not a thinking machine, nor a body endowed with reasoning faculties. It is violence in its natural state, and it will only yield when confronted with greater violence.” (5)
While in Tunisia he also served as Ambassador to Ghana for the Provisional Algerian Government (GPRA) and attended conferences in Accra, Conakry, Addis Ababa, Leopoldville, Cairo and Tripoli. Many of his shorter writings from this period were collected posthumously in the book Toward the African Revolution.
“The enemies of Africa realized with a certain fear and trembling that if Lumumba should succeed… it was all up with “their” Africa, for which they had very precise plans.” (6)
In 1961, Fanon was diagnosed with leukemia, and was sent to the United States for treatment. At the early age of thirty-six, he died in Bethesda, Maryland on December 6, 1961.
Franz Fanon’s work has been profoundly influential in anti-colonial and Black liberation movements and postcolonial thought. His analysis of the psychological impact of colonialism and racism. His advocacy of armed resistance was taken up by the likes of Osagyefo Kwamr Nkrumah. (7) Consequently, Fanon’s critique of Western philosophy and science, and his vision of a decolonized future continue to inspire activists and scholars today. To wit, he offered this prescient maxim:
“Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it.” (8)
In the present some suggest that “Fanon’s anti-colonial manifesto lives on in Yemen, Palestine, Sahel states.” (9)
(1) Dr. Maulana Karenga (28/02/24) The Chair’s Message. https://www.us-organization.org/30th/ppp.html
(2) Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (28/04/25) What is the TRIPLE CENTENARY? https://alkebulan.org/2025/04/28/aswag-534-triple-centenary/
(3) Alvaro Lopez (08/03/24) The Making of Frantz Fanon. https://jacobin.com/2024/03/frantz-fanon-rebels-clinic-review
(4) Franz Fanon (1967) Black Skin, White Masks. Grove Press. p. 18. https://monoskop.org/images/a/a5/Fanon_Frantz_Black_Skin_White_Masks_1986.pdf
(5) Franz Fanon (1963) The Wretched of the Earth. Grove Press. P. 61. https://monoskop.org/images/6/6b/Fanon_Frantz_The_Wretched_of_the_Earth_1963.pdf
(6) Franz Fanon (1969) Toward the African Revolution. Grove Press. P. 193. https://monoskop.org/images/0/05/Fanon_Frantz_Toward_the_African_Revolution_1967.pdf
(7) Kwame Nkrumah (1968) Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare. Panaf Books Limited. p. 42. Nkrumah states: “Revolutionary warfare is the logical, inevitable answer to the political, economic and social situation in Africa today. We do not have the luxury of an alternative. We are faced with a necessity.”
(8) Fanon (1963) P. 206
(9) Lev Koufax (10/07/25) The Wretched of the Earth: Fanon’s anti-colonial manifesto lives on in Yemen, Palestine, Sahel states. https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2025/07/10/the-wretched-of-the-earth-fanons-anti-colonial-manifesto-lives-on-in-yemen-palestine-sahel-states/
we ask the question:
Franz Fanon Centenary: What is his legacy?
1) Does Fanon’s Black Skin White Masks diagnosis still apply today?
2) How does his political analysis stand 60 years after independence?
3) Has the current generation identified its mission?
4) Is it betraying it or fulfilling it?
Our Special Guest:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of almost 40 years standing and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.
Lewis R. Gordon, PhD, FRSA: is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy at University of Connecticut, Storrs,; Honorary President of the Global Center for Advanced Studies; Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Fort Hare University; and Distinguished Scholar at The Most Honourable PJ Patterson Centre for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy at The University of the West Indies, Mona. He co-edits the journal Philosophy and Global Affairs, the Rowman & Littlefield/Bloomsbury book series Global Critical Caribbean Thought, and the Routledge-India book series Academics, Politics and Society in the Post-Covid World. He is the author of many books, including, most recently, Freedom, Justice, and Decolonization (Routledge, 2021), Fear of Black Consciousness ( Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the US, Penguin in the UK, 2022), and Black Existentialism & Decolonizing Knowledge: Writings of Lewis R. Gordon (Bloomsbury, 2023), What Fanon Said: A Philosophical Introduction to his Life and Thought (2015), Fanon: A Critical Reader (Co-Ed, 1996) and Fanon and the Crisis of European Man: An Essay on Philosophy and the Human Sciences (1995. He is the 2022 recipient of the Eminent Scholar Award from the Global Development Studies division of the International Studies Association. In 2023 and became a Fellow in the Royal Society for the Arts in 2024.
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