The Effects of Censorship on the Emergence of Anti-Colonial Protest in France

Abstract

This essay reveals evidence of censorship from the colonial archive and assesses the negative impact it had on the emergence of anti-colonial protest in France. I consider the literary historical implications for the Negritude movement in particular and contrast the effects of censoring such works as Légitime Défense and Batouala during the interwar period with the relative degree of freedom accorded French surrealists at the time. I demonstrate how French colonial administrators deliberately thwarted an emerging alliance between left-wing political organizations in Europe, notably the French Communist Party and its Colonial Section, and anti-colonial activism in Africa. I argue that race was a multi-faceted issue that involved skin color, social identity and labor power, which were overlapping elements whose intersections became increasingly charged as political awareness sharpened during the 1950s. In conclusion, I discuss current issues related to black identity in France and the enduring relevance of Negritude for contemporary artists and intellectuals in Africa and the Diaspora.