Forms of Fanonism: Frantz Fanon's Critical Theory and the Dialectics of Decolonization

431 Pages·2011·1.35 MB·English

by  Reiland Rabaka

Forms of Fanonism

Forms of Fanonism
Frantz Fanon’s Critical Theory
and the Dialectics
of Decolonization
Reiland Rabaka
Lexington Books
A division of
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
Published by Lexington Books
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Copyright © 2010 by Lexington Books
First paperback edition 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval
systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who
may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The hardback edition of this book was previously cataloged by the Library of
Congress as follows:
Rabaka, Reiland, 1972–
Forms of Fanonism : Frantz Fanon’s critical theory and the dialectics of
decolonization / Reiland Rabaka.
p. cm.
1. Fanon, Frantz, 1925–1961—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Fanon, Frantz,
1925–1961—Political and social views. 3. Decolonization. 4. Postcolonialism.
5. Critical theory. I. Title.
JC273.F36R33 2010
325.301—dc22 2009043248
ISBN: 978-0-7391-4033-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN: 978-0-7391-4034-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
` ™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
For Frantz Fanon in commemoration of his eighty-fifth birthday
For Amilcar Cabral in commemoration of his eighty-fifth birthday
For Malcolm X in commemoration of his eighty-fifth birthday
For James Baldwin in commemoration of his eighty-fifth birthday
For my grandmother, Lizzie Mae Davis, in commemoration
of her eightieth birthday
For my grandmother, Elva Rita Warren, in celebration of
her eightieth birthday
For my great aunt, Arcressia Charlene Connor, in celebration of
her eightieth birthday
and, lastly and most lovingly,
For my mother, Marilyn Jean Giles, in celebration of
her sixtieth birthday
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika . . .

Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments: On the (Re)Formation
of Fanonism ix
Introduction—The Five Forms of Fanonism: Deconstructing and
Reconstructing Africana Studies, Radical Politics, and Critical Social
Theory in the Anti-imperialist Interests of the Wretched of the Earth 1
1 Antiracist Fanonism—Unmasking Blackness, Unmaking Whiteness:
Fanon’s Psycho-Sociopolitical Existential Phenomenology of
Race and Contributions to Revolutionary Blackness and
Critical Race Theory 49
2 Decolonialist Fanonism—Fanon’s Critical Theory of White
Supremacist Colonialism: From Radical Disalienation to
Revolutionary Decolonization 97
3 Marxist Fanonism—Toward a Critical Theory of White
Supremacist Colonial Capitalism: Fanon’s Critique,
Appreciation, Appropriation, and Modification of Marxism
in the Interests of Revolutionary Decolonization and
Revolutionary Re-Africanization 145
vii
viii Contents
4 Feminist Fanonism—The Facts of Black Radical Feminism(s) and
the Lived-Experience(s) of Revolutionary Algerian Women:
Fanon’s Contributions to Women’s Decolonization and
Women’s Liberation 217
5 Revolutionary Humanist Fanonism—Toward the Africana
Revolution, toward Relieving the Wretched of the Earth, and
toward Redeeming the Racial Colonial Patriarchal Capitalists’
Long-Lost Humanity 271
Bibliography 305
Index 387
About the Author 401
Preface and Acknowledgments
On the (Re)Formation of Fanonism
I don’t mind criticism. I can handle it, but most people can’t.
—Fela Kuti
Everything I did wrongly is an experience. . . . To be honest and truthful in
all endeavors is an experience, not a regret. . . . To be spiritual is not about
praying and going to church. Spiritualism is seeking an understanding of
the universe, so that it can be a better place to live in.
—Fela Kuti
[M]an is here against his will. Where do we come from? What was before
us? . . . When you think about dying or meditate on death you die, but
you’re not dead! It is merely a transition. . . . I just want to do my part
and leave. . . .You are concerned with what others will remember you for.
My position is not so much about what they’re going to remember me
for, but about what I believe in and what I stand for as a man; I mean to
say, as a human being.
—Fela Kuti
Now there’s the black cross, the green cross, the white cross, the double-
cross, the criss-cross, and the lost cross. And the cross gets awful heavy at
different times, but one is supposed to keep on going on and carrying the
cross on his shoulder, because you ain’t supposed to let no cross cross
ix