Journal of Black Studies

In the most general sense, the African Renaissance entails Africans combatting the racialization, colonization, and neo-colonization of Africa and committing to the decolonization, re-Africanization, and liberation of Africa. When Amilcar Cabral and Frantz Fanon’s radical theory and revolutionary praxis (i.e., Cabralism and Fanonism, respectively) are placed into critical dialog a groundbreaking dialectic of revolutionary decolonization and revolutionary re-Africanization emerges. This article argues that this dialectic is sorely needed to reanimate—perhaps even radicalize and, indeed, revolutionize—contemporary conceptions of the African Renaissance. To that end, first, this article will explore the conceptual connections between Cabral’s theory of “return to the source” and Fanon’s theory of “the wretched of the earth.” Next, it will investigate Cabral’s distinct discourse on revolutionary decolonization and its implications for the African Renaissance. Lastly, the discussion will examine the ways in which Fanon’s theory of radical political education is key to understanding his and Cabral’s conceptions of, and key contributions to, both revolutionary decolonization and revolutionary re-Africanization, as well as their reverberations within the discourse on the African Renaissance.

African-American trailblazers are crucial in the game of golf as unlike some of the other mainstream sports, such as football, baseball, and basketball, the sport of golf has been historically entrenched in patriarchy and white privilege. The article analyzes the pioneering efforts and trailblazing endeavors of four legendary black golfers in this regard—Ted Rhodes, Charlie Sifford, Lee Elder, and Tiger Woods. Each of these black trailblazers has taken varied approaches in fighting for racial inclusivity in golf, from more implicit and non-confrontational tactics to more radical and militant ones. The article focuses on the racial discrimination experienced by each trailblazer, the strategies each took to fight injustice and racial inequality and advocate for equal participation in golf, and their successes and failures of breaking down barriers for future black players. Consideration in the article is also given to the phenomenon of trailblazing and how golf needs African-American trailblazers such as Tiger Woods to transition the exclusive sport to a game that is more easily accessible by all races and genders.

This article examines Fanon’s reasoning on the inevitability of using violence for both antagonistic projects of colonialism and decolonization. Based on Fanon’s political thought, the article explores how the mono-concept of violence is interpreted differently. Such a lack of harmony in the interpretation of the concept of violence has called this article to be undertaken for an examination of Fanon’s conception of violence, hence he reveals that the use of violence is unavoidable for both colonialism and (genuine) decolonization. In that perspective, Fanon shows how since the first launch of the conquest, colonizers had to arbitrarily use violence, the same violence that is still characterizing the long-lasting project of colonialism. Likewise, for the realization of full decolonization, Fanon’s concern is that the colonized subjects have to launch back the same accumulated violence, for them to travel to a new world—a world lived by new human beings who are genuinely decolonized.

Disability studies globally is concerned, in various ways, with questions of systemic injustices and inequities that persons with disabilities are subjected to. Persons with disabilities are often positioned as the objects of research rather than equal thinkers and knowledge bearers in their own right. These issues are amplified in the context of African societies, where access is even more challenging than in wealthier countries, and many persons with disabilities are excluded from education altogether. This situation reinforces their epistemic vulnerability. As such, there is limited work on doing disability research from the frame of reference of those in these African societies. This article operates at the nexus of two scholarly traditions. The first of these is the field of disability studies, which is generally dominated by Global North thinking than ideas and experiences from the Global South, and which has addressed questions of knowledge and participation quite extensively, but most commonly in high-income countries. The second is the long-standing political and epistemological African Renaissance lens for understanding and rebelling against imperialism and neo-colonial advances in formerly colonized African societies. I integrate and engage these two scholarly traditions to contribute to charting possibilities of what critical disability studies might look like and mean, from the premise of an African Renaissance. Central to this discussion is building on African theorization while also challenging the dominating and hegemonic white-centric theorization that dominates the field and epistemology in general.