Frantz Fanon Quotes

A collection of quotes by Frantz Fanon.

Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) was a highly influential figure in postcolonial studies and a prominent thinker on decolonization. Born in the French colony of Martinique, Fanon experienced firsthand the oppressive nature of French colonial rule. This shaped his early political consciousness and fueled his commitment to fighting for the rights and liberation of colonized peoples.

Fanon studied medicine and psychiatry in France and specialized in psychiatry during the Algerian War of Independence. His experiences working at a psychiatric hospital in Algeria exposed him to the psychological effects of colonization on both the oppressed and the oppressor.

In 1952, Fanon published his seminal work, "Black Skin, White Masks," examining the psychological effects of racism and colonization on the black individual. This landmark book delved into themes of identity, alienation, and the quest for liberation from racial oppression.

Fanon's second major work, "The Wretched of the Earth" (1961), explored the dynamics of decolonization and the psychological and physical violence inflicted on colonized peoples. Drawing from his experiences in Algeria, Fanon argued for the necessity of violent resistance against colonial oppressors as a means of reclaiming humanity.

Despite his premature death from leukemia at the age of 36, Fanon's writings continue to inspire scholars, activists, and revolutionaries fighting against imperialism and colonialism. His critical analysis of the psychological and political effects of colonization remains relevant in understanding the enduring legacy of colonialism and the struggles for liberation in the modern world.

In the world through which I travel, I am endlessly creating

In the world through which I travel, I am endlessly creating myself.

Frantz Fanon

Travel

I am black: I am the incarnation of a complete fusion with t

I am black: I am the incarnation of a complete fusion with the world, an intuitive understanding of the earth, an abandonment of my ego in the heart of the cosmos, and no white man, no matter how intelligent he may be, can ever understand Louis Armstrong and the music of the Congo.

Frantz Fanon

Racism

The business of obscuring language is a mask behind which st

The business of obscuring language is a mask behind which stands the much bigger business of plunder.

Frantz Fanon

Speeches (oratory)

What I call middle-class society is any society that becomes

What I call middle-class society is any society that becomes rigidified in predetermined forms, forbidding all evolution, all gains, all progress, all discovery. I call middle-class a closed society in which life has no taste, in which the air is tainted, in which ideas and men are corrupt. And I think that a man who takes a stand against this death is in a sense a revolutionary.

Frantz Fanon

Class

There is a point at which methods devour themselves.

There is a point at which methods devour themselves.

Frantz Fanon

Science

I ascribe a basic importance to the phenomenon of language.

I ascribe a basic importance to the phenomenon of language. To speak means to be in a position to use a certain syntax, to grasp the morphology of this or that language, but it means above all to assume a culture, to support the weight of a civilization.

Frantz Fanon

Language

Fervor is the weapon of choice of the impotent.

Fervor is the weapon of choice of the impotent.

Frantz Fanon

Fanaticism

When a bachelor of philosophy from the Antilles refuses to a

When a bachelor of philosophy from the Antilles refuses to apply for certification as a teacher on the grounds of his color I say that philosophy has never saved anyone. When someone else strives and strains to prove to me that black men are as intelligent as white men I say that intelligence has never saved anyone: and that is true, for, if philosophy and intelligence are invoked to proclaim the equality of men, they have also been employed to justify the extermination of men.

Frantz Fanon

Equality