négritude

négritude nĕg´rĭto͞od˝, –tyo͞od [key], a literary movement on the part of French-speaking African and Caribbean writers who lived in Paris during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Adherents ofnégritudeincluded Leopold SédarSenghor, LéonDamas, and AiméCésaire, who is said to have coined the term. Characteristic ofnégritudeare a denunciation of Europe's devastation of Africa, a decrying of the coldness and stiffness of Western culture and its lack of the humane qualities found in African cultures, and an assertion of the glories and truths of African history, beliefs, and traditions.

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