African Nationalism or Nationalist Movement Essay

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By nationalism they meant not only the cultivation of love for their land and nation but also the development of an identity -- A sense of who Africans were and what they stood for which would be based on nothing that white people had been teaching but on something that would be exclusive to Africa and African consciousness.

The new sense of self would then reflect in all the actions of African people including their writings. It was believed that oppressors so dominate the minds and souls of the conquered people, that the latter start believing in their inferiority and try to please their oppressor by producing work that would be more universal in its subject. However that had to change if Africans wanted to believe in themselves. They would need to address their own people, their own problems and their own cultures and write for their own audiences which would not only in giving voice to the frustrations and issues of African people but by and large would also educate them about their own condition.

Over the decades, many nations have successfully delved deeper into the issues of their lost identities and developed a more comprehensive new identities for themselves. This has helped them tremendously in breaking free of their past. One such example would that be of India where British had colonized people for around 300 years. However while in the occupation too, Indians were aware of themselves and their needs. Since they had once been a dominant nation, they still believed in themselves and kept getting education while being under occupation. This had a positive impact on their minds as they fought hard for their freedom and once independent, they were able to stand on their feet far more quickly than any African occupied nation.

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On top of that, they also addressed the issues and problems of their people in their writings. Even their English writers were basically interested in highlighting the social evils, problems, ills of their own society instead of turning to the west or writing for the west. This gave them immense sense of pride in their own identities; in who they were and what they believed in. today India is a force to reckon with.

African-Americans also succeeded in creating a new identity which was far more powerful than they ever though possible by means of writing for their people about their own problems. Some of the best literature of the 20th century came from African-American writers such as Toni Morrison who addressed the slavery, the reconstruction and such other forces that had an immense impact on the enslaved psyches of African-American people for centuries.

Caribbean nationalists also tend to subscribe to the same belief and the same method of regaining a sense of self. Thus they follow ideals of people like Fanon who sought to rely on their own will power and courage of conviction to wipe off the damaging effects of colonialism. They believed that instead of looking to the west for an interpretation of African identity, they need to develop an identity that is exclusively their own-free of any influence, free of white domination and free of years of white social and….....

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