The Congress of Black Writers and Artists ( French: ''Congrès des écrivains et artistes noirs''; originally called the Congress of Negro Writers and Artists) was a meeting of leading

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

s for the purpose of addressing the issues of

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, and ''

Négritude ''Négritude'' (from French "Nègre" and "-itude" to denote a condition that can be translated as "Blackness") is a framework of critique and literary theory, developed mainly by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians of the African ...

''. The First Congress of Black Writers and Artists was organized by the

Pan-African Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement ext ...

quarterly cultural, political, and

literary review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years by v ...

Présence Africaine ''Présence Africaine'' is a pan-African quarterly cultural, political, and literary magazine, published in Paris, France, and founded by Alioune Diop in 1947. In 1949, ''Présence Africaine'' expanded to include a publishing house and a bookstore ...

''. It was held in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in September 1956. Ahmed Sékou Touré spoke at the Second Congress of Black Writers and Artists, which was held in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1959. One of the most influential Congress was held in Montreal at the University of McGill October 11–14, 1968, it was organized primarily by the Caribbean Conference Committee and was described as the "largest Black Power conference ever held outside the United States"

''Princes and Powers'' by James Baldwin

The account of the congress in the essay ''Princes and Powers'', by

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

writer James Baldwin, has been credited with bringing the congress to the attention of the English-speaking world. Reports of the congress were published in many newspapers around Paris giving the wider French audience an idea of the issues being discussed. The essay was published in the literary journal ''Preuves'', which unknown to Baldwin, was a front for the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

. Regardless of the political ties, this essay spread the news of the Black Congress to English speakers around the world. In ''Princes and Powers'', Baldwin recaps the philosophical discussions around African statehood but also conflicts surrounding

. Baldwin and other American delegates found themselves isolated from the ideas spouted by French-speaking delegates such as

Alioune Diop Alioune Diop (10 January 1910 – 2 May 1980) was a Senegalese writer and editor, founder of the intellectual journal ''Présence africaine'', and a central figure in the ''Négritude'' movement.Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...

. As proponents of Négritude, Diop and Senghor supported the creation of an international black identity that was separated from imperialism and colonialism. As a Black American, Baldwin noted that the constant references to one black identity only highlighted the significant differences in the black experience. For example, Baldwin mentioned the discussion around what constitutes culture. He questioned if there can be a singular black culture when black people have been dispersed throughout the globe living under different conditions and history. The only thing that seemed to connect the black delegates was their relation to the white world. However, négritude advocated for a black identity outside of whiteness. How can an international black identity be created outside of white when it is white oppression that connects black peoples together?

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Congress Of Black Writers And Artists Academic conferences Visual arts conferences International conferences Pan-Africanist organizations Postcolonialism Writers' conferences Recurring events established in 1956 1956 conferences 1959 conferences