''La Revue Du Monde Noir'' was a periodical created and edited by

Paulette Paulette may refer to: *Paulette (name), French feminine given name *Paulette (tax) * Paulette Caveat - a caveat filed in 1973 by a group of Dene chiefs at the land titles office in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories to gain a legal interest in 40 ...

and

Jane Nardal Jeanne "Jane" Nardal (1900 – 1993) was a French writer, philosopher, teacher, and political commentator from Martinique. She and her sister, Paulette Nardal, are considered to have laid the theoretical and philosophical groundwork of the Négri ...

in 1931,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The publication ran for a course of six months and contained a wide variety of content including essays, short stories, and poems.Sharpley-Whiting, T. D. (2009). On Race, Rights and Women. In ''Beyond Negritude: Essays from Woman In The City'' (pp. 1–14). essay, State University of New York Press, Albany. A great deal of the articles were situated in the

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...

, negritude, and

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...

movements. As such, some of the primary focuses included anti-colonial politics and promoting

black consciousness The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-Apartheid Activism, activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the power vacuum, political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African Nationa ...

. This ultimately was a source of controversy which led to a loss of funding and the end of the periodical. Including a wide variety of prominent thinkers from around the world ''La Revue Du Monde Noir'' concerns itself with a wide range of issues such as

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and farming (Senateur Price-Mars), art (Louis Th. Achille), eugenics (Georges Gregory) and more.

Motto

The inaugural volume began by detailing the goals of the periodical. The three aims included: creating a space for black voices and publications, popularizing interests and concerns of the black race, and, finally, creating bonds of solidarity and fidelity. "Our motto is and will continue to be: For PEACE, WORK, and JUSTICE By LIBERTY, EQUALITY, and FRATERNITY. Thus, the two hundred million individuals which constitue one Negro race, even though scattered among the various nations, will form over and above the latter a great Brotherhood, the forerunner of universal Democracy."

Historical context

Throughout 1919–1935 significant shifts were beginning to happen around ideas about race and cultural difference. It was in this climate of change and renewal that "''La Revue Du Monde Noir"'' was in publication. Sometimes termed as a "

diasporic A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

" journal, the publication was intended to draw together the voices of black people around the globe. In the first journal, Louis-Jean Finot wrote an article titled "Race Equality." After some consideration of the problems facing different countries across the world, he called for a "solidarity between nations" and wrote "at the present time, selfishness is not only stupid, it is criminal." This focus is in fitting with the periodical's aims which explicitly situated creating a sense of community as one of their primary goals. "''La Revue Du Monde Noir"'' also took place as the Negritude movement began to take root. The Negritude movement occurred throughout the 1930s among communities of displaced black and African people primarily throughout Europe. Combining artistic and political approaches, the Negritude movement responded to the realities of what life under colonialism looked like. Where black voices were historically devalued and silence, the Negritude movement did exactly the opposite. Exalting the numerous political, cultural, artistic, and philosophic perspectives of black people was one of key focuses of the movement at large. Notably, some of the founders of the movement (

Léon Damas Léon-Gontran Damas (March 28, 1912 – January 22, 1978) was a French poet and politician. He was one of the founders of the Négritude movement. He also used the pseudonym Lionel Georges André Cabassou. Biography Léon Damas was born in Cay ...

Léopold Senghor Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

and

Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He founded the Par ...

) would go on to mention the journal as an influential piece of how they developed their thinking. At the same time, the Harlem Renaissance was occurring in the United States, primarily in the city of Harlem. As slavery came to an end, many black people migrated to cities further North seeking greater rights and freedoms than those which were possible in the South. This movement is often known as the "Great Migration." Much like the Negritude movement in Europe, the Harlem Renaissance gave voice to a group of people which had historically been silenced and ignored. Several of the key people in this movement also contributed to "''La Revue Du Monde Noir"'' notably including Claude Mac Kay. Bringing together French thinkers at the time and American writers participating in the

, the journal furthered the development of both perspectives. These thinkers worked together to develop a "black aesthetic" and a sense of pride in the racial identity.

Controversy

One of the key issues faced by the periodical was that it positioned itself as "

apolitical Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased pos ...

." This was mainly the result of two considerations. Firstly, it was intended to keep the periodical from drawing the attention of potential colonial authorities. Secondly, this was a practical concern intended to make funding easier to access. Despite Paulette Nardal's claims that the project was cultural and not political, the contents included some articles which were controversy politically subversive. An example of this would be an article put forth by Etienne Lero and René Menil wherein they condemned both

French Colonialism The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...

and the "Caribbean

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

of color." Ultimately, all of this controversy led to a loss of funding which is why after only six months, the periodical had to end.

Contributors

Volume 1

* Louis-Jean Finot * Maître Jean-Louis * Sénateur Price-Mars * Docteur Léo Sajous * Georges Gregory * Paulette Nardal * Claude Mac Kay *

John Matheus John Frederick Matheus (September 10, 1887 – February 19, 1983) was an American writer and a scholar who was active during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. He is well known for his short stories, and he also wrote essays, plays and poetry. H ...

* Louis Th. Achille * G. Joseph-Henri

Volume 2

* Emile Sicard * C. Renaud-Molinet * Léo Sajous * Clara W. Shepard * E. Gregoire-Micheli * Louis Th. Achille * Lionel Attuly * Etienne Lero *

Jules Monnerot Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer * Jules Abadie (1876–19 ...

* Magd. Raney * Roberte Horth * Andrée Nardal *

Joseph Folliet Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

Volume 3

* Lionel Attuly * Docteur A. Marie * Docteur Zaborowski * Guy Zuccarelli * René Menil *

René Maran René Maran (5 November 1887 – 9 May 1960) was a French poet and novelist, and the first black writer to win the French Prix Goncourt (in 1921). Biography Maran was born on the boat carrying his parents to Fort-de-France, Martinique where he ...

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

* Claude Mac Kay * F. Eboue * Étienne Lero * R. Horth * M. Raney * L.- Th. Achille * Clara W. Shepard * Gisèle Dubouille

Volume 4

Philippe de Zara Philippe de Zara (1893-?) was a French journalist, novelist and travel writer. His travel book entitled ''Autour de la mer latine'' won the Prix Montyon from the Académie française in 1934. He was the co-editor of '' Le Front latin'', a fascist ...

* H.M. Bernelot-Moens * Guetatcheou Zaougha * Roland Rene-Boisneuf * Léo Sajous * Clara W. Shepard * M. Bazargan * René Menil * G. Gratiant * Yadhé * Cugo Lewis * Pierre B. Salzmann

Volume 5

* L. Th. Beaudza * H. Ross-Martin * Léo Frobenius * Jean L. Bareau * Guy Zuccarelli * P. Thoby-Marcelin * Marcel Boucard * P. Augarde *

Walter White Walter White most often refers to: * Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad'' * Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP Walter White may also refer to: Fictional characters ...

* P. Baye-Salzmann * F. Malval

Volume 6

* Colonel Nemours * L.A Revue Mondiale * Lionel Attuly * L.-Th. Beaudza * P. Baye-Salzmann *

Paulette Nardal Paulette Nardal (12 October 1896 – 16 February 1985) was a French writer from Martinique, a journalist, and one of the drivers of the development of black literary consciousness. She was one of the authors involved in the creation of the Négrit ...

* Félix Eboue * M. Grall * Flavia Leopold * G.-D. Perier * Magd Raney * Etienne Lero

References

{{reflist * Boittin, J.A (2005). In Black and White: Gender, Race Relations, and the Nardal Sisters in Interwar Paris. ''French Colonial History,'' 6, 119-135 Defunct periodicals published in France