DISCOURSE ON COLONIALISM by Aimé Césaire

featuring Max Owre, Executive Director of Carolina Public Humanities

“Aimé Césaire’s Discourse on Colonialism might be best described as a declaration of war… [it] speaks in revolutionary cadences, capturing the spirit of its age.” — Robin D.G. Kelley, Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History, UCLA

“This classic work, first published in France in 1955, profoundly influenced the generation of scholars and activists at the forefront of liberation struggles in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Nearly twenty years later, when published for the first time in English, Discourse on Colonialism inspired a new generation engaged in the Civil Rights, Black Power, and anti-war movements. Aimé Césaire eloquently describes the brutal impact of capitalism and colonialism on both the colonizer and colonized, exposing the contradictions and hypocrisy implicit in western notions of ‘progress’ and ‘civilization’ upon encountering the ‘savage,’ ‘uncultured,’ or ‘primitive.’ Here, Césaire reaffirms African values, identity, and culture, and their relevance, reminding us that “the relationship between consciousness and reality are extremely complex. . . . It is equally necessary to decolonize our minds, our inner life, at the same time that we decolonize society.” —NYU Press

Meeting Date: Wednesday, March 20

Cost: $25, includes a copy of the book shipped to your home

This is a hybrid program held at Flyleaf Books. A very limited number of virtual seats are available on a first come, first served basis

Register online or by calling 919-962-1544.

Due to the nature of the reading groups, refunds are not available.