Frantz Fanon: Toward a Revolutionary Humanism (Ohio Short Histories of Africa) Paperback – November 13, 2015

Fanon is one of the most neglected political thinkers of the later 20th century. This piece is an excellent introduction to his critical thinking.

This is an excellent small introduction to Fanon and his idea and argues for the relevance of his work “because his utopian project remains unfinished.” (196). Fanon is an extraordinarily complex thinker with a unique style who warrants re-reading. Lee is particularly strong on the the explanation of the influence of the Negritude movement on Fanon's thinking and locates him firmly in the Black radical tradition.I have no issue with that (though I'd give Marxism more weight than Lee) but he seems to suggest that Fanon transcended his origins “through identification with surrogate paradigms of identity and experience, to articulate what can be called radical empathy.” (191). He defines this radical empathy as “a politics of recognition and solidarity with communities beyond one’s own immediate experience" (191). While there is some truth to think it doesn't feel to me like it does justice to Fanon's revolutionary humanism, which is the subtitle of the text. Many failure to articulate this aspect of Fanon's work (embarassed at his universalism) but given the bad reputation "humanism" has a more explicit discussion might have been usefulNevertheless