What French Existentialist Philosophers Can Teach You About Black History

A personal challenge I’ve set for myself in 2023 is to explore classic philosophical texts. In high school I took a pseudo-philosophy course that touched on some founders but few modern philosophers. I started this year reading the work of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and though I’m not completely convinced by their existentialist arguments, I enjoyed the writings of both authors dedicated to colonialism and the struggles Black Americans endured in the 1950s. Both Sartre and Beauvoir were white French citizens that were openly critical of global colonialism and applied both existentialist and marxist theory to colonial struggles. While Sartre and Beauvoir are better known for their philosophical contributions, their writings on colonialism, neocolonialism, and framing the experience of African Americans within this context situates Black America within the experiences of colonized people globally. 

In the 1950s, France like many other European countries was beginning to reevaluate its position as a colonial power, facing public pressure to give Algeria its independence as abuses came to light. Sartre took a hard public stance against colonialism and was very close with Frantz Fanon, author of Black Skin, White Masks and an Algerian revolutionary. This friendship was one that deeply impacted Sartre. His disdain for the atrocities that came with colonialism was something he shared with his student, Beauvoir. Both Sartre and Beauvoir in support of the Algerian revolution spoke publicly, and wrote for major French media outlets about their positions on the conflict. In many of their written arguments, both writers point to the treatment of Black Americans in the United States during Jim Crow and how many of the racist sentiments that the laws perpetrated were present in policy choices of French officials. At a time where even the United Nations failed to publicly support the human rights of Black people, Sartre and Beauvoir publicly postured themselves as allies for people of African descent globally in the fight for equality. 

What is often lost amongst Americans today is that globally there are remnants of racially motivated abuses in every country. While it is important to learn our own history and share it, it is equally important to learn about the struggles of those that endured similar atrocities abroad. The remains of a wicked system are different in each region and country. But, the key to healing from our past is to learn about it. After all, history never repeats itself but it rhymes. To stand in solidarity against depravity is to recognize it and call it out in any and every form it takes on. 

Further Reading

De Beauvoir, S. (1962). The ethics of ambiguity, tr. Citadel Press.

Rodney, W. (2018). How europe underdeveloped africa. Verso Books.

Sartre, J. P. (2005). Colonialism and neocolonialism. Routledge.