AN APPRAISAL OF LEOPOLD SEDAR SENGHOR'S CONCEPT OF NEGRITUDE

The imperialism by Western Europe was extensively employed across African countries in the 19th and 20th centuries respectively in order to justify the economic and political activities across their borders. The consequence was abortion and demolition of African culture. The search for an authentic model for African development is by no means an easy one. The reason for this is because of the Eurocentric thoughts that pervaded the realm of governance in Africa with the few intellectuals in the academia pursing Afro-centric thoughts. This work highlights the idea of negritude. It is an attempt to explain and expose how Leopold Senghor sought for a rejuvenation of the black identity through his idea of negritude. The work employs the philosophical methods of analysis and criticism in discussing issues raised. The work avers that there's needs to awaken the consciousness of Africans to the reality of their identify. And that they are not inferior to the rest of the human race. To this end, the work recommends among other terms the need for learning and promotion of the use of our indigenous African languages in our school as a of socializing the African child.