Mongo Beti et la prophétie irréalisée de Martin Luther King Jr. Black Bodies Matter !

Authors

Cilas Kemedjio, University of Rochester

Abstract

The suffering of the black body has reclaimed center-stage in the media galaxy thanks to the Black Lives Matter phenomenon, a movement that lives on social media. In this contribution, I argue that despite its ephemeral nature, Black Lives Matter proceeds from a long tradition of black activism. Locating the current reincarnation of the long struggle for black human rights leads us to the trope of metaphors of slavery that captures the materiality of the black suffering body. Metaphors of slavery run from Martin Luther King Jr.’s passion during the civil rights movement to Mongo Beti’s life-long commitment to the establishment of a basic Charter for Black Human Rights. The critical genealogies emerging from the works of these two activists frame a network of solidarities articulated in the global vision of Pan-Africanism. Mongo Beti, who claimed to be the heir of King’s non-violence, informs the postcolonial African condition with the consciousness of the universality of black suffering.

Recommended Citation

Kemedjio, Cilas (2022) "Mongo Beti et la prophétie irréalisée de Martin Luther King Jr. Black Bodies Matter !," Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature: Vol. 99: No. 1, Article 17.
Available at: https://crossworks.holycross.edu/pf/vol99/iss1/17