Frantz Fanon – Marxist psychoanalyst from Martinique (which suffered under
French colonization), whose PhD thesis was rejected so he had it published
as a book, "Black Skin; White Masks" in the 50s.
Described how the colonized black man has the options of turning white or
disappearing. He is alienated from his traditional community, from his
race. Like other workers, his work is alienated from its end product, and
himself from the broader thrust of society; and hence, from his very being.
There are chimes of existentialism here too.
He saw his goal as an analyst as "disalienation" - helping individuals
become conscious of their possibility of existence; and inevitably, to
choose whether or not to act against the social structure which is the real
source of their internal conflict. In his language, it is about realizing
that you are wearing a mask, and deciding to tear it off.
Depressingly, the same problems you often see today are described eg how
intraracial violence is misplaced aggression. He had a lot to say about
relationships with white women, how they can reflect a need to be embraced
by white society.
He generalizes the problem of racism into the broader problem of
capitalism. The only solution to bigotism of any kind, is the end of
alienation in all its forms.
