The term ‘negritude’, coined by Aime Cesaire, was appreciated as well as criticised by critics and thinkers. Select the correct responses that this term received.
A. Senegal Senghor considered this term to be derogatory.
B. Leon Damas didn’t participate in the negritude movement.
C. Wole Soyinka criticised it for its mimetic look.
D. Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka considered ‘negritude’ as an unhealthy fetishism of the ‘native’
E. Frantz Fanon was extremely critical of the term ‘negritude’ and never used it.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

The correct option is E and D only.

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of the logical reasoning behind why this response is correct:

1. Understanding the Term 'Negritude':
The term "Negritude" was coined by the Martinican poet and politician Aimé Césaire in the 1930s. It represents a literary and ideological philosophy developed by Francophone African and Caribbean writers, serving as a protest against French colonial rule and the policy of assimilation. It aimed to cultivate, value, and celebrate shared black identity and culture.

2. Evaluating Statement E:
Frantz Fanon, a prominent Martinican psychiatrist and philosopher, was indeed highly critical of the Negritude movement. While he initially engaged with the cultural ideas, in works like Black Skin, White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth, he criticized Negritude for being an overly passive, intellectual, and nostalgic romanticization of a pre-colonial African past. Fanon believed that focusing strictly on cultural pride (like Negritude) failed to address the immediate political and material realities of decolonization, which required active revolutionary struggle. Thus, his strong critique makes Statement E correct.

3. Evaluating Statement D:
Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian writer and Nobel Laureate, is famous for his critique of the Negritude movement. He famously remarked, "A tiger does not proclaim his tigritude, he pounces," suggesting that a black person does not need to continuously proclaim their "blackness" but rather exist and act naturally. Soyinka viewed Negritude as a form of defensive, self-conscious reaction to European racism that ultimately led to an unhealthy fetishism of the "native" culture instead of fostering true, unforced African self-appreciation. Thus, Statement D is also correct.

4. Analyzing the Incorrect Options:
• Statement A is incorrect: Léopold Sédar Senghor, the first President of Senegal, was actually one of the co-founders and major champions of the Negritude movement alongside Aimé Césaire. He did not consider the term derogatory.
• Statement B is incorrect: Léon-Gontran Damas was one of the central figures and co-founders of the Negritude movement, along with Césaire and Senghor. He actively participated in it.
• Statement C is incorrect: Wole Soyinka's critique was not focused on a "mimetic look" but rather on its reactive and essentialist nature.

Therefore, only statements E and D are correct, making the combination E and D only the correct choice.