Montreal, Wednesday, April 26, 2006

This year, Léopold Sédar Senghor would have been 100 years old. Last year, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of Aimé Césaire’s Discourse on Colonialism which caused a scandal at the time. Senghor and Césaire. Two brothers in language, heart and mind. Two key figures in world literature. Two men who embraced their negritude. Two men who built a bridge between Africa and the Americas. Two men, one battle. Committed to fighting racism, oppression, domination. For freedom, for justice, for dialogue.

As time goes on, the words of these two major 21st‑century personalities remain as striking today as when they were first written. Césaire once said: [translation] “I am speaking of millions of men ripped from their gods, their land, their habits, their life, from dance, wisdom. I am speaking of millions of men skilfully reduced to fear, an inferiority complex, trembling, genuflection, desperation, servitude.” Now consider how the recent images from many regions around the world continue to haunt us. Senghor wisely observed that [translation] “we do not inherit the earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children.” Now consider all of the problems currently plaguing the environment.

Senghor’s words, like Césaire’s, are profoundly meaningful. Their words are like flashes of clarity that cut through our lives and touch our very souls. They speak to the universal character of our human condition. Universality. Was that not the one true wish of these two men? What is Negritude, if not to tear oneself away from a condition and transform it into an affirmation of freedom? What is the Francophonie, if not the coming together of many cultures, joined by a common language? There are so many dreams of universality that we must pursue. By universality, I mean solidarity. We are not talking about smoothing over differences in the pursuit of a global ideology; rather, we must celebrate and encourage them to “create symbiosis,” as Senghor once said. For him, the Francophonie was [translation] “the hope for a brotherhood based on mutual respect and dialogue between cultures.” The words of this founding father of the Francophonie are all the more powerful in this era of globalization, as we find ourselves under pressure to conform.

By dedicating this public space to Senghor, in the second largest French-speaking city in the world, we are recognizing that we share a community of spirit, a [translation] “symbiosis of the dormant energies of all the continents, of all the races awakening to their complementary warmth.” We are recognizing the path that we, Blacks here in Canada and around the world, have walked together, difficult though it has been and at times continues to be. Even in the heart of our democracies, the challenges faced by many of our brothers and sisters clearly demonstrate that the battle is not over. We know the anguish of exclusion and must work relentlessly to loosen the grip of prejudice. But our struggle, the same struggle fought by Senghor and Césaire, the same struggle we continue to fight today, is a struggle not just of one race. It is a struggle of all women and men who demand respect and dignity.

Senghor and Césaire’s dream of universality lives on in all of us. These two men awakened an entire community, reminding us to celebrate all that we share, all that is unique. It is our responsibility to keep that dream alive and create places of opportunity, openness, sharing and fellowship, for the benefit of those who will follow in our footsteps.

Thank you.