In his writing, Fanon mentions the “two dimensions of the colonized,” which is a term he uses to describe the relationship between black people and society. Ideas of the duality are capable of highlighting differences in social relations, structures and trends. In particular, Fanon’s theory seems to differentiate between the way in which colonized black people interact with white people compared to each other. Chapter one describes that, “A Negro behaves differently with a white man and with another Negro,” forming the crux of Fanon’s perspective (Fanon, 2008, p. 17). The discrepancy is built on the differences in status, perception and understanding of racial relations in colonial and post-colonial times. The continued exploitation, subjugation, and violence have worked to change the inner cultural perceptions of black people.
Internalized racism, a lack of a proper political or social voice, and the generational trauma of colonialism left their scars on the black population, affecting the way people are able to interact with each other. Language, in particular, is the medium that is affected the most. Fanon placed heightened emphasis on the value of language as a tool of understanding people (Fanon, 2008, p. 17). The relationship between white people and the colonized population is built on a hierarchy, where the latter are considered categorically worse than the former. In an interaction with a group of people that considers oneself to be innately inferior, black people are forced to adopt certain styles of conversation and behavior. Comparatively, a sense of shared understanding and struggle can be found in talking to another black person, informed by a similarity in both standing and circumstance. The need to interact with the people from two socially divided groups puts the black colonized population at a binary, where their experiences can be seen through two distinct lenses.
The excerpt brought forward by Fanon (2008, p. 398) displays the struggle for recognition and the social disparity between the white and black people of the past. Owing to the widespread persecution, discrimination and the trauma experienced from it, it becomes especially difficult for black people to assert their self within society. For Fanon, the process of marginalization dealt immeasurable damage to the mental state of the oppressed, as many of their negative portrayal by the public is internalized and normalized (Mirmasoomi & Nowrouzi Roshnavand, 2014, p. 55). The quote, emphasizes moving past colonialism in order to create a new personal identity beyond the one created by white people.
References
Fanon, F. (2008). Black skin, white masks. Grove Press.
Mirmasoomi, M., & Nowrouzi Roshnavand, F. (2014). Blackness, colorism, and Epidermalization of inferiority in Zora Neale Hurston’s color struck: A Fanonian reading of the play.Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 17(4), 55-65.