Black Skin, White Masks

Frantz Fanon, an afro-Caribbean psychiatrist has so painstakingly showed the Black social reality of the to the whole world, through his book Black Skin, White Masks. He was clear to show that until today, this particular Black race is suffering from a “mental illness” that hinders his very existence into today’s society. Mental chains bound blacks. They are being restricted to act naturally in this world because they are unconsciously captivated by their own mindset and their own take on the French European White race.

The colonized black Martiniquians are subject of Fanon’s psychoanalysis. He is a black man himself who belongs in a middle-class family in Martinique, which is a colony of France. The Black Martinique is socially ill in such a way he lets himself be an object of a White man’s pleasures. In page 40 of the book, Fanon says “the Negro is a toy in the White man’s hands; so, in order to shatter the hellish cycle, he explodes. ” The Martinique Black men are regarded similar to a plaything of the White French European in Fanon’s eyes.

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And sadly enough, Black people believe that they have the power to do so. In their minds, the idea that there could be no race more dominant, more powerful, or more superior to that of the Whites is slowly building up. And as a result, the Black men unconsciously put themselves into the White Frenchmen’s authority. The educated Martinique blacks are socially anticipated to stand up for their race and individuality. But they fail to recognize this expectation of them. Instead, they strive to pattern their selves to be comparable to the French whites, rather than uphold their own race.

These well-schooled Blacks gradually assume that they are raised to a certain status otherwise reserved for White people alone. They assess their success against the triumphs of the French Europeans; therefore they are following their standards. They then started to ignore their own states of being Black. Soon, the Martinique Black men developed immense inferiority complex. Fanon further states in page 25 of his book that “the Negroes’ inferiority complex is particularly intensified among the most educated, who must struggle with it unceasingly. ”

The Martinique Negroes or the Blacks referred here started to go out of their ways to prove their own existence, rather than to uphold their inherent worth, essence, uniqueness, and accomplishments. They started to be recognized in such a way they are not Blacks, but something else closer, if not equivalent, to the French European race. A mentally challenged Black man, as Fanon would put it, would evaluate himself in the perspective of a White person, rather than his own race’s. He would compare himself, all that he attained, and his personal value against his fellow Black brothers but under a White man’s scrutiny principles.

A socially sick Black person lives under the shadow of a White man. The meaning of love and companionship of Martinique Blacks involved a mixed relationship scenario also becomes disoriented. To a Black man, being with a White person is considered as a dream relationship. They begin to believe that having a White partner is a form of an achievement in its own. It seems as if their social status is somewhat raised as they marry a White husband or wife. Given this reality, Martinique Blacks people tend to choose a White person to be their life-long companion instead.

They would easily choose a White partner even though they seem to be less compatible than their Black counterparts. It would not matter if another Black person seems to be their own perfect match; what matters more is the stature a White person would give in their state of minds. A White partner seems to serve as a trophy, a medal, or a plaque. And it stops there. The real essence of choosing the person to love and to be with is all ignored. To quote Fanon in page 42, “I should have like to be married, but to a White man. But a woman of color is never altogether respectable in a White man’s eyes.

Even when he loves her. I knew that. ” Given these facts, the Black Martiniques who are the subject of Fanon’s book do have psychopathology or mental illness. And majority of this is because of the trends in their current world. Their present state is lacking in Black advocates in general. There is really no institution that genuinely champions the Black cause. There is no Black-oriented entity that is well accepted and is not ridiculed. Everything that is Black in nature and in concept is trivialized and is deemed second-rate. Fanon’s suggested solution to a Black man’s sickness is to restructure the world.

This is not going to be a simple task, given the situation. But it still has to start somewhere. And the solution has to start with the Martinique Black race. Black people should begin to realize that they have a dignity of their own. They should begin to establish their black race. They should unite together and make an impact to the society. They should all act according to their customs, their traditions, and their history that are mistakenly forgotten. It is about time that they should discontinue living within the standards of a race not their own.

The sickness is merely mental, therefore the ultimate solution will come from the mind as well – inside the Martinique Black’s mind. Victory over this mental illness will be achieved by psychologically breaking away from the French European influence. Black people should come to realize that the White race is dominant only because they believed so. The White race is powerful only because lived in a society where it seems so. Without the Black people’s unconscious assumption that the Whites will always be better and stronger than Blacks, the mental chains will continue to exist.

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