The essay emerged from a movement founded in 1930s Paris by Senghor, Aimé Césaire, and Léon-Gontran Damas. It was a "poetic revolt" against: Negritude Movement - Literary Theory and Criticism
Césaire, Aimé. "Negritude: A Humanism of the Twentieth Century." Refusal of the Shadow: Surrealism and the Caribbean , edited by Michael Richardson, Verso, 1996, pp. 122-131. Negritude A Humanism Of The Twentieth Century Pdf
Negritude can be seen as a humanism of the twentieth century because it emphasizes the importance of human dignity, identity, and culture. The movement sought to promote a sense of pride and self-worth among people of African descent, who had been marginalized and oppressed by colonial and racist ideologies. The essay emerged from a movement founded in