Léopold Sédar Senghor
Encyclopedia
Léopold Sédar Senghor was a Senegal
ese poet
, politician, and cultural theorist who for two decades served as the first president of Senegal
(1960–1980). Senghor was the first African elected as a member of the Académie française
. Before independence, he founded the political party called the Senegalese Democratic Bloc
. He is regarded by many as one of the most important African intellectuals of the 20th century.
. Basile Diogoye Senghor , Sedar Senghor's father, was a businessman belonging to the bourgeois Serer tribe
(also spelled Serer, Seereer, Sérère, Sereer) and generally referred to as the elite
of Senegal
by Senegambians as well as by outsiders. His father is a descendant of the Serer Royal Dynasty of Sine
.. The Serer people are found in Senegal
, The Gambia
, a small number also found in southern Mauritania. Many Serers also can be found in the West. Gnilane Ndiémé Bakhou (?-1948), Léopold Sédar Senghor's mother, and the third wife of his father, was a Muslim
of Fula
origin, belonging to the Tabor tribe. She gave birth to six children, including two sons.
Like other West African cultures, Serer names and surnames have meaning which are indigenous to their language. His Serer middle name "Sédar" or "Sedar" comes from the Serer language meaning "one that shall not be humiliated" (also "the one you cannot humiliate.")
The name "Sedar" comes from two Serer words: "sed" which means ashamed and "ar" which means privacy. Sedar in Serer therefore gives "one who will not be shamed" in other words, "one that shall not be humiliated."As for his surname "Senghor", it is a combination of the following Serer words:
It should not be confused with the Portuguese word "senhor" (lord in Portuguese). Senhor is not even a Portuguese surname but a title. Further, not only are they spelled and pronounced differently, Senghor is "location based". For example the word “Faye
” is a female forename in Europe whilst it is a Serer surname in West Africa. Although spelt the same way in Europe and West Africa, they are pronounced differently. When the European colonisers where standardising the Senegambian names and surnames, they spelled them according to their convenience. Both the Senghor and Faye family have existed in Africa long before the arrival of any European including the Portuguese (the first Europeans to arrive in Senegambia). The prince of Sine
Tukura Badiar Senghor, from whom Sedar Senghor has been reported to trace descent, was a thirteenth century Serer noble. That was nearly two hundred years before the arrival of the Portuguese.The confusion and misrepresentation as to the origin of his surname "Senghor" came from two of Sedar Senhor’s poems which have been taken literally:
"Lettres d'hivernage, Sur la plage bercé" and "Nocturnes, Elégie des Saudades".
Sedar Senghor’s middle name and surname ("Sedar" and "Senghor") are African and Serer
in origin not European or Portuguese.
At the age of eight Senghor began his studies in Senegal in the Ngasobil boarding school of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit. In 1922 he entered a seminary in Dakar. After being told the religious life was not for him, he attended a secular institution. By then, he was already passionate about French literature. He won distinctions in French, Latin, Greek and Algebra. With his Baccalaureate completed, he was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies in France.
, he quit and went on to Louis-Le-Grand
to finish his prep course for entrance to the École Normale Supérieure
, a grande école. Paul Cary, Henri Queffélec, Robert Verdier and Georges Pompidou
were also studying at this elite institution. After failing the entrance exam, Senghor prepared for his grammar Agrégation
. He was granted his agrégation in 1935 after a failed first attempt.
, where he received the Agrégation
in French Grammar. Subsequently, he was designated professor
at the universities of Tours and Paris, where he taught during the period 1935-1945.
Senghor decided to start his teaching years at the Lycée René-Descartes in Tours
; he also taught at the Lycée Marcelin Berthelot in Saint-Maur-des-Fosses
near Paris. He also studied linguistics taught by Lilias Homburger at the École pratique des hautes études
. He studied with prominent social scientists such as Marcel Cohen
, Marcel Mauss
and Paul Rivet
(director of the Institut d'ethnologie de Paris). Senghor, along with other intellectuals of the African diaspora who had come to study in the colonial capital, coined the term and conceived the notion of "négritude
", which was a response to the racism still prevalent in France. It turned the racial slur nègre into a positively connoted celebration of African culture and character. The idea of négritude informed not only Senghor's cultural criticism and literary work, but also became a guiding principle for his political thought in his career as a statesman.
In 1939, Senghor was enrolled as a French army enlisted man (2ème Classe) with the rank of private within the 59th Colonial Infantry division in spite of his higher education and his later acquisition of the French Citizenship in 1932. A year later, during the German invasion of France
, he was taken prisoner by the Germans in la Charité-sur-Loire
. He was interned in different camps, and finally at Front Stalag 230, in Poitiers
. Front Stalag 230 was reserved for colonial troops captured during the war. German soldiers wanted to execute him and the others the same day they were captured, but they escaped this fate by yelling Vive la France, vive l'Afrique noire! ("Long live France, long live Black Africa!") A French officer told the soldiers that executing the African prisoners would dishonour the Aryan race
and the German Army
. In total, Senghor spent two years in different prison camps, where he spent most of his time writing poems. In 1942 he was released for medical reasons.
He resumed his teaching career while remaining involved in the resistance
during the Nazi occupation.
, a position he would hold until Senegal's independence in 1960. While travelling on a research trip for his poetry, he met the local socialist leader, Lamine Guèye, who suggested that Senghor run for election as a member of the Assemblée nationale française
. Senghor accepted and became député for the riding of Sénégal-Mauritanie, when colonies were granted the right to be represented by elected individuals. They took different positions when the train conductors on the line Dakar-Niger went on strike. Guèye voted against the strike, arguing the movement would paralyse the colony, while Senghor supported the workers, which gained him great support among Senegalese.
, he founded the Bloc démocratique sénégalais
(1948). They won the legislative elections of 1951, and Guèye lost his seat.
Re-elected deputy in 1951 as an independent overseas member, Senghor was appointed state secretary to the Council's president in Edgar Faure
's government from 1 March 1955 to 1 February 1956. He became mayor of the city of Thiès
, Senegal in November 1956 and then advisory minister in the Michel Debre
's government from 23 July 1959 to 19 May 1961. He was also a member of the commission responsible for drafting the Fifth Republic's constitution, general councillor for Senegal, member of the Grand Conseil de l'Afrique Occidentale Francaise and member for the parliamentary assembly of the European Council
.
In 1964 Senghor published the first volume of a series of five, titled Liberté. The book contains a variety of speeches, essays and prefaces.
, the Mali Federation
with former French Sudan
(present day Mali
). Senghor was president of the Federal Assembly until its failure in 1960.
Afterwards, Senghor became the first President of the Republic of Senegal, elected on 5 September 1960. He is the author of the Senegalese national anthem
. The prime minister, Mamadou Dia
, was in charge of executing Senegal's long-term development plan, while Senghor was in charge of foreign relations. The two men quickly disagreed. In December 1962, Mamadou Dia was arrested under suspicion of fomenting a coup d'état
. He was held in prison for twelve years. Following this, Senghor created a presidential regime.
On 22 March 1967, Senghor survived an assassination attempt.The suspect, Moustapha Lô
, pointed his pistol towards the President after he had participated in the sermon of Tabaski, but the gun did not fire
. Lô was sentenced to death for treason
and executed
on 15 June 1967, even though it remained unclear if he had actually wanted to kill Senghor.
Senghor resigned his position before the end of his fifth term in December 1980. Abdou Diouf
replaced him as the head of the country. Under his presidency, Senegal adopted a multi-party system (limited to three: socialist
, communist
and liberal
). He created a performing education system. Despite the end of official colonialism, the value of Senegalese currency continued to be fixed by France, the language of learning remained French, and Senghor ruled the country with French political advisors.
and was elected vice-president of the High Council of the Francophonie.
In 1982, he was one of the founders of the Association France and developing countries whose objectives were to bring attention to the problems of developing countries, in the wake of the changes affecting the latter.
on 2 June 1983, at the 16th seat where he succeeded Antoine de Lévis Mirepoix
. He was the first African to sit at the Academie. The entrance ceremony in his honor took place on 29 March 1984, in presence of then-French President François Mitterrand
. This was considered as a further step towards greater openness in the Académie, after the previous election of a woman, Marguerite Yourcenar
.
In 1993, the last and fifth book of the Liberté series was published: Liberté 5: le dialogue des cultures.
"Je ne suis pas sûr de mourir. Et si c'était ça l'enfer?" ("I'm not sure about death. What if that were hell?") said Senghor, post-retirement, in 1996.
He spent the last years of his life with his wife in Verson, near the city of Caen
in Normandy
, where he died on 20 December 2001. His funeral was held on 29 December 2001 in Dakar
. Officials attending the ceremony included Raymond Forni
, president of the Assemblée nationale
and Charles Josselin, state secretary for the minister of foreign affairs, in charge of the Francophonie. Jacques Chirac
(who said, upon hearing of Senghor's death: "Poetry has lost one of its masters, Senegal a statesman, Africa a visionary and France a friend") and Lionel Jospin
, respectively president of the French Republic
and the prime minister, did not attend. Their failure to attend Senghor's funeral made waves as it was deemed a lack of acknowledgement for what the politician had been in his life. The analogy was made with the Senegalese Tirailleurs
who, after having contributed to the liberation of France, had to wait more than forty years to receive an equal pension (in terms of buying power) to their French counterparts. The scholar Erik Orsenna
wrote in the newspaper Le Monde
an editorial titled: "J'ai honte" (I am ashamed).
, Senghor avoided the Marxist and anti-Western ideology that had become popular in post-colonial Africa, favouring the maintenance of close ties with France and the western world. This is seen by many as a contributing factor to Senegal's political stability: it remains one of the few African nations never to have had a coup, and always to have had a peaceful transfer of power.
Senghor's tenure as president was characterized by the development of African socialism
, which was created as an indigenous alternative to Marxism
, drawing heavily from the négritude philosophy. In developing this, he was assisted by Ousmane Tanor Dieng
. On 31 December 1980, he retired in favour of his prime minister, Abdou Diouf
.
Seat number 16 of the Académie was vacant after the Senegalese poet's death. He was ultimately replaced by another former president, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
.
, Grand-Croix of the l'Ordre national du Mérite
, commander of arts and letters. He also received academic palms and the Grand-Croix of the l'Ordre du lion du Sénégal. His war exploits earned him the medal of Reconnaissance franco-alliée 1939-1945 and the combattant cross 1939-1945. He was named honorary doctor of thirty-seven universities.
The French Language International University in Alexandria was officially open in 1990 and was named after him.
In 1994 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the African Studies Association
; however, there was controversy about whether he met the standard of contributing "a lifetime record of outstanding scholarship in African studies and service to the Africanist community." Michael Mbabuike
, president of the New York African Studies Association (NYASA), said that the award also honors those who have worked "to make the world a better place for mankind."
The airport of Dakar
was renamed Aéroport International Léopold Sédar Senghor
in 1996, on his 90th birthday.
The Passerelle Solférino in Paris
was renamed after him in 2006, on the centenary of his birth.
.
His poem A l'appel de la race de Saba published in 1936 was inspired by the entry of Italian troops in Addis Ababa.
In 1948, Senghor compiled and edited a volume of Francophone poetry called Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malgache for which Jean-Paul Sartre
wrote an introduction, titled "Orphée Noir" (Black Orpheus).
For his epitaph was a poem he had written, namely:
and Léon Damas
, Senghor created the concept of Négritude
, an important intellectual movement that sought to assert and to valorize what they believed to be distinctive African characteristics, values, and aesthetics. This was a reaction against the too strong dominance of French culture in the colonies, and against the perception that Africa did not have culture developed enough to stand alongside that of Europe. Building upon historical research identifying ancient Egypt with black Africa, Senghor argued that sub-Saharan Africa and Europe are in fact part of the same cultural continuum, reaching from Egypt to classical Greece, through Rome to the European colonial powers of the modern age. Négritude
was by no means—as it has in many quarters been perceived—an anti-white racism, but rather emphasized the importance of dialogue and exchange among different cultures (e.g., European, African, Arab, etc.)
A related concept later developed in Mobutu's Zaire
is that of authenticité
or Authenticity.
, Leiden
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
ese poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, politician, and cultural theorist who for two decades served as the first president of Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
(1960–1980). Senghor was the first African elected as a member of the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. Before independence, he founded the political party called the Senegalese Democratic Bloc
Senegalese Democratic Bloc
Senegalese Democratic Bloc was a political party in Senegal, founded on October 27, 1948 by Léopold Sédar Senghor, following a split from the French Section of the Workers' International...
. He is regarded by many as one of the most important African intellectuals of the 20th century.
Early life and education: 1906-1928
Léopold Sédar Senghor (generally referred to by his Serer name "Sedar Senghor" or "Sédar Senghor" (Senegal French spelling by most Senegambians) was born on 9 October 1906 in the Serer city of Joal, some one hundred kilometres south of DakarDakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
. Basile Diogoye Senghor , Sedar Senghor's father, was a businessman belonging to the bourgeois Serer tribe
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
(also spelled Serer, Seereer, Sérère, Sereer) and generally referred to as the elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
of Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
by Senegambians as well as by outsiders. His father is a descendant of the Serer Royal Dynasty of Sine
Kingdom of Sine
The Kingdom of Sine was a pre-colonial Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. Much of the kingdom's population was and still is Serer.-History:...
.. The Serer people are found in Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, The Gambia
The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
, a small number also found in southern Mauritania. Many Serers also can be found in the West. Gnilane Ndiémé Bakhou (?-1948), Léopold Sédar Senghor's mother, and the third wife of his father, was a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
of Fula
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
origin, belonging to the Tabor tribe. She gave birth to six children, including two sons.
Like other West African cultures, Serer names and surnames have meaning which are indigenous to their language. His Serer middle name "Sédar" or "Sedar" comes from the Serer language meaning "one that shall not be humiliated" (also "the one you cannot humiliate.")
The name "Sedar" comes from two Serer words: "sed" which means ashamed and "ar" which means privacy. Sedar in Serer therefore gives "one who will not be shamed" in other words, "one that shall not be humiliated."As for his surname "Senghor", it is a combination of the following Serer words:
- The Serer surname "Sene" – which is "location based" and an ancient and holy Serer surname. The Supreme Deity of the Serer people in the Serer religionSerer religionThe Serer religion, Fat Rog is the original religious beliefs, practices and teachings of the Serer people. The Serer people believe in a universal Supreme Deity called "Rog. "The Serer people are found throughout the Senegambia Region...
is called "Rog Sene" (also Roog Sene).The Serer surname "Sene" means Immensity. - The second combination of Sedar Senghor’s surname is "ghor" or "gor" (from the old Serer word "Gorie" which means honour or honourable). They all have their roots from the Serer word "kor" which means "male". "Senghor" in Serer thus means "the honourable son of the Divine (or God)."
It should not be confused with the Portuguese word "senhor" (lord in Portuguese). Senhor is not even a Portuguese surname but a title. Further, not only are they spelled and pronounced differently, Senghor is "location based". For example the word “Faye
Faye
Faye may refer to:*Faye *Faye *4P/Faye is a periodic comet discovered in 1843 by Hervé Faye* Faye, Loir-et-Cher, France * La Faye, France * Faye-d'Anjou, France * Hurricane Faye...
” is a female forename in Europe whilst it is a Serer surname in West Africa. Although spelt the same way in Europe and West Africa, they are pronounced differently. When the European colonisers where standardising the Senegambian names and surnames, they spelled them according to their convenience. Both the Senghor and Faye family have existed in Africa long before the arrival of any European including the Portuguese (the first Europeans to arrive in Senegambia). The prince of Sine
Kingdom of Sine
The Kingdom of Sine was a pre-colonial Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. Much of the kingdom's population was and still is Serer.-History:...
Tukura Badiar Senghor, from whom Sedar Senghor has been reported to trace descent, was a thirteenth century Serer noble. That was nearly two hundred years before the arrival of the Portuguese.The confusion and misrepresentation as to the origin of his surname "Senghor" came from two of Sedar Senhor’s poems which have been taken literally:
"Lettres d'hivernage, Sur la plage bercé" and "Nocturnes, Elégie des Saudades".
Sedar Senghor’s middle name and surname ("Sedar" and "Senghor") are African and Serer
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
in origin not European or Portuguese.
At the age of eight Senghor began his studies in Senegal in the Ngasobil boarding school of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit. In 1922 he entered a seminary in Dakar. After being told the religious life was not for him, he attended a secular institution. By then, he was already passionate about French literature. He won distinctions in French, Latin, Greek and Algebra. With his Baccalaureate completed, he was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies in France.
"Sixteen years of wandering": 1928-1944
In 1928 Senghor sailed from Senegal for France, beginning in his words, "sixteen years of wandering." Starting his post-secondary studies at the SorbonneSorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, he quit and went on to Louis-Le-Grand
Lycée Louis-le-Grand
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand is a public secondary school located in Paris, widely regarded as one of the most rigorous in France. Formerly known as the Collège de Clermont, it was named in king Louis XIV of France's honor after he visited the school and offered his patronage.It offers both a...
to finish his prep course for entrance to the École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
, a grande école. Paul Cary, Henri Queffélec, Robert Verdier and Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
were also studying at this elite institution. After failing the entrance exam, Senghor prepared for his grammar Agrégation
Agrégation
In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...
. He was granted his agrégation in 1935 after a failed first attempt.
Academic career
He graduated from the University of ParisUniversity of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, where he received the Agrégation
Agrégation
In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...
in French Grammar. Subsequently, he was designated professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the universities of Tours and Paris, where he taught during the period 1935-1945.
Senghor decided to start his teaching years at the Lycée René-Descartes in Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
; he also taught at the Lycée Marcelin Berthelot in Saint-Maur-des-Fosses
Saint-Maur-des-Fossés
Saint-Maur-des-Fossés is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 11.7 km. from the center of Paris.-The abbey:...
near Paris. He also studied linguistics taught by Lilias Homburger at the École pratique des hautes études
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
. He studied with prominent social scientists such as Marcel Cohen
Marcel Cohen
Marcel Samuel Raphaël Cohen was a French linguist. He was an important scholar of Semitic languages and especially of Ethiopian languages. He studied the French language and contributed much to general linguistics.- Life :...
, Marcel Mauss
Marcel Mauss
Marcel Mauss was a French sociologist. The nephew of Émile Durkheim, Mauss' academic work traversed the boundaries between sociology and anthropology...
and Paul Rivet
Paul Rivet
Paul Rivet was a French ethnologist, who founded the Musée de l'Homme in 1937. He was also one of the founders of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, an antifascist organization created in the wake of the February 6, 1934 far right riots.Rivet proposed a theory according to...
(director of the Institut d'ethnologie de Paris). Senghor, along with other intellectuals of the African diaspora who had come to study in the colonial capital, coined the term and conceived the notion of "négritude
Négritude
Négritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politiciansin France in the 1930s by a group that included the future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, and the Guianan Léon Damas.The Négritude...
", which was a response to the racism still prevalent in France. It turned the racial slur nègre into a positively connoted celebration of African culture and character. The idea of négritude informed not only Senghor's cultural criticism and literary work, but also became a guiding principle for his political thought in his career as a statesman.
In 1939, Senghor was enrolled as a French army enlisted man (2ème Classe) with the rank of private within the 59th Colonial Infantry division in spite of his higher education and his later acquisition of the French Citizenship in 1932. A year later, during the German invasion of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, he was taken prisoner by the Germans in la Charité-sur-Loire
La Charité-sur-Loire
La Charité-sur-Loire is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.-History:The town began as the first of the Cluniac priories on an island site in the Loire....
. He was interned in different camps, and finally at Front Stalag 230, in Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
. Front Stalag 230 was reserved for colonial troops captured during the war. German soldiers wanted to execute him and the others the same day they were captured, but they escaped this fate by yelling Vive la France, vive l'Afrique noire! ("Long live France, long live Black Africa!") A French officer told the soldiers that executing the African prisoners would dishonour the Aryan race
Aryan race
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in Western culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or...
and the German Army
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. In total, Senghor spent two years in different prison camps, where he spent most of his time writing poems. In 1942 he was released for medical reasons.
He resumed his teaching career while remaining involved in the resistance
Resistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
during the Nazi occupation.
Colonial France
Once the war was over, Senghor was selected as Dean of the Linguistics Department with the École Nationale de la France d'Outre-MerÉcole nationale de la France d'Outre-mer
The École Nationale de la France d'Outre-Mer was a French grande école, providing training for future colonial administrators...
, a position he would hold until Senegal's independence in 1960. While travelling on a research trip for his poetry, he met the local socialist leader, Lamine Guèye, who suggested that Senghor run for election as a member of the Assemblée nationale française
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
. Senghor accepted and became député for the riding of Sénégal-Mauritanie, when colonies were granted the right to be represented by elected individuals. They took different positions when the train conductors on the line Dakar-Niger went on strike. Guèye voted against the strike, arguing the movement would paralyse the colony, while Senghor supported the workers, which gained him great support among Senegalese.
Political changes
In 1947, Senghor left the African Division of the French Section of the Workers International (SFIO), which had given enormous financial support to the social movement. With Mamadou DiaMamadou Dia
Mamadou Dia was a Senegalese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was planning to stage a military coup to overthrow President Léopold Sédar Senghor.- Biography...
, he founded the Bloc démocratique sénégalais
Senegalese Democratic Bloc
Senegalese Democratic Bloc was a political party in Senegal, founded on October 27, 1948 by Léopold Sédar Senghor, following a split from the French Section of the Workers' International...
(1948). They won the legislative elections of 1951, and Guèye lost his seat.
Re-elected deputy in 1951 as an independent overseas member, Senghor was appointed state secretary to the Council's president in Edgar Faure
Edgar Faure
Edgar Faure was a French politician, essayist, historian, and memoirist.-Career:Faure was born in Béziers, Languedoc-Roussillon. He trained as a lawyer in Paris and became a member of the Bar at 27, the youngest lawyer in France to do so at the time...
's government from 1 March 1955 to 1 February 1956. He became mayor of the city of Thiès
Thiès
Thiès is the third largest city in Senegal with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies 60 km east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-Louis...
, Senegal in November 1956 and then advisory minister in the Michel Debre
Michel Debré
Michel Jean-Pierre Debré was a French Gaullist politician. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France, and was the first Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic...
's government from 23 July 1959 to 19 May 1961. He was also a member of the commission responsible for drafting the Fifth Republic's constitution, general councillor for Senegal, member of the Grand Conseil de l'Afrique Occidentale Francaise and member for the parliamentary assembly of the European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
.
In 1964 Senghor published the first volume of a series of five, titled Liberté. The book contains a variety of speeches, essays and prefaces.
Senegal
Senghor supported federalism for newly independent African states, a type of "French Commonwealth". Since federalism was not favoured by the African countries, he decided to form, along with Modibo KeitaModibo Keïta
Modibo Keita ; was the first President of Mali and the Prime Minister of the Mali Federation. He espoused a form of African socialism.-Youth:...
, the Mali Federation
Mali Federation
The Mali Federation was a country in West Africa. It was formed by a union between Senegal and the Sudanese Republic...
with former French Sudan
French Sudan
French Sudan was a colony in French West Africa that had two separate periods of existence, first from 1890 to 1899, then from 1920 to 1960, when the territory became the independent nation of Mali.-Colonial establishment:...
(present day Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
). Senghor was president of the Federal Assembly until its failure in 1960.
Afterwards, Senghor became the first President of the Republic of Senegal, elected on 5 September 1960. He is the author of the Senegalese national anthem
Pincez Tous vos Koras, Frappez les Balafons
"'" is the national anthem of Senegal, adopted in 1960. The lyrics were written by Léopold Sédar Senghor, who became Senegal's first president, and the music by Herbert Pepper, who also wrote the national anthem of the Central African Republic, "". The kora and balafon are Senegalese musical...
. The prime minister, Mamadou Dia
Mamadou Dia
Mamadou Dia was a Senegalese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was planning to stage a military coup to overthrow President Léopold Sédar Senghor.- Biography...
, was in charge of executing Senegal's long-term development plan, while Senghor was in charge of foreign relations. The two men quickly disagreed. In December 1962, Mamadou Dia was arrested under suspicion of fomenting a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. He was held in prison for twelve years. Following this, Senghor created a presidential regime.
On 22 March 1967, Senghor survived an assassination attempt.The suspect, Moustapha Lô
Moustapha Lô
Moustapha Lô was a Senegalese man who attempted to assassinate Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor on 22 March 1967 at the Dakar Grand Mosque. Lô was convicted of treason, was sentenced to death by a Senegalese court and was executed by firing squad...
, pointed his pistol towards the President after he had participated in the sermon of Tabaski, but the gun did not fire
Firearm malfunction
A firearm malfunction is the partial or complete failure of a firearm to operate as intended. Malfunctions range from temporary and relatively safe situations, such as a casing that didn't eject, to potentially dangerous occurrences that may permanently damage the gun and cause injury or death...
. Lô was sentenced to death for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
and executed
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
on 15 June 1967, even though it remained unclear if he had actually wanted to kill Senghor.
Senghor resigned his position before the end of his fifth term in December 1980. Abdou Diouf
Abdou Diouf
Abdou Diouf was the second President of Senegal, serving from 1981 to 2000. Diouf is notable both for coming to power by peaceful succession, and leaving willingly after losing the 2000 presidential election to Abdoulaye Wade...
replaced him as the head of the country. Under his presidency, Senegal adopted a multi-party system (limited to three: socialist
Socialist Party of Senegal
The Socialist Party of Senegal is a political party in Senegal. It was the ruling party in Senegal from independence in 1960 until 2000. Ousmane Tanor Dieng has been the First Secretary of the party since 1996...
, communist
Party of Independence and Labour
The Party of Independence and Labour is a communist political party in Senegal. Its current general secretary is Amath Dansokho.PIT emerged out of the Senegalese branch of the African Independence Party . At the time of the 1960 local elections, PAI was accused by the government of fomenting...
and liberal
Senegalese Democratic Party
The Senegalese Democratic Party is a political party in Senegal. The party considers itself a liberal party and is a member of the Liberal International. Abdoulaye Wade, Senegal's president, is the party's leader...
). He created a performing education system. Despite the end of official colonialism, the value of Senegalese currency continued to be fixed by France, the language of learning remained French, and Senghor ruled the country with French political advisors.
Francophonie
He supported the creation of la FrancophonieLa Francophonie
Francophonie is an international organization of politics and governments with French as the mother or customary language, where a significant proportion of people are francophones , or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture.Formally known as the Organisation...
and was elected vice-president of the High Council of the Francophonie.
In 1982, he was one of the founders of the Association France and developing countries whose objectives were to bring attention to the problems of developing countries, in the wake of the changes affecting the latter.
Académie française: 1983-2001
He was elected a member of l'Académie françaiseAcadémie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
on 2 June 1983, at the 16th seat where he succeeded Antoine de Lévis Mirepoix
Antoine de Lévis Mirepoix
Antoine Pierre Marie François Joseph de Lévis-Mirepoix was a French historian, novelist and essayist...
. He was the first African to sit at the Academie. The entrance ceremony in his honor took place on 29 March 1984, in presence of then-French President François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
. This was considered as a further step towards greater openness in the Académie, after the previous election of a woman, Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Yourcenar was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist. Winner of the Prix Femina and the Erasmus Prize, she was the first woman elected to the Académie française, in 1980, and the seventeenth person to occupy Seat 3.-Biography:Yourcenar was born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie...
.
In 1993, the last and fifth book of the Liberté series was published: Liberté 5: le dialogue des cultures.
"Je ne suis pas sûr de mourir. Et si c'était ça l'enfer?" ("I'm not sure about death. What if that were hell?") said Senghor, post-retirement, in 1996.
Death
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, where he died on 20 December 2001. His funeral was held on 29 December 2001 in Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
. Officials attending the ceremony included Raymond Forni
Raymond Forni
Raymond Forni was a French Socialist politician.-Biography:Son of an Italian immigrant, Raymond Forni was born in Belfort, in 1941. His father died when he was 11. At 17, he had to stop studying, and he started to work as an unskilled worker in Peugeot factories...
, president of the Assemblée nationale
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
and Charles Josselin, state secretary for the minister of foreign affairs, in charge of the Francophonie. Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
(who said, upon hearing of Senghor's death: "Poetry has lost one of its masters, Senegal a statesman, Africa a visionary and France a friend") and Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...
, respectively president of the French Republic
President of the French Republic
The President of the French Republic colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France's elected Head of State....
and the prime minister, did not attend. Their failure to attend Senghor's funeral made waves as it was deemed a lack of acknowledgement for what the politician had been in his life. The analogy was made with the Senegalese Tirailleurs
Senegalese Tirailleurs
The Senegalese Tirailleurs were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army recruited from Senegal,French West Africa and throughout west, central and east Africa, the main province of the French colonial empire...
who, after having contributed to the liberation of France, had to wait more than forty years to receive an equal pension (in terms of buying power) to their French counterparts. The scholar Erik Orsenna
Érik Orsenna
Érik Orsenna is the pen-name of Érik Arnoult , a French politician and novelist. After studying philosophy and political science at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris , Orsenna specialized in economics at the London School of Economics...
wrote in the newspaper Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
an editorial titled: "J'ai honte" (I am ashamed).
Legacy
Although a socialistSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, Senghor avoided the Marxist and anti-Western ideology that had become popular in post-colonial Africa, favouring the maintenance of close ties with France and the western world. This is seen by many as a contributing factor to Senegal's political stability: it remains one of the few African nations never to have had a coup, and always to have had a peaceful transfer of power.
Senghor's tenure as president was characterized by the development of African socialism
African socialism
African socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a "traditional" African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Many African politicians of the 1950s and 1960s professed their support for African socialism, although definitions and interpretations of this term varied...
, which was created as an indigenous alternative to Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, drawing heavily from the négritude philosophy. In developing this, he was assisted by Ousmane Tanor Dieng
Ousmane Tanor Dieng
Ousmane Tanor Dieng is the First Secretary of the Socialist Party of Senegal. He has been vice-president of the Socialist International since 1996.-Background and early life:...
. On 31 December 1980, he retired in favour of his prime minister, Abdou Diouf
Abdou Diouf
Abdou Diouf was the second President of Senegal, serving from 1981 to 2000. Diouf is notable both for coming to power by peaceful succession, and leaving willingly after losing the 2000 presidential election to Abdoulaye Wade...
.
Seat number 16 of the Académie was vacant after the Senegalese poet's death. He was ultimately replaced by another former president, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
.
Honors
Senghor received several honours in the course of his life. He was made Grand-Croix of the Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, Grand-Croix of the l'Ordre national du Mérite
Ordre National du Mérite
The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...
, commander of arts and letters. He also received academic palms and the Grand-Croix of the l'Ordre du lion du Sénégal. His war exploits earned him the medal of Reconnaissance franco-alliée 1939-1945 and the combattant cross 1939-1945. He was named honorary doctor of thirty-seven universities.
The French Language International University in Alexandria was officially open in 1990 and was named after him.
In 1994 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the African Studies Association
African Studies Association
The African Studies Association is an association of scholars and professionals in the United States and Canada with an interest in the continent of Africa. Started in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North America. The associations headquarters are Rutgers...
; however, there was controversy about whether he met the standard of contributing "a lifetime record of outstanding scholarship in African studies and service to the Africanist community." Michael Mbabuike
Michael Mbabuike
Michael Chikelu Mbabuike was a Nigerian poet, professor, and linguist. He held the chair of African Studies in the Humanities Department at Hostos Community College of the City University of New York, and was president of the Faculty Senate there.An Igbo, Mbabuike obtained his bachelor's degree...
, president of the New York African Studies Association (NYASA), said that the award also honors those who have worked "to make the world a better place for mankind."
The airport of Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
was renamed Aéroport International Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport
Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport is an international airport serving Dakar, the capital of Senegal. The airport is situated near the town of Yoff, north of Dakar...
in 1996, on his 90th birthday.
The Passerelle Solférino in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
was renamed after him in 2006, on the centenary of his birth.
Poetry
His poetry was widely acclaimed, and in 1978 he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del DucaPrix mondial Cino Del Duca
The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca is an international literary award.-Origins and operations:It was established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca to continue the work of her husband, publishing magnate Cino Del Duca .Designed to recognize and reward an author whose work constitutes, in a...
.
His poem A l'appel de la race de Saba published in 1936 was inspired by the entry of Italian troops in Addis Ababa.
In 1948, Senghor compiled and edited a volume of Francophone poetry called Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malgache for which Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
wrote an introduction, titled "Orphée Noir" (Black Orpheus).
For his epitaph was a poem he had written, namely:
- Quand je serai mort, mes amis, couchez-moi sous Joal-l'Ombreuse.
- Sur la colline au bord du Mamanguedy, près l'oreille du sanctuaire des Serpents.
- Mais entre le Lion couchez-moi et l'aïeule Tening-Ndyae.
- Quand je serai mort mes amis, couchez-moi sous Joal-la-Portugaise.
- Des pierres du Fort vous ferez ma tombe, et les canons garderont le silence.
- Deux lauriers roses-blanc et rose-embaumeront la Signare.
- When I'm dead, my friends, place me below Shadowy Joal,
- On the hill, by the bank of the Mamanguedy, near the ear of Serpents' Sanctuary.
- But place me between the Lion and ancestral Tening-Ndyae.
- When I'm dead, my friends, place me beneath Portuguese Joal.
- Of stones from the Fort build my tomb, and cannons will keep quiet.
- Two oleanders -- white and pink -- will perfume the Signare.
Négritude
With Aimé CésaireAimé Césaire
Aimé Fernand David Césaire was a French poet, author and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the négritude movement in Francophone literature".-Student, educator, and poet:...
and Léon Damas
Léon Damas
Léon-Gontran Damas was a French poet and politician. He was one of the founders of the Négritude movement.-Biography:...
, Senghor created the concept of Négritude
Négritude
Négritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politiciansin France in the 1930s by a group that included the future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, and the Guianan Léon Damas.The Négritude...
, an important intellectual movement that sought to assert and to valorize what they believed to be distinctive African characteristics, values, and aesthetics. This was a reaction against the too strong dominance of French culture in the colonies, and against the perception that Africa did not have culture developed enough to stand alongside that of Europe. Building upon historical research identifying ancient Egypt with black Africa, Senghor argued that sub-Saharan Africa and Europe are in fact part of the same cultural continuum, reaching from Egypt to classical Greece, through Rome to the European colonial powers of the modern age. Négritude
Négritude
Négritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politiciansin France in the 1930s by a group that included the future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, and the Guianan Léon Damas.The Négritude...
was by no means—as it has in many quarters been perceived—an anti-white racism, but rather emphasized the importance of dialogue and exchange among different cultures (e.g., European, African, Arab, etc.)
A related concept later developed in Mobutu's Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
is that of authenticité
Authenticité (Zaire)
Authenticité was an official state ideology of the Mobutu regime that originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in what was first the Democratic Republic of the Congo, later renamed Zaire...
or Authenticity.
Works of Senghor
- Prière aux masques (Circa 1935 - Published in collected works during the 1940s).
- Chants d'ombre (1945)
- Hosties noires (1948)
- Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et malgache (1948)
- La Belle Histoire de Leuk-le-Lièvre (1953)
- Éthiopiques (1956)
- Nocturnes (1961). (English tr. by Clive WakeClive WakeClive Wake is a critic, editor and translator of modern African and French literature.Born in Cape Town, Clive Wake studied at Cape Town University and the Sorbonne. He taught at the University of Rhodesia, and the University of Kent at Canterbury, where he is Emeritus Professor of French and...
and John O. ReedJohn O. ReedJohn O. Reed is an anthologist and translator of African literature.With Clive Wake he has published several anthologies, as well as translations from French of the work of Léopold Sédar Senghor and Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, in Heinemann's African Writers Series...
Nocturnes, London: Heinemann Educational, 1969. African Writers SeriesAfrican Writers SeriesAfrican Writers Series is a series of books by African writers which has been published by Heinemann since 1962. The series has been a vehicle for some of the most important African writers, ensuring an international voice to literary masters including Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Steve Biko,...
71) - Nation et voie africaine du socialisme (1961)
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin et la politique africaine (1962)
- Lettres de d'hivernage (1973)
- Élégies majeures (1979)
- La poésie de l'action : conversation avec Mohamed Aziza (1980)
- Ce que je crois (1988)
See also
- List of Presidents of Senegal
- SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
- Serer peopleSerer peopleThe Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
- List of African writers
External links (in French)
Biography and guide to collected works: African Studies CentreAfrika-Studiecentrum, Leiden
The African Studies Centre is an independent scientific institute in the Netherlands that undertakes social-science research on Africa with the aim of promoting a better understanding of historical, current and future social developments in Sub-Saharan Africa. The present director is Ton Dietz...
, Leiden
- Histoire des Signares de Gorée du 17ie au 19ie siécle. Poèmes de Léopold Sédar Senghor
- Biographie par l'Assemblée nationale
- Biographie par l'Academie francaise
- Sangonet
- Biblioweb
- Vidéo et enregistrements sonores de Senghor
- Hommage à Léopold Sédar Senghor. Les symboles dans la poésie.
- Discours de réception de Valéry Giscard d'Estaing le 16 décembre 2004
- Préface par Léopold Sédar Senghor à l'ouvrage collectif sur Le Nouvel Ordre Économique Mondiale édité par Hans KöchlerHans KöchlerHans Köchler is a professor of philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and president of the International Progress Organization, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Nations...
(1980) (fac-similé) - Semaine spéciale Senghor à l'occasion du centenaire de sa naissance
- Texte sur le site de Sudlangues Mamadou Cissé, « De l’assimilation à l’appropriation : essai de glottopolitique senghorienne »
- page on the French National Assembly website