During my studies and throughout my life there have been many inspirational thinkers who I could relate my ideas to, for instance Plato, Luigi Pirandello, Oscar Wilde and Mahatma Ghandi to name a few.
However, in this space I’d like to remember the two intellectuals who I have been reading over and over again in the attempt to capture the density of their meaning and understand the full complexity of their essence.
Franz Fanon
“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with the core belief.” (Black Skin, White Masks)
Paulo Freire
“The more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side.” (Pedagogy of the Oppressed)
My Africa 