The First World Festival of Negro Arts

In 1966, some 20,000 writers, artists, and performers from Africa and the African diaspora gathered in Dakar to celebrate the diversity of Black art forms. Leopold Senghor, president of the host country Senegal, was not only a poet but also one of the theorists behind the concept of négritude (“Blackness”), a term coined by Dominican poet-politician Aimé Césaire.

This official documentary film of the festival, commissioned by the United States Information Agency, shows the festival’s scale, modernity, organization, and international character. It is a remarkable historical document, offering a glimpse of the classical, modern, and contemporary artworks on display and the phenomenal performances that took place there, all of which exude self-confidence, optimism, and harmony.

The First World Festival of Negro Arts was the first film in which director William Greaves was able to present reality from a Black perspective. The voice-over expresses a profound awareness of the power of art as a lifeline, a means of expression, and an invitation to dialogue. At the same time, it raises the question of whether négritude will help unite the world or instead divide it.