Cabral, Freire and Decolonizing the Academy in the 21st Century

Abstract

This paper interrogates the impact of the philosophy, ideas, and practice of two 20th
Century decolonial scholars. It focuses on the writings of Amílcar Cabral and Paulo Freire,
particularly their use of national liberation and culture as a mechanism to conscientize the
people. It provides a brief history of the movement to decolonize education in Africa from
independence to the early 21st Century. The article examines Paulo Freire's The Politics of
Education and Amílcar Cabral's Unity and Struggle as foundational texts for examining the
decolonization movement. Culture is central to the ideas and philosophies of the writings of
these two decolonial thinkers. Freire and Cabral intersect intellectually, philosophically, and
practically through their examinations of culture and conscientization. The connection between
Cabral and Freire extends beyond a mere academic exercise to on-the-ground exchanges. Paulo
Freire’s practical exchange of ideas, pedagogy, and practice in Guinea-Bissau from 1975-1980,
as documented in Pedagogy in Process (1978), materialized the relationship between the ideas
and philosophy of these two thinkers (Chianca & Ceccon, 2017). Finally, based on the writings
of Cabral and Freire, the essay provides four key recommendations for advancing the
movement for decolonization namely, embracing the people’s culture as a site of struggle
engaging in internal class dialogues, politically educating the academic community, and
creating institutions to champion the decolonial debates beyond the academy.