Dialogue between Fanon and Krenak

Abstract

This article proposes a dialogue between Frantz Fanon, based on The wretched of the earth and Black skin, white masks, and Ailton Krenak, through Ideas to postpone the end of the world, aiming to analyze the concept of humanity in both authors. It argues that colonization produces not only material but also psychological dehumanization, marked by the internalization of racism and the erosion of the colonized subject’s identity. Although situated in distinct contexts, Fanon and Krenak share a critical perspective on colonial and capitalist systems, understood as structures that establish an ontological regime grounded in the hierarchization of lives, the racialization of bodies, and the legitimization of exclusion. Fanon advocates revolutionary violence as a means for oppressed peoples to restore their humanity, while Krenak challenges the hegemonic notion of humanity imposed by Western modernity, proposing a worldview in which human life is intrinsically connected to the environment. This study also engages with theorists such as Achille Mbembe and György Lukács, among others, and concludes that both authors offer significant contributions to rethinking humanity through the reconciliation with identity and the development of new ways of relating to the world.