Twenty years since the death of Léopold Sédar Senghor: what legacy does he still leave today?
The last resting place of Léopold Sédar Senghor, in the Bel-Air cemetery in Dakar.
© Théa Ollivier / RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
In Senegal, commemoration day today Monday, December 20 for the 20th anniversary of the death of Léopold Sédar Senghor, the country's first president at the time of independence.
A tribute will be paid to him at the Bel-Air cemetery where he is buried and a mass will be said in his name at the end of the day at the cathedral of Dakar.
Professor, poet, deputy, minister, President of the Republic….
It has marked the generations, but what legacy does it still leave today in Senegal?
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With our correspondent in Dakar,
Théa Ollivier
In the calm Christian cemetery of Bel-Air in Dakar, a sober marble tomb is surrounded by several flower pots in the colors of Senegal.
It is here that Léopold Sédar Senghor was buried.
Albert Mendy, 54, reflects there regularly: “
He brought independence through the passive route, through diplomacy.
Without weapons or faults, he taught us wisdom, the doctrine of knowledge, the art of speaking.
"
A thought still relevant today
Twenty years after his death and forty years after his withdrawal from power, the thought of Léopold Sédar Senghor is still relevant, according to Hamidou Sall, Senegalese writer: “
Léopold Sédar Senghor constitutes a source for tomorrow, because it is a thought. median;
rooting and openness, dialogue of cultures.
The world cannot live in retreat.
And Senghor is very critical of the West.
He is a rooted man, but he is a man of brotherhood.
"
Portrait of Léopold Sedar-Senghor, former Senegalese president, received at the Elysee Palace on March 8, 1984 in Paris, France.
© Patrick Aventurier / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
A change in perception
If he recognizes that Léopold Sédar Senghor has put in place the solid institutions of the Republic, Papa Ismaila Dieng, in charge of advocacy at the League of Africtivists, notes a change in perception and a questioning of his heritage with the rise of sentiment anti-French: “
Today's youth see him more and more as someone who has somewhat put Senegal on the hook from France.
On the other hand, we are talking about Mamadou Dia and Cheikh Anta Diop, two people with whom he politically did not agree.
And today's youth identify a lot with these two leaders.
"
Raphaël Ndiaye, of the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor foundation, regrets that no university bears the name of the famous poet.
► To find out more:
the Léopold Sédar Senghor file on RFI Savoirs
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