Jeanne Nardal

Jeanne "Jane" Nardal (19? – 1993). was a Martiniquan writer, philosopher, teacher, and political commentator. She and her sister, Paulette Nardal, are considered to have laid the theoretical and philosophical groundwork of the Négritude movement, a cultural, political, and literary movement which first emerged in 1930s, Paris and sought to unite Black intellectuals in the current and former French colonies. The term "Négritude" itself was coined by Martiniquan writer-activist Aimé Césaire; he, Senegalese poet Léopold Senghor, and French Guianese writer Léon Damas, are formally recognized as the Three "Fathers" of the cultural movement. It was not until relatively recently, however, that women of the Négritude movement, including Jane and Paulette Nardal, began to receive the recognition they were due.

The Nardal's great-grandmother, Sidonie Nardal, was born into slavery in the region of Trinité, Martinique, best known at the time for its sugar production. She was recognized as a free person in 1850, two years after slavery was officially abolished throughout the French empire. Sidonie had five children; her son Joachim, Jane and Paulette's grandfather, was not registered as a free person until 1854. Joachim Nardal would eventually move to the capital of Saint-Pierre and go on to have two children: Marie-Hélène (born in 1861) and Paul Nardal (born in 1867), the Nardal sisters' father. The latter would eventually become the first black man after the abolition of slavery to earn a fellowship to attend Martinique's Ecole des Arts et Métiers (School of Arts and Careers). He would eventually become the first black engineer to work for the Department of Public Works and also worked as a teacher training future engineers.

Jane Nardal was the fourth of seven daughters (Paulette, Emilie, Alice, Lucy, Cécile, Andrée) born to Paul Nardal, a Black engineer, and Louise Achille, a métisse (mixed) schoolteacher, prominent musician, and organizer. Paul and Louise instilled in their daughters a commitment to education and the arts. Though all of their children would grow up to become successful, well-educated women, Paulette and, to a lesser extent Jane, were most well known for their writings and political commentary.

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