Anténor Firmin would probably still be languishing in near-total obscurity if not for an English translation of his book that came out in 2000.
At the end of the 19th century, one of the hottest debates among anthropologists was whether human beings originated from a single ancestor or many . Members of both camps, though, largely agreed that whatever their origins, some races were superior to others. Haitian anthropologist Anténor Firmin knew that premise to be false.
Firmin was among the first to view anthropology as the study of all humankind, rather than the more divisive approach common in his day, says Fluehr-Lobban, who wrote the introduction to the English translation. Firmin, like many scholars of his day, read across fields, Fluehr-Lobban says. That led him to become interested in the study of humankind. While in Paris, Firmin spoke of this interest with French physician Ernest Aubertin, who invited him to join the Société d’Anthropologie de Paris.
On a general level, Firmin takes aim at the nonscientific tenor of many society members’ arguments.
The power of Firmin’s writings stem from his deep commitment to following the evidence, says Niccolo Caldararo, an anthropologist at San Francisco State University. “His criticism of European, especially French scientists, was so careful, was so precise, was so perfectly defined that he undermined their practice as bias rather than empiricism.”The translation of Firmin’s text came out of a chance encounter between Fluehr-Lobban and a Haitian student in her Race and Racism class in 1988.
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