E. Kofi Agorsah
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264782
- eISBN:
- 9780191754012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264782.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, World Early Modern History
This chapter examines imbalances in approaches to the archaeological study of the history of slavery in Africa and the African Diaspora. It argues that the main causes of interpretive problems are a ...
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This chapter examines imbalances in approaches to the archaeological study of the history of slavery in Africa and the African Diaspora. It argues that the main causes of interpretive problems are a lack of coordination between disciplines and regional specialisms. A ‘Kormantse’ case study, bridging Africa and the Caribbean, is used to demonstrate how archaeological endeavours may attempt to address such imbalances in understanding African cultures. Yet, despite recent gains, most archaeological researchers and projects continue to maintain their guarded interests, even where it is clear that they need to reach out and connect the two sides of the Atlantic.Less
This chapter examines imbalances in approaches to the archaeological study of the history of slavery in Africa and the African Diaspora. It argues that the main causes of interpretive problems are a lack of coordination between disciplines and regional specialisms. A ‘Kormantse’ case study, bridging Africa and the Caribbean, is used to demonstrate how archaeological endeavours may attempt to address such imbalances in understanding African cultures. Yet, despite recent gains, most archaeological researchers and projects continue to maintain their guarded interests, even where it is clear that they need to reach out and connect the two sides of the Atlantic.
Kimberly Eison Simmons
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036755
- eISBN:
- 9780813041858
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036755.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
In Latin America and the Caribbean, racial issues are extremely complex and fluid, particularly the nature of “blackness.” What it means to be called “black” is still very different for an African ...
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In Latin America and the Caribbean, racial issues are extremely complex and fluid, particularly the nature of “blackness.” What it means to be called “black” is still very different for an African American living in the United States than it is for an individual with African ancestry in the Dominican Republic. Racial categories were far from concrete as the Dominican populace grew, altered, and solidified around present notions of identity. In effect, the African past was buried in historical memory, and Dominicans were denied their blackness due to concerted socialization efforts of the state for much of the twentieth century. In part due to movement of individuals between the Dominican Republic and the United States, where traditional notions of indio color categories are challenged and debated, new racial identities emerged. Local scholars and activists are organizing around Dominican blackness and raising awareness. How and why Dominicans define their racial identities reveal shifting coalitions between Caribbean peoples and African Americans, and proves intrinsic to understanding identities in the African diaspora. This book explores the socio-cultural shifts in Dominicans' racial categories, concluding that Dominicans are slowly embracing blackness and ideas of African ancestry as they unbury the African past.Less
In Latin America and the Caribbean, racial issues are extremely complex and fluid, particularly the nature of “blackness.” What it means to be called “black” is still very different for an African American living in the United States than it is for an individual with African ancestry in the Dominican Republic. Racial categories were far from concrete as the Dominican populace grew, altered, and solidified around present notions of identity. In effect, the African past was buried in historical memory, and Dominicans were denied their blackness due to concerted socialization efforts of the state for much of the twentieth century. In part due to movement of individuals between the Dominican Republic and the United States, where traditional notions of indio color categories are challenged and debated, new racial identities emerged. Local scholars and activists are organizing around Dominican blackness and raising awareness. How and why Dominicans define their racial identities reveal shifting coalitions between Caribbean peoples and African Americans, and proves intrinsic to understanding identities in the African diaspora. This book explores the socio-cultural shifts in Dominicans' racial categories, concluding that Dominicans are slowly embracing blackness and ideas of African ancestry as they unbury the African past.
Jason C. Parker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195332025
- eISBN:
- 9780199868179
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195332025.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This book is an international history of the relations between the United States, Britain, and the West Indies during the long decolonization of the latter. It draws on archives in seven countries to ...
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This book is an international history of the relations between the United States, Britain, and the West Indies during the long decolonization of the latter. It draws on archives in seven countries to recover the story of that process, which resulted in the first new nations in the hemisphere—Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago—since the turn of the century. The process had begun amid depression, riot, and World War II, and it concluded at the moment of highest tension in the Cold War Caribbean. Moreover, the islands were a historical fount of black radicalism, which coursed intermittently through the hemisphere as the civil rights movement made the issue of American race relations particularly acute. In addition, the structure built to bring the islands to independence—the West Indies Federation—unexpectedly collapsed at perhaps the worst possible moment. Yet despite these ominous circumstances, the West Indian transition to independence was ultimately among the smoothest seen anywhere in the “Third World.” It avoided the bloodshed that accompanied the end of empire in many areas, and avoided the U.S. military intervention so historically promiscuous around the Caribbean littoral. This book argues that a unique “protean partnership” between the U.S. and the West Indies, one which complemented the Anglo-American relationship, explains the smooth transition. That partnership encompassed the U.S. pursuit of national-security assets such as military bases and strategic materials, the give-and-take of formal Anglo-American diplomacy, and the informal “diaspora diplomacy” of transnational race-activism that nurtured West Indian nationalism and the African American freedom struggle alike. This study contributes to the literatures on inter-American relations, race and foreign affairs, the Cold War, and decolonization.Less
This book is an international history of the relations between the United States, Britain, and the West Indies during the long decolonization of the latter. It draws on archives in seven countries to recover the story of that process, which resulted in the first new nations in the hemisphere—Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago—since the turn of the century. The process had begun amid depression, riot, and World War II, and it concluded at the moment of highest tension in the Cold War Caribbean. Moreover, the islands were a historical fount of black radicalism, which coursed intermittently through the hemisphere as the civil rights movement made the issue of American race relations particularly acute. In addition, the structure built to bring the islands to independence—the West Indies Federation—unexpectedly collapsed at perhaps the worst possible moment. Yet despite these ominous circumstances, the West Indian transition to independence was ultimately among the smoothest seen anywhere in the “Third World.” It avoided the bloodshed that accompanied the end of empire in many areas, and avoided the U.S. military intervention so historically promiscuous around the Caribbean littoral. This book argues that a unique “protean partnership” between the U.S. and the West Indies, one which complemented the Anglo-American relationship, explains the smooth transition. That partnership encompassed the U.S. pursuit of national-security assets such as military bases and strategic materials, the give-and-take of formal Anglo-American diplomacy, and the informal “diaspora diplomacy” of transnational race-activism that nurtured West Indian nationalism and the African American freedom struggle alike. This study contributes to the literatures on inter-American relations, race and foreign affairs, the Cold War, and decolonization.
Tejumola Olaniyan
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195094053
- eISBN:
- 9780199855278
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195094053.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama
Looking in detail at the works of Baraka, Soyinka, Walcott, and Shange and their historical trajectories in black anti-Eurocentric discourses, the author offers a sophisticated reading of how these ...
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Looking in detail at the works of Baraka, Soyinka, Walcott, and Shange and their historical trajectories in black anti-Eurocentric discourses, the author offers a sophisticated reading of how these writers are preoccupied with the invention of a post-imperial cultural identity. Drawing on contemporary theory and cultural studies, the author provides an account of the social foundations of an important aesthetic form: the drama of the African diaspora.Less
Looking in detail at the works of Baraka, Soyinka, Walcott, and Shange and their historical trajectories in black anti-Eurocentric discourses, the author offers a sophisticated reading of how these writers are preoccupied with the invention of a post-imperial cultural identity. Drawing on contemporary theory and cultural studies, the author provides an account of the social foundations of an important aesthetic form: the drama of the African diaspora.
Tanisha Ford
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469625157
- eISBN:
- 9781469625171
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469625157.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This book explores how and why black women in places as far-flung as New York City, Atlanta, London, and Johannesburg incorporated style and beauty culture into their activism. From the civil rights ...
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This book explores how and why black women in places as far-flung as New York City, Atlanta, London, and Johannesburg incorporated style and beauty culture into their activism. From the civil rights and Black Power era of the 1960s through antiapartheid activism in the 1980s and beyond, black women have used their clothing, hair, and style not simply as a fashion statement but as a powerful tool of resistance. Whether using stiletto heels as weapons to protect against police attacks or incorporating African-themed designs into everyday wear, these fashion-forward women celebrated their identities and pushed for equality. Focusing on the emergence of the “soul style” movement—represented in clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, and more—the book shows that black women’s fashion choices became galvanizing symbols of gender and political liberation. Drawing from an eclectic archive, the book offers a new way of studying how black style and Soul Power moved beyond national boundaries, sparking a global fashion phenomenon. Following celebrities, models, college students, and everyday women as they moved through fashion boutiques, beauty salons, and record stores, it narrates the intertwining histories of Black Freedom and fashion.Less
This book explores how and why black women in places as far-flung as New York City, Atlanta, London, and Johannesburg incorporated style and beauty culture into their activism. From the civil rights and Black Power era of the 1960s through antiapartheid activism in the 1980s and beyond, black women have used their clothing, hair, and style not simply as a fashion statement but as a powerful tool of resistance. Whether using stiletto heels as weapons to protect against police attacks or incorporating African-themed designs into everyday wear, these fashion-forward women celebrated their identities and pushed for equality. Focusing on the emergence of the “soul style” movement—represented in clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, and more—the book shows that black women’s fashion choices became galvanizing symbols of gender and political liberation. Drawing from an eclectic archive, the book offers a new way of studying how black style and Soul Power moved beyond national boundaries, sparking a global fashion phenomenon. Following celebrities, models, college students, and everyday women as they moved through fashion boutiques, beauty salons, and record stores, it narrates the intertwining histories of Black Freedom and fashion.
Jemima Pierre
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226923024
- eISBN:
- 9780226923048
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226923048.003.0008
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
This chapter brings together the book's thesis on global processes of racialization with the author's two primary fields of engagement: African studies and African diaspora studies. First, it ...
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This chapter brings together the book's thesis on global processes of racialization with the author's two primary fields of engagement: African studies and African diaspora studies. First, it examines the institutional formation of African studies in Cold War United States. Second, it looks at the ways in which race and ethnicity have been considered within Africanist anthropology. Third, it considers how Africa has been marginalized within the late twentieth-century African diaspora and Black Atlantic cultural theory. The discussion begins with a brief exploration of the broad historical and political context that allowed for the development of the Africa-diaspora divide in current intellectual circles. The chapter concludes by making the for a theory of diaspora that offers a new way out of the ongoing ambivalent relationship between Africa, the diaspora, and race.Less
This chapter brings together the book's thesis on global processes of racialization with the author's two primary fields of engagement: African studies and African diaspora studies. First, it examines the institutional formation of African studies in Cold War United States. Second, it looks at the ways in which race and ethnicity have been considered within Africanist anthropology. Third, it considers how Africa has been marginalized within the late twentieth-century African diaspora and Black Atlantic cultural theory. The discussion begins with a brief exploration of the broad historical and political context that allowed for the development of the Africa-diaspora divide in current intellectual circles. The chapter concludes by making the for a theory of diaspora that offers a new way out of the ongoing ambivalent relationship between Africa, the diaspora, and race.
Adam Ewing
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691157795
- eISBN:
- 9781400852444
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157795.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This introductory chapter briefly presents some new perspectives on Garveyism. Though commonly recognized as one of the most important phenomena in the history of the African diaspora, observers of ...
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This introductory chapter briefly presents some new perspectives on Garveyism. Though commonly recognized as one of the most important phenomena in the history of the African diaspora, observers of the Garvey phenomenon often struggle to explain it. This chapter (and the book as a whole) attempt to fill in the gaps in Garvey scholarship by characterizing Garveyism as a method of organic mass politics, in which “process” was privileged over “stance”; and a sustained project of diasporic identity building, where “race” according to Marcus Mosiah Garvey was a fixed signifier, connecting peoples of African descent to a single, ancient history, and guiding them to a common destiny. To conclude, the chapter discusses the structure and approach this volume will undertake in studying Garvey.Less
This introductory chapter briefly presents some new perspectives on Garveyism. Though commonly recognized as one of the most important phenomena in the history of the African diaspora, observers of the Garvey phenomenon often struggle to explain it. This chapter (and the book as a whole) attempt to fill in the gaps in Garvey scholarship by characterizing Garveyism as a method of organic mass politics, in which “process” was privileged over “stance”; and a sustained project of diasporic identity building, where “race” according to Marcus Mosiah Garvey was a fixed signifier, connecting peoples of African descent to a single, ancient history, and guiding them to a common destiny. To conclude, the chapter discusses the structure and approach this volume will undertake in studying Garvey.
Tanisha C. Ford
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469625157
- eISBN:
- 9781469625171
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469625157.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter centers on Harlem in the early 1960s to demonstrate how young Black Nationalists helped make soul style cool for everyday black women. Focusing on the African Jazz Art Society (AJAS) and ...
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This chapter centers on Harlem in the early 1960s to demonstrate how young Black Nationalists helped make soul style cool for everyday black women. Focusing on the African Jazz Art Society (AJAS) and the African Nationalist Pioneer Movement (ANPM), the chapter offers a window into how these groups, made up of African American men and women and the children of Caribbean immigrant parents, were envisioning “Africa” as both a homeland and a model of black beauty and pride. At the time, AJAS and the ANPM described their style of adornment as African, meaning they were making efforts to link the styles they were wearing to specific ethnic groups and countries in Africa. AJAS used its ties to Abbey Lincoln and others who were part of the soul-jazz music scene to export images of their modeling troupe, the Grandassa models, throughout the diaspora. As the models appeared on album covers and magazines published in London, the Caribbean and Nigeria their look became known as soul style.Less
This chapter centers on Harlem in the early 1960s to demonstrate how young Black Nationalists helped make soul style cool for everyday black women. Focusing on the African Jazz Art Society (AJAS) and the African Nationalist Pioneer Movement (ANPM), the chapter offers a window into how these groups, made up of African American men and women and the children of Caribbean immigrant parents, were envisioning “Africa” as both a homeland and a model of black beauty and pride. At the time, AJAS and the ANPM described their style of adornment as African, meaning they were making efforts to link the styles they were wearing to specific ethnic groups and countries in Africa. AJAS used its ties to Abbey Lincoln and others who were part of the soul-jazz music scene to export images of their modeling troupe, the Grandassa models, throughout the diaspora. As the models appeared on album covers and magazines published in London, the Caribbean and Nigeria their look became known as soul style.
Janson C. Parker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195332025
- eISBN:
- 9780199868179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195332025.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
Describes the regional landscape prior to World War II. Outlines the factors that would launch the decolonization process and shape U.S. relations with the islands: the West Indian expatriate ...
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Describes the regional landscape prior to World War II. Outlines the factors that would launch the decolonization process and shape U.S. relations with the islands: the West Indian expatriate community in New York; the explosion of labor riots in the Caribbean, especially in Trinidad in 1937 and Jamaica in 1938, and the growth of West Indian nationalist sentiment that followed; the consequent reorientation of British policy, toward welfare and development and eventually federation and independence; the outbreak of World War II in Europe; the West Indian expatriate community forging ties with African Americans to take advantage of British weakness; and the U.S. reaction to the changed situation, leading to the 1940 Anglo-American Bases-for-Destroyers Deal and the construction of U.S. bases in the islands the following year.Less
Describes the regional landscape prior to World War II. Outlines the factors that would launch the decolonization process and shape U.S. relations with the islands: the West Indian expatriate community in New York; the explosion of labor riots in the Caribbean, especially in Trinidad in 1937 and Jamaica in 1938, and the growth of West Indian nationalist sentiment that followed; the consequent reorientation of British policy, toward welfare and development and eventually federation and independence; the outbreak of World War II in Europe; the West Indian expatriate community forging ties with African Americans to take advantage of British weakness; and the U.S. reaction to the changed situation, leading to the 1940 Anglo-American Bases-for-Destroyers Deal and the construction of U.S. bases in the islands the following year.
Daniel Orrells, Gurminder K. Bhambra, and Tessa Roynon (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199595006
- eISBN:
- 9780191731464
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199595006.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, African History: BCE to 500CE
The appearance of Martin Bernal's Black Athena: The Afro-Asian Roots of Classical Civilization in 1987 sparked intense debate and controversy in Africa, Europe, and North America. His detailed ...
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The appearance of Martin Bernal's Black Athena: The Afro-Asian Roots of Classical Civilization in 1987 sparked intense debate and controversy in Africa, Europe, and North America. His detailed genealogy of the ‘fabrication of Greece’ and his claims for the influence of ancient African and Near Eastern cultures on the making of classical Greece, questioned many intellectuals' assumptions about the nature of ancient history. The transportation of enslaved African persons into Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, brought African and diasporic African people into contact in significant numbers with the Greek and Latin classics for the first time in modern history. In this book chapters explore the impact of the modern African diaspora from the sixteenth century onwards on Western notions of history and culture, examining the role Bernal's claim has played in European and American understandings of history, and in classical, European, American, and Caribbean literary production. This book examines the history of intellectuals and literary writers who contested the white, dominant Euro-American constructions of the classical past and its influence on the present.Less
The appearance of Martin Bernal's Black Athena: The Afro-Asian Roots of Classical Civilization in 1987 sparked intense debate and controversy in Africa, Europe, and North America. His detailed genealogy of the ‘fabrication of Greece’ and his claims for the influence of ancient African and Near Eastern cultures on the making of classical Greece, questioned many intellectuals' assumptions about the nature of ancient history. The transportation of enslaved African persons into Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, brought African and diasporic African people into contact in significant numbers with the Greek and Latin classics for the first time in modern history. In this book chapters explore the impact of the modern African diaspora from the sixteenth century onwards on Western notions of history and culture, examining the role Bernal's claim has played in European and American understandings of history, and in classical, European, American, and Caribbean literary production. This book examines the history of intellectuals and literary writers who contested the white, dominant Euro-American constructions of the classical past and its influence on the present.
Yvonne Daniel
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036538
- eISBN:
- 9780252093579
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036538.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
This chapter examines the foundation of Diaspora dance and its relationship to African dance and music. It first considers the importance of dance in the African Diaspora and its relation to ...
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This chapter examines the foundation of Diaspora dance and its relationship to African dance and music. It first considers the importance of dance in the African Diaspora and its relation to Caribbean dance before discussing the emergence of several types of African movement styles that echo across the Diaspora today, along with the introduction of African-derived dance practices to the mainstream European, Asian, and American dance worlds. It then takes a look at some of the performers who have brought Caribbean dance into global view and goes on to analyze particular ways of moving and preferences for certain dance formations. It also reviews some important assumptions that accompany Diaspora dance and its performance and concludes with an assessment of the consequences of Diaspora performance, noting how the efforts of Diaspora performers reinforce dance practices across the Diaspora as resilient and joyful body communication.Less
This chapter examines the foundation of Diaspora dance and its relationship to African dance and music. It first considers the importance of dance in the African Diaspora and its relation to Caribbean dance before discussing the emergence of several types of African movement styles that echo across the Diaspora today, along with the introduction of African-derived dance practices to the mainstream European, Asian, and American dance worlds. It then takes a look at some of the performers who have brought Caribbean dance into global view and goes on to analyze particular ways of moving and preferences for certain dance formations. It also reviews some important assumptions that accompany Diaspora dance and its performance and concludes with an assessment of the consequences of Diaspora performance, noting how the efforts of Diaspora performers reinforce dance practices across the Diaspora as resilient and joyful body communication.
Yvonne Daniel
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780252042959
- eISBN:
- 9780252051814
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5622/illinois/9780252042959.003.0012
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
In this essay, Yvonne Daniel highlights the necessity of employing appropriate terminology when discussing African dance forms - terminology that distinguishes dance forms based on geographical, ...
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In this essay, Yvonne Daniel highlights the necessity of employing appropriate terminology when discussing African dance forms - terminology that distinguishes dance forms based on geographical, social, and stylistic histories. Daniel provides an analysis of Afro-Cuban dance categories while bridging to similar dance traditions found throughout the Caribbean and Afro-Latin America. Daniel offers a pluralistic typography of African and Diaspora dance forms and allows a more precise legacy representation. She concludes with a set of recommendations for the mentoring of African Dance performers, researchers, and Performing Arts communities.Less
In this essay, Yvonne Daniel highlights the necessity of employing appropriate terminology when discussing African dance forms - terminology that distinguishes dance forms based on geographical, social, and stylistic histories. Daniel provides an analysis of Afro-Cuban dance categories while bridging to similar dance traditions found throughout the Caribbean and Afro-Latin America. Daniel offers a pluralistic typography of African and Diaspora dance forms and allows a more precise legacy representation. She concludes with a set of recommendations for the mentoring of African Dance performers, researchers, and Performing Arts communities.
Sarah Dayens
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719076213
- eISBN:
- 9781781702116
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719076213.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
Events that produce meaning, in particular when they have not been ‘resolved’, never stop ‘surviving’; in the case of the African diaspora, the past of slavery still makes sense today, as if the ...
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Events that produce meaning, in particular when they have not been ‘resolved’, never stop ‘surviving’; in the case of the African diaspora, the past of slavery still makes sense today, as if the slaveships were still crossing the Atlantic each day, over and over again. Collective memory, through the collective and individual identifications it sets up, produces identity. The question of common origin and history becomes acutely important in situations of displacement. The construction of the diaspora and the emergence of a sense of collective belonging are increasingly based on the transmission of memory. Within the last two decades, two positions have appeared as central within the conceptualisation of diaspora: the first emphasises the relationship of the diaspora to the homeland (the centred model), while the second emphasises the transverse relationships that exist within the diaspora outside of the homeland (the multi-centred model). The past of slavery is one of the most prominent themes in reggae music.Less
Events that produce meaning, in particular when they have not been ‘resolved’, never stop ‘surviving’; in the case of the African diaspora, the past of slavery still makes sense today, as if the slaveships were still crossing the Atlantic each day, over and over again. Collective memory, through the collective and individual identifications it sets up, produces identity. The question of common origin and history becomes acutely important in situations of displacement. The construction of the diaspora and the emergence of a sense of collective belonging are increasingly based on the transmission of memory. Within the last two decades, two positions have appeared as central within the conceptualisation of diaspora: the first emphasises the relationship of the diaspora to the homeland (the centred model), while the second emphasises the transverse relationships that exist within the diaspora outside of the homeland (the multi-centred model). The past of slavery is one of the most prominent themes in reggae music.
Patricia de Santana Pinho
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645322
- eISBN:
- 9781469645346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645322.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter contextualizes African American roots tourism in Brazil both time-wise and space-wise. First, it locates the brief history of African American roots tourism within the longer trajectory ...
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This chapter contextualizes African American roots tourism in Brazil both time-wise and space-wise. First, it locates the brief history of African American roots tourism within the longer trajectory of the meanings of Brazil for African Americans, spanning from the late nineteenth century—when, inspired by fantastical imaginings of Brazil as a “racial paradise,” groups of African Americans attempted to migrate there—to the present-day, when the country has become an important roots tourism destination. Second, the chapter compares representations of Brazil with those of other countries frequently visited by African American roots tourists, placing them within a wider system of meanings that the author defines as the “map of Africanness,” a map that is both spatial and temporal.Less
This chapter contextualizes African American roots tourism in Brazil both time-wise and space-wise. First, it locates the brief history of African American roots tourism within the longer trajectory of the meanings of Brazil for African Americans, spanning from the late nineteenth century—when, inspired by fantastical imaginings of Brazil as a “racial paradise,” groups of African Americans attempted to migrate there—to the present-day, when the country has become an important roots tourism destination. Second, the chapter compares representations of Brazil with those of other countries frequently visited by African American roots tourists, placing them within a wider system of meanings that the author defines as the “map of Africanness,” a map that is both spatial and temporal.
Janson C. Parker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195332025
- eISBN:
- 9780199868179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195332025.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter recounts the arrival of the Cold War in Anglo-American-Caribbean affairs, relating how the emerging superpower conflict tempered American anticolonialism and relegated areas outside ...
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This chapter recounts the arrival of the Cold War in Anglo-American-Caribbean affairs, relating how the emerging superpower conflict tempered American anticolonialism and relegated areas outside Europe to the foreign-policy shadows. But this eclipsing of the West Indies and the dampening of reform efforts there were not the only effects of the Cold War. The conflict also invigorated the American pursuit of strategic materials in the region, such as bauxite and oil, and made anticommunism a priority in Anglo-American diplomacy regarding the West Indies. Also of note was the first formal progress toward federation. With the assent of Washington, London, West Indian nationalists, and black-consciousness visionaries alike, plans for regional union began to take shape.Less
This chapter recounts the arrival of the Cold War in Anglo-American-Caribbean affairs, relating how the emerging superpower conflict tempered American anticolonialism and relegated areas outside Europe to the foreign-policy shadows. But this eclipsing of the West Indies and the dampening of reform efforts there were not the only effects of the Cold War. The conflict also invigorated the American pursuit of strategic materials in the region, such as bauxite and oil, and made anticommunism a priority in Anglo-American diplomacy regarding the West Indies. Also of note was the first formal progress toward federation. With the assent of Washington, London, West Indian nationalists, and black-consciousness visionaries alike, plans for regional union began to take shape.
Robert Dannin
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195300246
- eISBN:
- 9780199850433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300246.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The continuing immigration of practicing Muslims into the United States and the increasing occurrences of conversion poses several challenges to the typical historical accounts of religious ...
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The continuing immigration of practicing Muslims into the United States and the increasing occurrences of conversion poses several challenges to the typical historical accounts of religious experience in the country. For the African Americans, looking into such concerns means addressing religious pluralism issues that were frequently associated with the spiritual monopoly of the Black Church and the legacy of slavery among specific minority groups. Fundamentally, aside from the concept of hijra and issues of religious history, Islam initiates an attempt to reconstrue history through illustrating how African Americans have been able to find themselves through umma that disregards socioeconomic status while also accounting for diversities evident across various cultures. These social and religious changes promote unpredictable effects, both positive and negative, on the Muslim umma and on the African diaspora.Less
The continuing immigration of practicing Muslims into the United States and the increasing occurrences of conversion poses several challenges to the typical historical accounts of religious experience in the country. For the African Americans, looking into such concerns means addressing religious pluralism issues that were frequently associated with the spiritual monopoly of the Black Church and the legacy of slavery among specific minority groups. Fundamentally, aside from the concept of hijra and issues of religious history, Islam initiates an attempt to reconstrue history through illustrating how African Americans have been able to find themselves through umma that disregards socioeconomic status while also accounting for diversities evident across various cultures. These social and religious changes promote unpredictable effects, both positive and negative, on the Muslim umma and on the African diaspora.
Tanisha C. Ford
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469625157
- eISBN:
- 9781469625171
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469625157.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
The opening chapter of the book outlines a brief history of black fashion. Using Angela Davis as a guiding figure, the chapter discusses how and why soul style became a global phenomenon. Locating ...
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The opening chapter of the book outlines a brief history of black fashion. Using Angela Davis as a guiding figure, the chapter discusses how and why soul style became a global phenomenon. Locating the style’s roots in the antebellum period, tracing its development in the interwar period, and showing its critical evolution in the years following WWII, the chapter makes a case for why clothing has always been tied to struggles for black freedom. The chapter centers this American history in a broader context of the African diaspora in the mid-twentieth century. It uses these intertwining movements as the cultural and political foundation from which soul style emerges as a global phenomenon. The chapter also offers important definitions of terms such as “style,” “fashion,” and “soul.”Less
The opening chapter of the book outlines a brief history of black fashion. Using Angela Davis as a guiding figure, the chapter discusses how and why soul style became a global phenomenon. Locating the style’s roots in the antebellum period, tracing its development in the interwar period, and showing its critical evolution in the years following WWII, the chapter makes a case for why clothing has always been tied to struggles for black freedom. The chapter centers this American history in a broader context of the African diaspora in the mid-twentieth century. It uses these intertwining movements as the cultural and political foundation from which soul style emerges as a global phenomenon. The chapter also offers important definitions of terms such as “style,” “fashion,” and “soul.”
Fatima El-Tayeb
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816670154
- eISBN:
- 9781452947242
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816670154.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
This chapter examines how African activists apply the notion of African diaspora within their European minority community. The studies of African diaspora are vital in order to strengthen the African ...
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This chapter examines how African activists apply the notion of African diaspora within their European minority community. The studies of African diaspora are vital in order to strengthen the African diasporic subjectivity. This subjectivity is then used to impose the significance of the African identity to the marginalization of their communities in Europe. In addition, this African diasporic subjectivity is initially attributable to men only; however, theorists argue that the question in race does not cover questions in gender and sexuality; from there evolved diasporic intersubjectivity. Diasporic intersubjectivity became evident when African feminist poets Gwendolyn Rodgers and Audre Lorde pioneered the liberation movements of 1970 through poetry. This chapter explores the transnational community of Europe segregating the population of the African minority, through the use of intersubjective models of diaspora identity.Less
This chapter examines how African activists apply the notion of African diaspora within their European minority community. The studies of African diaspora are vital in order to strengthen the African diasporic subjectivity. This subjectivity is then used to impose the significance of the African identity to the marginalization of their communities in Europe. In addition, this African diasporic subjectivity is initially attributable to men only; however, theorists argue that the question in race does not cover questions in gender and sexuality; from there evolved diasporic intersubjectivity. Diasporic intersubjectivity became evident when African feminist poets Gwendolyn Rodgers and Audre Lorde pioneered the liberation movements of 1970 through poetry. This chapter explores the transnational community of Europe segregating the population of the African minority, through the use of intersubjective models of diaspora identity.
Patricia de Santana Pinho
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645322
- eISBN:
- 9781469645346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645322.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter examines how roots tourism has allowed for the construction of black racial solidarity between African Americans and Afro-Brazilians. Aware of their power as U.S. citizens, African ...
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This chapter examines how roots tourism has allowed for the construction of black racial solidarity between African Americans and Afro-Brazilians. Aware of their power as U.S. citizens, African Americans have actively “made use” of their identity, as both tourists and Americans, to support Afro-Brazilians. In addition to donating cash and goods and providing financial aid to Afro-Brazilian organizations, they have often requested black tourist guides and prioritized patronizing black-owned businesses so that their U.S. dollars are channeled to Afro-Brazilians. Afro-Brazilian actors, in general, have responded very positively to such practices of solidarity, even if they are also critical of, and ready to challenge, what they view as the tourists’ “Americanness.” Most importantly, Afro-Brazilian activists have also set the terms of engagement in these interactions and, rather than being mere beneficiaries, they have become important agents in these projects of transnational black solidarity, acting as co-producers in the processes of diaspora-making.Less
This chapter examines how roots tourism has allowed for the construction of black racial solidarity between African Americans and Afro-Brazilians. Aware of their power as U.S. citizens, African Americans have actively “made use” of their identity, as both tourists and Americans, to support Afro-Brazilians. In addition to donating cash and goods and providing financial aid to Afro-Brazilian organizations, they have often requested black tourist guides and prioritized patronizing black-owned businesses so that their U.S. dollars are channeled to Afro-Brazilians. Afro-Brazilian actors, in general, have responded very positively to such practices of solidarity, even if they are also critical of, and ready to challenge, what they view as the tourists’ “Americanness.” Most importantly, Afro-Brazilian activists have also set the terms of engagement in these interactions and, rather than being mere beneficiaries, they have become important agents in these projects of transnational black solidarity, acting as co-producers in the processes of diaspora-making.
Janson C. Parker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195332025
- eISBN:
- 9780199868179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195332025.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
Describes the aim, scope, and themes of the book. Argues that recovering the story of West Indian decolonization contributes to the literatures on inter-American relations, race and foreign affairs, ...
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Describes the aim, scope, and themes of the book. Argues that recovering the story of West Indian decolonization contributes to the literatures on inter-American relations, race and foreign affairs, and U.S.-Caribbean and U.S.-Third World relations. This chapter lays out the question: how did all interested parties—the U.S. and British governments, African Americans, and West Indian nationalists—navigate the route to decolonization? Much of the answer lay in the “protean partnership” that emerged from the Anglo-American relationship, transnational racial dynamics, the Cold War, and the construction of a West Indies Federation. Argues that this history offers a chance to plumb the relationship between the Cold War and decolonization. Describes the book's finding that in the West Indies, the Cold War had an important but not decisive impact on decolonization, first slowing and then accelerating a process already underway.Less
Describes the aim, scope, and themes of the book. Argues that recovering the story of West Indian decolonization contributes to the literatures on inter-American relations, race and foreign affairs, and U.S.-Caribbean and U.S.-Third World relations. This chapter lays out the question: how did all interested parties—the U.S. and British governments, African Americans, and West Indian nationalists—navigate the route to decolonization? Much of the answer lay in the “protean partnership” that emerged from the Anglo-American relationship, transnational racial dynamics, the Cold War, and the construction of a West Indies Federation. Argues that this history offers a chance to plumb the relationship between the Cold War and decolonization. Describes the book's finding that in the West Indies, the Cold War had an important but not decisive impact on decolonization, first slowing and then accelerating a process already underway.
