Representations of Blackness and the Performance of Identities

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Author :
Publisher : Praeger
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.A/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Representations of Blackness and the Performance of Identities by : Jean Rahier

Download or read book Representations of Blackness and the Performance of Identities written by Jean Rahier and published by Praeger. This book was released on 1999-05-30 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essays gathered in this volume deal with representations of blackness and the performance of black identities in various historically determined societal contexts of the Americas, Benin, and Spain. The book is grounded on the premise that representations constitute, in part, the world in which we live. An important aspect of the struggles of dominated people consists in more or less overtly challenging, manipulating, combatting, negating, and sometimes inverting representations of themselves reproduced in the dominant discourse of their national society. The contributors approach various forms of blackness within the fluctuation of political, economic, and social processes embedded in particular time/space contexts, which are constituted within local, regional, national, and transnational dimensions. Identities, whatever they may be, cannot be defined once and for all in fixed or essentialist terms as if they were unchanging or frozen in time and space. If, as this book proposes, identities are fluid, it is because they are constantly enacted and reenacted, performed anew within specific situations, and within changing socioeconomic and political contexts that provide sites for their negotiations and renegotiations, definitions and redefinitions. Thus, the book approaches black identities as performances.

Blackness as a Defining Identity

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9789813295445
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (954 download)

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Book Synopsis Blackness as a Defining Identity by : Runyararo Sihle Chivaura

Download or read book Blackness as a Defining Identity written by Runyararo Sihle Chivaura and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the lived experiences of African immigrants in Australia, and the way they are represented in the media. By delving into the group's everyday lives, the book exposes the roles that media and social perceptions play in the production and regulation of diasporic identities. Rather than being presented as objects of mediated representations, this book positions African immigrants in Australia as empowered subjects. The book employs inclusive research methods that make African immigrants active participants in the research, rather than passive objects. This is achieved through an expanded demographic study, a snapshot survey, and by taking a closer look at the lives of Africans in Australia through digital oral histories. This approach allows the group to have a say on how they feel they are positioned in society, on what space they are offered, and on how this affects their lives.

Distributed Blackness

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Author :
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 1479820377
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (798 download)

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Book Synopsis Distributed Blackness by : André Brock, Jr.

Download or read book Distributed Blackness written by André Brock, Jr. and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An explanation of the digital practices of the black Internet From BlackPlanet to #BlackGirlMagic, Distributed Blackness places blackness at the very center of internet culture. André Brock Jr. claims issues of race and ethnicity as inextricable from and formative of contemporary digital culture in the United States. Distributed Blackness analyzes a host of platforms and practices (from Black Twitter to Instagram, YouTube, and app development) to trace how digital media have reconfigured the meanings and performances of African American identity. Brock moves beyond widely circulated deficit models of respectability, bringing together discourse analysis with a close reading of technological interfaces to develop nuanced arguments about how “blackness” gets worked out in various technological domains. As Brock demonstrates, there’s nothing niche or subcultural about expressions of blackness on social media: internet use and practice now set the terms for what constitutes normative participation. Drawing on critical race theory, linguistics, rhetoric, information studies, and science and technology studies, Brock tabs between black-dominated technologies, websites, and social media to build a set of black beliefs about technology. In explaining black relationships with and alongside technology, Brock centers the unique joy and sense of community in being black online now.

Post Black

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Author :
Publisher : Chicago Review Press
ISBN 13 : 1569765413
Total Pages : 225 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (697 download)

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Book Synopsis Post Black by : Ytasha L. Womack

Download or read book Post Black written by Ytasha L. Womack and published by Chicago Review Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a young journalist covering black life at large, author Ytasha L. Womack was caught unaware when she found herself straddling black culture's rarely acknowledged generation gaps and cultural divides. Traditional images show blacks unified culturally, politically, and socially, united by race at venues such as churches and community meetings. But in the “post black” era, even though individuals define themselves first as black, they do not necessarily define themselves by tradition as much as by personal interests, points of view, and lifestyle. In Post Black: How a New Generation Is Redefining African American Identity, Womack takes a fresh look at dynamics shaping the lives of contemporary African Americans. Although grateful to generations that have paved the way, many cannot relate to the rhetoric of pundits who speak as ambassadors of black life any more than they see themselves in exaggerated hip-hop images. Combining interviews, opinions of experts, and extensive research, Post Black will open the eyes of some, validate the lives of others, and provide a realistic picture of the expanding community.

This is Why I Resist

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Author :
Publisher : Headline
ISBN 13 : 1472280792
Total Pages : 389 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (722 download)

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Book Synopsis This is Why I Resist by : Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu

Download or read book This is Why I Resist written by Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu and published by Headline. This book was released on 2021-01-21 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essential anti-racist book from one of the world's leading voices for change 'With This Is Why I Resist, Dr Shola is shaking a nation out of its slumber.' Annie Lennox OBE 'Smart and courageous, this book should be on everyone's must-read list.' Naomi Campbell 'Written with fearless articulacy, this book recalibrates the conversation on race to ignite transformational change.' David Lammy MP 'This book is a passionate call to arms for anyone who wishes to look the other way. It is a must read.' Professor Kate Williams 'Inclusive, exciting and focused, This Is Why I Resist is a fantastic point of reference for intersectional anti-racism work, no matter who you are.' Munroe Bergdorf In 2020 we have seen clearer than ever that Black people are still fighting for the right to be judged by the content of their character and not the colour of their skin. In the words of the author, "there is no freedom without rights and no rights without the freedom to exercise those rights." This book demands change, because Black people are done waiting. In This Is Why I Resist activist and political commentator, Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu digs down into the deep roots of racism and anti-blackness in the UK and the US. Using real life examples from the modern day, Dr Shola shows us the different forms racism takes in our day-to-day lives and asks us to raise our voice to end the oppression. She delves into subjects not often explored such as racial gatekeepers, white ingratitude, performative allyship (those black squares on Instagram), current identity politics and abuse of the Black trans community. This book will challenge you. It will make you think. Bust most importantly, it will inspire you take action. It's time for a conscious revolution.

One Drop

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Author :
Publisher : Beacon Press
ISBN 13 : 0807073369
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis One Drop by : Yaba Blay

Download or read book One Drop written by Yaba Blay and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenges narrow perceptions of Blackness as both an identity and lived reality to understand the diversity of what it means to be Black in the US and around the world What exactly is Blackness and what does it mean to be Black? Is Blackness a matter of biology or consciousness? Who determines who is Black and who is not? Who’s Black, who’s not, and who cares? In the United States, a Black person has come to be defined as any person with any known Black ancestry. Statutorily referred to as “the rule of hypodescent,” this definition of Blackness is more popularly known as the “one-drop rule,” meaning that a person with any trace of Black ancestry, however small or (in)visible, cannot be considered White. A method of social order that began almost immediately after the arrival of enslaved Africans in America, by 1910 it was the law in almost all southern states. At a time when the one-drop rule functioned to protect and preserve White racial purity, Blackness was both a matter of biology and the law. One was either Black or White. Period. Has the social and political landscape changed one hundred years later? One Drop explores the extent to which historical definitions of race continue to shape contemporary racial identities and lived experiences of racial difference. Featuring the perspectives of 60 contributors representing 25 countries and combining candid narratives with striking portraiture, this book provides living testimony to the diversity of Blackness. Although contributors use varying terms to self-identify, they all see themselves as part of the larger racial, cultural, and social group generally referred to as Black. They have all had their identity called into question simply because they do not fit neatly into the stereotypical “Black box”—dark skin, “kinky” hair, broad nose, full lips, etc. Most have been asked “What are you?” or the more politically correct “Where are you from?” throughout their lives. It is through contributors’ lived experiences with and lived imaginings of Black identity that we can visualize multiple possibilities for Blackness.

Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race

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Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393608875
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (936 download)

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Book Synopsis Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race by : Thomas Chatterton Williams

Download or read book Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race written by Thomas Chatterton Williams and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A meditation on race and identity from one of our most provocative cultural critics. A reckoning with the way we choose to see and define ourselves, Self-Portrait in Black and White is the searching story of one American family’s multigenerational transformation from what is called black to what is assumed to be white. Thomas Chatterton Williams, the son of a “black” father from the segregated South and a “white” mother from the West, spent his whole life believing the dictum that a single drop of “black blood” makes a person black. This was so fundamental to his self-conception that he’d never rigorously reflected on its foundations—but the shock of his experience as the black father of two extremely white-looking children led him to question these long-held convictions. It is not that he has come to believe that he is no longer black or that his kids are white, Williams notes. It is that these categories cannot adequately capture either of them—or anyone else, for that matter. Beautifully written and bound to upset received opinions on race, Self-Portrait in Black and White is an urgent work for our time.

Blackness as a Defining Identity

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Author :
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 9813295430
Total Pages : 181 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (132 download)

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Book Synopsis Blackness as a Defining Identity by : Runyararo Sihle Chivaura

Download or read book Blackness as a Defining Identity written by Runyararo Sihle Chivaura and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-08-30 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the lived experiences of African immigrants in Australia, and the way they are represented in the media. By delving into the group’s everyday lives, the book exposes the roles that media and social perceptions play in the production and regulation of diasporic identities. Rather than being presented as objects of mediated representations, this book positions African immigrants in Australia as empowered subjects. The book employs inclusive research methods that make African immigrants active participants in the research, rather than passive objects. This is achieved through an expanded demographic study, a snapshot survey, and by taking a closer look at the lives of Africans in Australia through digital oral histories. This approach allows the group to have a say on how they feel they are positioned in society, on what space they are offered, and on how this affects their lives.

Black Ethnics

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0199989311
Total Pages : 226 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (999 download)

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Book Synopsis Black Ethnics by : Christina M. Greer

Download or read book Black Ethnics written by Christina M. Greer and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013-06-27 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an age where racial and ethnic identity intersect, intertwine, and interact in increasingly complex ways, Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream offers a superb and rigorous analysis of black politics and coalitions in the post-Civil Rights era. Using an original survey of a New York City labor population and multiple national data sources, author Christina M. Greer explores the political significance of ethnicity for new immigrant and native-born blacks. Black Ethnics concludes that racial and ethnic identities affect the ways in which black ethnic groups conceptualize their possibilities for advancement and placement within the American polity. The ethnic and racial dual identity for blacks leads to significant distinctions in political behavior, feelings of incorporation, and policy choices in ways not previously theorized. The steady immigration of black populations from Africa and the Caribbean over the past few decades has fundamentally changed the racial, ethnic, and political landscape in the U.S. An important question for social scientists is how these 'new' blacks will behave politically in the US. Should we expect new black immigrants to orient themselves to politics in the same manner as native Blacks? Will the different histories of the new immigrants and native-born blacks lead to different political orientations and behavior, and perhaps to political tensions and conflict among black ethnic groups residing in America? And to what extent will this new population fracture the black coalition inside of the Democratic party? With increases in immigration of black ethnic populations in the U.S., the political, social, and economic integration processes of black immigrants does not completely echo that of native-born American blacks. The emergent complexity of black intra-racial identity and negotiations within the American polity raise new questions about black political incorporation, assimilation, acceptance, and fulfillment of the American Dream. By comparing Afro-Caribbean and African groups to native-born blacks, this book develops a more nuanced and accurate understanding of the 'new black America' in the twenty-first century. Lastly, Black Ethnics explores how foreign-born blacks create new ways of defining and understanding black politics and coalitions in the post-Civil Rights era.

Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?

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Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1439177554
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness? by : Touré

Download or read book Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness? written by Touré and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-09-13 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we make sense of what it means to be Black in a world with room for both Michelle Obama and Precious? Tour , an iconic commentator and journalist, defines and demystifies modern Blackness with wit, authority, and irreverent humor. In the age of Obama, racial attitudes have become more complicated and nuanced than ever before. Americans are searching for new ways of understanding Blackness, partly inspired by a President who is unlike any Black man ever seen on our national stage. This book aims to destroy the notion that there is a correct or even definable way of being Black. It’s a discussion mixing the personal and the intellectual. It gives us intimate and painful stories of how race and racial expectations have shaped Tour ’s life as well as a look at how the concept of Post-Blackness functions in politics, psychology, the Black visual arts world, Chappelle’s Show, and more. For research Tour has turned to some of the most important luminaries of our time for frank and thought-provoking opinions, including Rev. Jesse Jackson, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Malcolm Gladwell, Harold Ford, Jr., Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, Chuck D, and many others. Their comments and disagreements with one another may come as a surprise to many readers. Of special interest is a personal racial memoir by the author in which he depicts defining moments in his life when he confronts the question of race head-on. In another chapter—sure to be controversial—he explains why he no longer uses the word “nigga.” Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? is a complex conversation on modern America that aims to change how we perceive race in ways that are as nuanced and spirited as the nation itself.

God and Blackness

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Author :
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 0814705243
Total Pages : 196 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (147 download)

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Book Synopsis God and Blackness by : Andrea C. Abrams

Download or read book God and Blackness written by Andrea C. Abrams and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2014-03-21 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Offers an ethnographic study of blackness as it is understood within a specific community--that of the First Afrikan Church, a middle class Afrocentric congregation in Atlanta, Georgia. Drawing on nearly two years of participant observation and in-depth interviews, Andrea C. Abrams examines how this community has employed Afrocentrism and black theology as a means of negotiating the unreconciled natures of thoughts and ideals that are part of being both black and American. Specifically, Abrams examines the ways in which First Afrikan's construction of community is influenced by shared understandings of blackness and probes the means through which individuals negotiate the tensions created by competing constructions of their black identity. This book examines questions of political identity, religious expression, and gender dynamics through the lens of a unique black church"--From back cover.

Near Black

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (321 download)

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Book Synopsis Near Black by : Baz Dreisinger

Download or read book Near Black written by Baz Dreisinger and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative look at the shifting contours of racial identity in America.

Being Black in the World

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Author :
Publisher : Wits University Press
ISBN 13 : 177614368X
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (761 download)

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Book Synopsis Being Black in the World by : N. Chabani Manganyi

Download or read book Being Black in the World written by N. Chabani Manganyi and published by Wits University Press. This book was released on 2019-09-01 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of South Africa's most astute social and political observers of his time wrote Being-Black-In-The-World in 1973 at a time of global socio-political change and renewed resistance to the brutality of apartheid rule. Publication of the book was delayed until he had left the country to study at Yale University as his publishers feared that the apartheid censorship board and security forces would prohibit him from leaving.

Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?

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Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1439177570
Total Pages : 280 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness? by : Touré

Download or read book Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness? written by Touré and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-09-13 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this provocative book, writer, and cultural critic Touré explores the concept of Post-Blackness: the ability for someone to be rooted in but not restricted by their race. Touré begins his book by examining the concept of “Post-Blackness,” a term that defines artists who are proud to be Black, but don't want to be limited by identity politics and boxed in by race. He soon discovers that the desire to be rooted in but not constrained by Blackness is everywhere. In Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? he argues that Blackness is infinite, that any identity imaginable is Black, and that all expressions of Blackness are legitimate. Here, Touré divulges his own intimate, funny, and painful experiences of how race and racial expectations have shaped his life. He explores how the concept of Post-Blackness functions in politics, society, psychology, art, culture, and more. He knew he could not tackle this topic all on his own so he turned to 105 of the most important luminaries of our time for frank and thought-provoking opinions, including the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Cornel West, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Eric Dyson, Melissa Harris-Perry, Harold Ford Jr., Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, Glenn Ligon, Paul Mooney, New York Governor David Paterson, Greg Tate, Aaron McGruder, Soledad O'Brien, Kamala Harris, Chuck D, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and many others. By engaging this brilliant, eclectic group, and employing his signature insight, courage, and wit, Touré delivers a clarion call on race in America and how we can change our perceptions for a better future. Destroying the notion that there is a correct way of being Black, Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? will change how we perceive race forever.

New People

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0399573143
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (995 download)

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Book Synopsis New People by : Danzy Senna

Download or read book New People written by Danzy Senna and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-07-31 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, VOGUE, TIME MAGAZINE, NPR and THE ROOT "[A] cutting take on race and class...part dark comedy, part surreal morality tale. Disturbing and delicious." —People "You’ll gulp Senna’s novel in a single sitting—but then mull over it for days.” –Entertainment Weekly From the bestselling author of Caucasia, a subversive and engrossing novel of race, class and manners in contemporary America. As the twentieth century draws to a close, Maria is at the start of a life she never thought possible. She and Khalil, her college sweetheart, are planning their wedding. They are the perfect couple, "King and Queen of the Racially Nebulous Prom." Their skin is the same shade of beige. They live together in a black bohemian enclave in Brooklyn, where Khalil is riding the wave of the first dot-com boom and Maria is plugging away at her dissertation, on the Jonestown massacre. They've even landed a starring role in a documentary about "new people" like them, who are blurring the old boundaries as a brave new era dawns. Everything Maria knows she should want lies before her—yet she can't stop daydreaming about another man, a poet she barely knows. As fantasy escalates to fixation, it dredges up secrets from the past and threatens to unravel not only Maria's perfect new life but her very persona. Heartbreaking and darkly comic, New People is a bold and unfettered page-turner that challenges our every assumption about how we define one another, and ourselves.

Linguistic Justice

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351376705
Total Pages : 129 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (513 download)

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Book Synopsis Linguistic Justice by : April Baker-Bell

Download or read book Linguistic Justice written by April Baker-Bell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together theory, research, and practice to dismantle Anti-Black Linguistic Racism and white linguistic supremacy, this book provides ethnographic snapshots of how Black students navigate and negotiate their linguistic and racial identities across multiple contexts. By highlighting the counterstories of Black students, Baker-Bell demonstrates how traditional approaches to language education do not account for the emotional harm, internalized linguistic racism, or consequences these approaches have on Black students' sense of self and identity. This book presents Anti-Black Linguistic Racism as a framework that explicitly names and richly captures the linguistic violence, persecution, dehumanization, and marginalization Black Language-speakers endure when using their language in schools and in everyday life. To move toward Black linguistic liberation, Baker-Bell introduces a new way forward through Antiracist Black Language Pedagogy, a pedagogical approach that intentionally and unapologetically centers the linguistic, cultural, racial, intellectual, and self-confidence needs of Black students. This volume captures what Antiracist Black Language Pedagogy looks like in classrooms while simultaneously illustrating how theory, research, and practice can operate in tandem in pursuit of linguistic and racial justice. A crucial resource for educators, researchers, professors, and graduate students in language and literacy education, writing studies, sociology of education, sociolinguistics, and critical pedagogy, this book features a range of multimodal examples and practices through instructional maps, charts, artwork, and stories that reflect the urgent need for antiracist language pedagogies in our current social and political climate.

One Drop

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Author :
Publisher : Beacon Press
ISBN 13 : 0807073377
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis One Drop by : Yaba Blay

Download or read book One Drop written by Yaba Blay and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenges narrow perceptions of Blackness as both an identity and lived reality to understand the diversity of what it means to be Black in the US and around the world What exactly is Blackness and what does it mean to be Black? Is Blackness a matter of biology or consciousness? Who determines who is Black and who is not? Who’s Black, who’s not, and who cares? In the United States, a Black person has come to be defined as any person with any known Black ancestry. Statutorily referred to as “the rule of hypodescent,” this definition of Blackness is more popularly known as the “one-drop rule,” meaning that a person with any trace of Black ancestry, however small or (in)visible, cannot be considered White. A method of social order that began almost immediately after the arrival of enslaved Africans in America, by 1910 it was the law in almost all southern states. At a time when the one-drop rule functioned to protect and preserve White racial purity, Blackness was both a matter of biology and the law. One was either Black or White. Period. Has the social and political landscape changed one hundred years later? One Drop explores the extent to which historical definitions of race continue to shape contemporary racial identities and lived experiences of racial difference. Featuring the perspectives of 60 contributors representing 25 countries and combining candid narratives with striking portraiture, this book provides living testimony to the diversity of Blackness. Although contributors use varying terms to self-identify, they all see themselves as part of the larger racial, cultural, and social group generally referred to as Black. They have all had their identity called into question simply because they do not fit neatly into the stereotypical “Black box”—dark skin, “kinky” hair, broad nose, full lips, etc. Most have been asked “What are you?” or the more politically correct “Where are you from?” throughout their lives. It is through contributors’ lived experiences with and lived imaginings of Black identity that we can visualize multiple possibilities for Blackness.