Negotiating Diasporic Black Identity as Cultural Agency Essay Example
The essay will investigate the understanding of black racial and cultural identity, along with its link to negotiation. The widespread portrayal of black culture in global diversity showcases a shared awareness and racial identity embraced by 140 million people around the globe. The black diaspora community derives inspiration from diverse sources such as its own members, oppressors, admirers, artists, political leaders, and individuals spanning the spectrum. This narrative encompasses communalism, identity politics, cultural heritage, and self-expression.
The paper examines the impact of internal and external factors on black popular culture. It explores various aspects of the black diaspora, such as race, identity, politics, religion, stereotypes, and gender. These aspects serve as a means for expression or validation for members of the diaspora.
Examining Cultural Politics and Agency
To comprehend the black diasporic experience, it is crucial to consider its historical
...and cultural contexts. A central question is whether a unified 'Africana philosophy' is feasible given the widespread dispersion of Africans and their descendants. Each aspect of the diaspora significantly shapes its collective cultural consciousness.
Across various regions such as the Caribbean, Africa, and the Americas, black individuals have successfully maintained their cultural identities and developed innovative forms of self-expression. Black art plays a crucial role in this expression, intertwining with issues related to race and culture. Black authors consistently take responsibility for their literary creations, while music serves as a powerful tool for both social and economic resistance.
In "It's Bigger than Hip-Hop: the Rise of the Post-Hip-Hop Generation," M.K. Asante examines the shift from the hip-hop generation to the post-hip-hop generation, discussing how hip-hop arose as a response to challenges faced by African-Americans – poverty, mass incarceration, and polic
brutality. The author also explores how Senegalese rappers used their own version of African-American-inspired hip-hop to protest political and economic corruption in their country, resulting in a successful coup d'etat (Charry, Gueye). This illustrates how global popular cultures rooted in black culture can have an impact on engaged communities. Even hairstyles can reflect this influence.
Hair holds significant cultural and political significance within the black community. It has always been an integral part, representing status, royalty, and skill. Nevertheless, its meaning underwent a profound transformation during the transatlantic slave trade. The manipulation of enslaved Africans by white colonialists extended beyond physical confinement, with hair playing a crucial role. In the Antebellum era, black women ingeniously incorporated maps into their hairstyles, enabling their people to discover refuge in the north or establish maroon societies undetected (Alexander). Today, the societal perception of hair remains a highly debated topic.
In some parts of the diaspora, black women are embracing their natural hair, finding strength and beauty in it. However, in other areas, women still chemically treat their hair to conform to traditional views of 'good' hair, which is often equated with white hair - straight, long, and flowing. This demonstrates how the white narrative influences the black collective consciousness (Badillo). Black barbershops and salons provide a safe haven for black individuals to care for their hair, which is considered an art form. Although there may be gender identity norms that can alienate those who do not fit into the typical black stereotypes, overall, these spaces act as a place of performance within the social context of the black experience (Alexander).
Black Masculinity and Femininity
Hawes suggests that the body serves as a
mnemonic medium where cultural values and experiences are inscribed as marks of character. It is a text of signs that reflect the principles embedded within a given culture (Hawes).
(Jackson 73).” The scrutiny of the white oppressor affects the black body, and their perspectives infiltrate society's minds and eyes as they are the beneficiaries of white global power and set the standards for others. Ronald Jackson outlines six scripts attributed to black males: 1) exotic and strange; 2) violent; 3) incompetent and uneducated; 4) sexual; 5) exploitable; and 6) innately incapacitated (75). These scripts, created by the oppressor, are inherently violent and negative. In contrast, white bodies are seen as the opposite, even with evidence contradicting it. White men were known to rape black slaves and father biracial children during Antebellum slavery.
White women abused mixed children because they were a constant reminder of their spouse's infidelity. However, the white community created a narrative that portrayed black men as violent, savage, and sexually aggressive, while idolizing white men. An example of this dehumanization is the case of Sara Baartman, a Khoikhoi woman from South Africa who was abducted and displayed across Europe in the early 1800s due to her unique physical features. She was objectified and treated as a spectacle for her elongated labia and large buttocks. This demonstrates how black women's bodies continue to be hypersexualized, dehumanized, and subjected to degrading exhibitions.
The othering of black bodies, particularly those of black women, is exemplified through her body. Even after her death, her body, especially her genitals and reproductive organs, were dissected and put on display in museums as a grim reminder of her tragically short life (Magubane,
Zola). How a body is presented reflects the culture's perception. Those who shape the narrative determine who is seen as nonviolent or violent, who is deemed worthy or unworthy, and even who is considered human or not. Since the first interactions between whites and black people, black bodies have been viewed as sexually deviant by the white population.
The representation of black bodies in popular culture reinforces sexual and inferior stereotypes, which are prevalent in global popular culture, especially within the black diaspora.
Black Identity
In the perspective of oppressors, black individuals are considered to be at the bottom level of society and the world. They are portrayed as lacking culture, religion, civilization, education, and humanity. These exaggerated gender-based stereotypes have been widely spread and consumed, often becoming people's only perception of black individuals whom they haven't personally come across.
Various stereotypes exist within the African diaspora, including the Mammy - an overweight slave woman who cared for white children and was subservient to white men. Additionally, there is the Uncle Tom - an older man who displayed submissiveness and loyalty towards his oppressor. The Sambo stereotype portrays a foolish character with big lips, known for entertaining white people eagerly. Another stereotype is the Sapphire - a loud, angry black woman with a sharp tongue and quick temper. The Buck stereotype depicts a hyper-sexual beast who preys on innocent white women and is physically superior to white men. Lastly, the Jezebel stereotype represents a seductive black woman who steals white men from their relationships with white women.
These stereotypes can be found in various forms of media such as postcards, newspapers, films, and music videos. They play into transnationalism and
global cross-cultural interactions that shape connections between different pockets of the African diaspora.
The displacement experienced by the black diaspora has led to numerous challenges throughout history. These challenges have affected multiple aspects of their identity including emotions, race, culture, social standing, intellect, and economics. Consequently, conflicting accounts have emerged from both within the black community and from others involved in creating a complex narrative.
Advancements in global popular cultures and social movements have allowed the black diaspora to reclaim their identity and define what blackness means for them. On an individual level, exploring racial identity is a unique journey. In her essay "What Is Africa to Me Now? The Sweet, the Bitter…," King-Aribisala discusses how her life experiences shaped her views of Africa and the challenges she faced in searching for cultural and racial identity.
The various aspects of the black diaspora's cultural experience can be seen as a form of identity politics. Identity politics play a crucial role in shaping the collective consciousness of the black diaspora because humanity constantly seeks validation, identification, and community – and this holds true for African diaspora as well.
Identity cannot be defined by specific criteria, whether based on race or other factors. It encompasses a variety of political, cultural, social, and communal efforts undertaken by individuals of a certain racial group. These endeavors encompass activities such as art, protest, advocacy, behavior, expression, and academia. Recently, African Americans have confronted deeply entrenched stereotypes and racist notions that have had harmful impacts on their community and cultural identity.
