Blackness, Re-racialization & Modernity
Formation of Black Identity
Blackness emerged because our ancestors lived in a racialized society. However, it was solely and ethnic expression. It had to be, because ethnicity is an essential component of identity. Race, on the other hand, is primarily a colonial construct designed to create hierarchies. “The process or act of the Black community naming itself in American history’’ as Zenobia Bell puts it was an act of self-determination and self-categorization. It was through a use of “racial solidarity” in America that our identity formation took place. The overarching goal in choosing a name for our community was to signify inclusion in American society while distinguishing ourselves as descendants of enslaved men and women “who physically built America economically and culturally”. This act of naming was crucial for asserting our place and rights within American society. [1] The identity descriptor “black” in its new definition gained popularity during the civil rights movement due to the coinciding struggle. This political struggle reinforced our identity and highlighted the necessity to distance ourselves from the oppressive systems birthed by race.
Yet, ironically, race being all we knew, served as a footpath toward that trail. Colonialism robbed our ancestors of their ethnic identities, which necessitated new socio-cultural and political consciousness based on our shared experiences. This helped us define our place in the world and achieve a sense of selfhood. This racial consciousness was distinct from broader concepts of race and more aligned with the notion of a specific lineage or class of persons. Kenneth Mostern, in his analysis of W.E.B. Du Bois, notes that Du Bois perspective of race in America, emphasizing “Negro-American pride in their race and lineage.” Du Bois was referring specifically to the American Negro as a unique race of people, reflecting an early American racial consciousness that was distinct and self-contained [2].
Sociologist Erik H. Cohen describes ethnic identity as “an ongoing synthesis shaped continually by the interactions within and outside the ethnic group.” [3] This dynamic view of ethnicity illustrates how Black Americans initially formed a ‘racial consciousness’. Recognizing a shared experience that marked the beginning of our ethnogenesis, this awareness serves not only as a critical stage but also as the precursor to what can be viewed as an evolving ethnic consciousness. This transition underscores a journey along a new path — from a collective racial identity towards a deeper, more defined ethnic self-recognition, influenced by historical forces and the unique context of Black Americans.
Global Spread of Blackness
That process was us recovering what was lost, a sense of ethnicity, the racial undertones of “Blackness” are just vestiges of racialization. Because of that, however, America, stuck in its colonial patterns, had the leverage to racialize us all over again. And they did. This re-racialization is how our ideas of Blackness began to spread worldwide.
The ‘ethno-scape’ of the current era is one where Black American identity, through racialization, has been made freely available for everyone to appropriate. Our social, cultural, and political capital is treated as a public resource.
Blackness and Modernity
The pursuit of modernity was central for people racialized as Negro worldwide to move toward post-colonialism, and they did this through adopting Blackness. The context of us being in America, under its imperial shadow, led to the commodification of us and our culture. This created a perception that tied our expressions and identity to modern progress.
Many people have ethnic identities, which were not formed in racial context. Our identity as Black Americans evolved uniquely, shaped by a complex history of displacement and reinvention. Historian Tunde Adeleke notes that the rapid increase in the Black American population led to a significant disconnect from our African origins. [4] As early as the late 18th century, most Black Americans were already several generations removed from our ancestors who were forcibly brought to America. This underscores the particular condition, which contrast with the experiences of Caribbean and African groups.
Their need to adopt Blackness differed from ours and arose from the pursuit of social progressivism. For example, people in the Caribbean were the majority in their countries and possessed national and ethnic identities. They existed in a different environment from us, who were a minority in our country. Similarly, in Africa, people retained their indigenous ethnic identities despite colonialism while acquiring new national identities, such as the formation of Nigeria, and many other republics, which fostered a sense of nationhood and collective identity. The aspiration to embody modern progress drove the adoption of Blackness in these regions and beyond.
Erosion and selfhood
The pursuit of modernity was essential for people racialized as Negro because it represented a move toward dignity, self-respect, and a bright, post-colonial future. It was about moving past the oppressive legacy of colonialism. This sense of what it meant to be melanated and modern was crucial in defining a post-colonial identity and asserting a place in the modern world. For the continent of Africa, it was an act of self-determination toward the effect of mission civilisatrice, which ironically means “civilizing mission.”
Mission civilisatrice itself derived from European doctrines that framed them as products of Enlightenment, whereby they became representatives of “freedom, liberty, equality, progress, and the rule of law”. However, as Professor Tayyab Mahmud highlights, European modernity was paradoxically marked by “conquest, subjugation, and genocide.” [5] Mahmud explains how these ideals were used to justify the brutal realities of colonial rule through the construction of racial differences. These doctrines were constructed to dehumanize and subordinate, through a process of racialization.
Re-Racialization
For Black Americans today, re-racialization weakens our cultural boundary, undermining our autonomy to preserve and regulate our cultural artifacts and practices. Unlike most ethnic groups who possess the privilege of developing their cultural autonomy, Black Americans lack this advantage due to our unique history and broader American context. Consequently, the artifacts of our culture are seized upon the moment of their conception, leaving us without the distinctiveness that defines our cultural identity.
This issue is compounded by the fact that cultural appropriation is often morally objectionable when a dominant cultural group, such as American society or the Western world, appropriates from a marginalized group. As E. Rich Hatala Matthes notes, “there is generally agreement that cultural appropriation is morally objectionable when a member of a dominant cultural group appropriates from a member of a marginalized group.” [6] Black American culture is one of the most prolifically imitated worldwide, and within the context of the broader Black race, we are often rendered a minority. This dynamic places Black Americans in a vulnerable position, where our cultural expressions are at constant risk of being appropriated and stripped of their original meaning and context.
The adoption of our cultural elements often reflects Western values and racial ideologies rather than genuine expressions of cultural identity. This allows for the appropriation of our culture without facing consequences, as individuals can revert to their own identities and distance themselves from our cultural elements, avoiding certain aspects altogether when convenient. This not only dilutes the significance of our cultural contributions but also perpetuates a cycle of exploitation and marginalization.
The post-colonial perpetuation of racial ideologies does nothing to benefit those who adopt them, as their cultural identities were never erased or remade in the way Black Americans’ were. This perpetuation significantly harms us. Black American ancestors were racialized as Negro, leading to the erasure of their original identities. Today, we are racialized anew, with more people becoming complicit in this process, including ourselves.
References
[1] Bell, Z. (2013). African-American nomenclature: The label identity shift from “Negro” to “Black” in the 1960s. [Doctoral dissertation, UCLA]. UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations. (pp. 3, 4, 5, 6)
[2] Mostern, K. (1996). Three Theories of the Race of W.E.B. Du Bois. Cultural Critique, №34 (Autumn, 1996), pp. 27–63. https://doi.org/10.2307/1354611
[3] Erik H. Cohen, “Components and Symbols of Ethnic Identity: A Case Study in Informal Education and Identity Formation in Diaspora”, Applied Psychology, January 2004, p. 14.
[4] Adeleke, Tunde. “Black Americans and Africa: A Critique of the Pan-African and Identity Paradigms”, p527–528. In The Golden Age; August Meier, John H. Bracey, and Elliott M. Rudwick, Black Nationalism in America. New York, 1970.
[5] Mahmud, T. (1996). Colonialism and modern constructions of race: A preliminary inquiry. University of Miami Law Review, 53(4), 1219–1246.
[6] Matthes, E. H. (2016). Cultural appropriation without cultural essentialism? Social Theory and Practice, 42(2), Special Issue: Dominating Speech, 343–366.
