In the wake: Interpreting care and global health through Black geographies

Abstract

Building on Black geographies and Black studies, this paper offers critical theoretical reflections on global health interventions in postcolonial societies. Drawing on the work of Christina Sharpe, Katherine McKittrick, and Frantz Fanon I suggest that an epistemic approach rooted in Black studies can offer a novel approach to the study of global health interventions, one that centres Black life, which has long been the subject of colonial violence in medical emergencies. I argue that, given the past history of colonialism and medicine, such an approach is warranted if we seek to decolonise the study and practice of global health interventions. By offering what I call “geographies of the wake,” I focus on care's spatial and political entanglements with violence. I make mention of the initial refusal by Sierra Leoneans to seek care in Ebola Treatment Centres and Holding Units and illustrate the spatial aftermath of colonialism and slavery by offering a brief history of one site long associated with care. I ask that this be read as an analytical opening to, not a comprehensive explanation of, Black geographies, global health and medical care.