The Politics of Blackness: Theorising Afrodiasporic Identities and Experiences

Abstract

This chapter theorises the nuances of emerging Afrodiasporic identities and how they metamorphose following relocation and resettlement. Critical theories make visible the normalised and standardised Eurocentric practices within Australia that inferiorise Blackness and Afrodiasporic experiences. In particular, it probes how Blackness impacts the hypervisibility and scrutinisation of Black Africans in Australia. Literature shows that the discourses of Blackness in Australia are underpinned mainly by white Western ideological imaginations that inadvertently justify Black inferiority. The emerging literature on Black African migrant experiences in Australia highlights the precarity of conditional belonging and the resulting experiences of racial battle fatigue and a variety of resilience strategies employed in response to these challenging circumstances.