Negrophobia

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A gathering of White supremacists of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in Baltimore in 1923. Designated as a far-right terrorist organization, the KKK first emerged in the American South in the 19th century and is widely considered to be the most notorious Negrophobic group in the country, having peaked in the 1920s with approximately six million members. Ku-Klux Klan at Baltimore (1923).jpg
A gathering of White supremacists of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in Baltimore in 1923. Designated as a far-right terrorist organization, the KKK first emerged in the American South in the 19th century and is widely considered to be the most notorious Negrophobic group in the country, having peaked in the 1920s with approximately six million members.

Negrophobia is a term for anti-Black sentiment, which is also called anti-Black racism or anti-Blackness. It is characterized by prejudice, collective hatred, and discrimination or extreme aversion towards those who are regarded as Black people, such as sub-Saharan Africans, as well as a loathing of Black culture worldwide. Caused, among other factors, by racism and traumatic events and circumstances, symptoms of this form of xenophobia include, but are not limited to: the attribution of negative characteristics to Black and Coloured people; the fear or strong dislike or dehumanization of Black and Coloured men; and the objectification (including sexual objectification) of Black and Coloured women. [1]

Contents

Mixed-race people in South Africa are referred to as Coloureds or Cape Coloureds. This term includes individuals with a mixed-race descent that can include African, Asian, and European ethnic heritage. [2] The term "Coloured" is considered neutral in South African society and is commonly used to refer to individuals who self-identify as such. [3] However, in some Western countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, the term "Coloured" has a negative connotation and can be seen as derogatory because it was historically used as a means of categorizing Black individuals and reinforcing racial hierarchies. [4] The word persists as a neutral descriptor in the names of some older organizations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the United States.

The 1911 South African census played a significant role in shaping the country's racial identities. The enumeration process involved specific instructions for classifying individuals into different racial categories, and the category of "Coloured persons" was used to refer to all people of mixed race. This included various ethnicities, such as Khoikhoi, San, Cape Malays, Griquas, Korannas, Creoles, Negroes, and Cape Coloureds.

What is particularly noteworthy about the classification of "Coloured persons" is that it included individuals of Black African descent, who were commonly known as Negroes. As a result, Coloureds or Cape Coloureds, as a group of mixed-race descent individuals, also have Black African ancestry and can be considered part of the broader African diaspora. [5]

The racial category of Coloureds is a multifaceted and heterogeneous group that exhibits great diversity. Analogously, they can be compared to Black Americans, whose population is composed of approximately 75% West African and 25% Northern European ancestry. However, the Cape Coloureds possess an even greater level of complexity due to the presence of Bantu ancestry in their genetic makeup, which is closely linked to the predominantly West African heritage of Black Americans. [6] [7]

While Coloureds in South Africa do have Black African ancestry, it is important to recognize that they have a distinct identity and experiences that differ from those of Black South Africans.

Despite this, there are instances where Coloureds may face discrimination and prejudice based on their mixed-race descent and Black African ancestry.

Furthermore, some individuals who hold prejudiced attitudes towards Black people may also hold negative attitudes towards Coloureds, viewing them as inferior or less desirable due to their mixed-race heritage.

Definitions

Lexicology

The hybrid word negrophobia consists of two components: negro and phobia . As such, it literally derives from "Fear of black":

Other terms with similar meanings include antiblackness and blackophobia. [8] [9] However, some publishers have discouraged designating individuals as blackophobes or negrophobes and rather highlight the general epithet that is usually applied to racists. [10]

Although melanophobia is sometimes confused with negrophobia, the former term is more commonly applied to situations involving inanimate objects that are very dark or black. [11] Negrophobia is also distinct from Afrophobia , which is a perceived fear of the various cultures and peoples of Africa and the African diaspora irrespective of their racial origin. Unlike negrophobia, Afrophobia is thus essentially a cultural rather than a racial phenomenon. [12]

Debates over definitions

There are differences in the senses that are applied to negrophobes or the noun Negrophobia. Some senses use the term to describe a discriminatory sentiment towards people who may identify with the Black race. [13] Accordingly, the latter sense adopts the notion that a person with Negrophobia believes that his or her race is superior to the Black race through xenophobia. [14] However, an alternative definition stays true to the original clinical meaning of the suffix phobia. Thereby, Negrophobia would be associated not with racism, but rather with those who critically fear the Black race. [15] In July 2010, a segment on Negrophobia was featured on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. [16] [17] [ page needed ] [18] [19] [20]

Overview

Historical context

In Europe, Negrophobia finds its roots in the 17th century due to its extensive historical colonisation and slavery. [21] According to certain sources, the term Negrophobia would have been forged on the model of the word Nigrophilism, itself first appearing in 1802 in Baudry des Lozières's Les égarements du nigrophilisme. [21] It further reappeared in January 1927 in Lamine Senghor's La voix des nègres, a monthly anti-colonialist newspaper. The term was later popularised by Frantz Fanon, especially in his works Peaux noires masques blancs and Les Damnés de la Terre . [21] More recently in 2005, an anti-negrophobia brigade (BAN) was created in France to protest against increasing targeted acts and occurrences of police violence. [21] The latter protest movements notably underwent severe police violence in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris during the 2011 and 2013 abolition of slavery commemorations. [21]

Negrophobia and identity

More specifically on Fanon's analysis of Negrophobia, the psychiatrist was the first to introduce the concept of Black Negrophobia, pointing to the hatred of Black people and Black culture by Black people themselves. [1] Indeed, he asserts that Negrophobia is a form of "trauma for white people of the Negro". [22] Equivalent to internalised racism caused by the trauma of living in a culture defining Black people as inherently evil, Fanon emphasises the slight existing cultural intricacies caused by the vast diversity of Black people and cultures, as well as the nature of their colonisation by White Europeans. [1] The symptoms of such Black Negrophobia include a rejection of their native or ethnic language in favour of European languages, a marked preference for European cultures over Black cultures, and a tendency to surround themselves with lighter skinned people rather than darker skinned ones. [1] Similarly, the pattern further includes attributing negative characteristics to Black people, culture, and things. Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye (1970) stands as an illustrative work on the destroying effects of Negrophobia among the Black community on themselves. [23] Indeed, the main character, Pecola Breedlove, through her non-reconciliation with her Black identity, her Black societal indifference and her craving for symbolic blue eyes, presents all the signs of an internalised Negrophobia. [23] She develops an anti-Black neurosis due to her feeling of non-existence both within the White and her own community. [23]

While the latter theoretical framework is academically debated, Fanon insists on the nature of Negrophobia as a socio-diagnosis, thus characterising not individuals but rather entire societies and their patterns. [1] Fanon thereby implies that Negrophobia is a cross-disciplinary area of research, justifying that its analysis and understanding may not be confined to the psychological field. [1]

Negrophobia and law

The notion of involuntary Negrophobia is highly debated in the academic and legal arenas, specifically opposing instrumentalists and non-instrumentalists. The former are favourable to the involuntary nature of a post-traumatic stress disorder, thereby defending the uncontrollable nature of a defendant's actions. [24] This approach focusses on the personal culpability of the individual defendant, [24] thus disregarding any possible social implications. On the other hand, instrumentalists do consider such broader implications, viewing the law as an object of social change and claiming to promote the general welfare by refusing to recognise legal claims damaging the integrity of the legal. [25] This view criticises non instrumentalists for equating Negrophobia with insanity by allowing a person's racial fear to legally justify and even excuse violent behaviour. [25] Following widespread claims that sane but guilty defendants may exploit the insanity defence to escape long prison sentences, [26] a similar skepticism with respect to defences invoking Negrophobia would result in significant distrust in the legal and criminal justice system, thereby indirectly destroying the legitimacy of such courts. [26]

Anti-blackness in education and organization studies

In response to Black Lives Matter organizing contemporary scholars of Education, Human Resource Development, and Critical Management Studies have begun focusing on anti-Blackness in schools and places of business. [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] These efforts build on established critical race discourses in their respective field and incorporate concepts from Afropessimism. [32] [ page needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in socially based systems of racial classification in the Western world, the term "black" is used to describe persons who are perceived as dark-skinned compared to other populations. It is most commonly used for people of sub-Saharan African ancestry, Indigenous Australians and Melanesians, though it has been applied in many contexts to other groups, and is no indicator of any close ancestral relationship whatsoever. Indigenous African societies do not use the term black as a racial identity outside of influences brought by Western cultures.

Racism is discrimination and prejudice against people based on their race or ethnicity. Racism can be present in social actions, practices, or political systems that support the expression of prejudice or aversion in discriminatory practices. The ideology underlying racist practices often assumes that humans can be subdivided into distinct groups that are different in their social behavior and innate capacities and that can be ranked as inferior or superior. Racist ideology can become manifest in many aspects of social life. Associated social actions may include nativism, xenophobia, otherness, segregation, hierarchical ranking, supremacism, and related social phenomena. Racism refers to violation of racial equality based on equal opportunities or based on equality of outcomes for different races or ethnicities, also called substantive equality.

White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine of scientific racism and was a key justification for European colonialism.

<i>Mestizo</i> Spanish term to denote a person with mixed European and non-European indigenous ancestry

Mestizo is a person of mixed European and Indigenous non-European ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though their ancestors are Indigenous. The term was used as an ethno-racial exonym for mixed-race castas that evolved during the Spanish Empire. It was a formal label for individuals in official documents, such as censuses, parish registers, Inquisition trials, and others. Priests and royal officials might have classified persons as mestizos, but individuals also used the term in self-identification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Coloureds</span> Ethnic group in South Africa

Cape Coloureds are a South African ethnic classification consisting primarily of persons of mixed race African, Asian and European descent.

Mulatto is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch. But it does not have the same associations in languages such as Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Among Latin Americans in the US, for instance, the term can be a source of pride. A mulatta is a female mulatto.

The terms multiracial people or mixed-race people refer to people who are of more than one race, and the terms multi-ethnic people or ethnically mixed people refer to people who are of more than one ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed-race people in a variety of contexts, including multiethnic, polyethnic, occasionally bi-ethnic, Métis, Muwallad, Melezi, Coloured, Dougla, half-caste, ʻafakasi, mestizo, mutt, Melungeon, quadroon, octoroon, sambo/zambo, Eurasian, hapa, hāfu, Garifuna, pardo, and Gurans. A number of these once-acceptable terms are now considered offensive, in addition to those that were initially coined for pejorative use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coloureds</span> Multiracial ethnic group of Southern Africa

Coloureds refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in South Africa who may have ancestry from African, European, and Asian people. The intermixing of different races began in the Cape province of South Africa, with Dutch settlers, Bantu, and Malay slaves intermixing with the indigenous Khoi tribes of that region. Later various other European nationals also contributed to the growing mixed race people, who would later be officially classified as coloured by the apartheid government in the 1950s.

Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscientific belief that the human species can be subdivided into biologically distinct taxa called "races", and that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racism, racial inferiority, or racial superiority. Before the mid-20th century, scientific racism was accepted throughout the scientific community, but it is no longer considered scientific. The division of humankind into biologically separate groups, along with the assignment of particular physical and mental characteristics to these groups through constructing and applying corresponding explanatory models, is referred to as racialism, race realism, or race science by those who support these ideas. Modern scientific consensus rejects this view as being irreconcilable with modern genetic research.

A colonial mentality is the internalized attitude of ethnic or cultural inferiority felt by people as a result of colonization, i.e. them being colonized by another group. It corresponds with the belief that the cultural values of the colonizer are inherently superior to one's own. The term has been used by postcolonial scholars to discuss the transgenerational effects of colonialism present in former colonies following decolonization. It is commonly used as an operational concept for framing ideological domination in historical colonial experiences. In psychology, colonial mentality has been used to explain instances of collective depression, anxiety, and other widespread mental health issues in populations that have experienced colonization.

<i>Colored</i> Racial exonym

Colored is a racial descriptor historically used in the United States during the Jim Crow Era to refer to an African American. In many places, it may be considered a slur, though it has taken on a special meaning in Southern Africa referring to a person of mixed or Cape Coloured heritage.

The term "person of color" is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the United States; however, since the 2010s, it has been adopted elsewhere in the Anglosphere, including relatively limited usage in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, South Africa, and Singapore.

Identifying human races in terms of skin colour, at least as one among several physiological characteristics, has been common since antiquity. Such divisions appeared in rabbinical literature and in early modern scholarship, usually dividing humankind into four or five categories, with colour-based labels: red, yellow, black, white, and sometimes brown. It was long recognized that the number of categories is arbitrary and subjective, and different ethnic groups were placed in different categories at different points in time. François Bernier (1684) doubted the validity of using skin color as a racial characteristic, and Charles Darwin (1871) emphasized the gradual differences between categories. Today there is broad agreement among scientists that typological conceptions of race have no scientific basis.

In societies that regard some races or ethnic groups of people as dominant or superior and others as subordinate or inferior, hypodescent refers to the automatic assignment of children of a mixed union to the subordinate group. The opposite practice is hyperdescent, in which children are assigned to the race that is considered dominant or superior.

Double consciousness is the dual self-perception experienced by subordinated or colonized groups in an oppressive society. The term and the idea were first published in W. E. B. Du Bois's autoethnographic work, The Souls of Black Folk in 1903, in which he described the African American experience of double consciousness, including his own.

<i>Black Skin, White Masks</i> 1952 book by Frantz Fanon

Black Skin, White Masks is a 1952 book by philosopher-psychiatrist Frantz Fanon. The book is written in the style of autoethnography, with Fanon sharing his own experiences while presenting a historical critique of the effects of racism and dehumanization, inherent in situations of colonial domination, on the human psyche.

Brown is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a light to moderate brown complexion.

This is a list of topics related to racism:

Afrophobia, Afroscepticism, or Anti-African sentiment is prejudice, hostility, discrimination, or racism towards people and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora.

Anti-Americanism has been a recurring theme among several influential African American political organizations and activists due to racism against African Americans domestically, and against other non-white people internationally. African-American anti-Americanism can be contrasted with African-American patriotism, although the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive antonyms.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brooks, Adia A. (2012). "Black Negrophobia and Black Self-Empowerment: Afro-Descendant Responses to Societal Racism in São Paulo, Brazil" (PDF). UW-L Journal of Undergraduate Research. XV: 2. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  2. ↑ Kline Jr. 1958, p. 8254.
  3. ↑ Stevenson & Waite 2011, p. 283.
  4. ↑ "Is the word 'coloured' offensive?". BBC News. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  5. ↑ Moultrie, Tom A.; Dorrington, Rob E. (August 2012). "Used for ill; used for good: a century of collecting data on race in South Africa". Ethnic and Racial Studies. 35 (8): 1447–1465. doi:10.1080/01419870.2011.607502.
  6. ↑ Khan, Razib (June 16, 2011). "The Cape Coloureds are a mix of everything". Discover. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ Christopher, A. J. (2002). "'To Define the Indefinable': Population Classification and the Census in South Africa". Area. 34 (4): 401–408. doi:10.1111/1475-4762.00097. ISSN   0004-0894. JSTOR   20004271.
  8. ↑ Rieger 2013, p. 177.
  9. ↑ Adem & Mazrui 2013, p. 105.
  10. ↑ Ball 2013, p. xxvi.
  11. ↑ Klaffke 2003, p.  181.
  12. ↑ Achola 1992, p. 127.
  13. ↑ Wolfrum 1999, p. 492.
  14. ↑ Hankela 2014, p. 88.
  15. ↑ McCulloch 2002, p. 73.
  16. ↑ Maddow, Rachel (July 21, 2010). "Scaring white people for fun and profit". MSNBC .
  17. ↑ James 2019.
  18. ↑ Armour 1997, p. 2.
  19. ↑ Bauerlein 2001, p. 3.
  20. ↑ HarperCollins Publishers (2022). "Negrophobia". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 Une Autre Histoire (13 January 2015). "Négrophobie". une-autre-histoire.org. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  22. ↑ Anthony C. Alessandrini (3 August 2005). Frantz Fanon: Critical Perspectives. Routledge. p. 153. ISBN   978-1-134-65657-8.
  23. 1 2 3 Maleki, Nasser and Haj'jari and Mohammad-Javad (2015). "Negrophobia and Anti-Negritude in Morrison's The Bluest Eye". Epiphany: Journal of Transdisciplinary Studies. 8: 69. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  24. 1 2 Armour 1997, p. 64.
  25. 1 2 Armour 1997, p. 65.
  26. 1 2 Armour 1997, p. 66.
  27. ↑ Bell, Myrtle P.; Berry, Daphne; Leopold, Joy; Nkomo, Stella (January 2021). "Making Black Lives Matter in academia: A Black feminist call for collective action against anti‐blackness in the academy". Gender, Work & Organization. 28 (S1): 39–57. doi:10.1111/gwao.12555. ISSN   0968-6673. S2CID   224844343.
  28. ↑ Bohonos, Jeremy W (July 2023). "Workplace hate speech and rendering Black and Native lives as if they do not matter: A nightmarish autoethnography". Organization. 30 (4): 605–623. doi:10.1177/13505084211015379. ISSN   1350-5084. S2CID   236294224.
  29. ↑ Dumas, Michael J. (2016-01-02). "Against the Dark: Antiblackness in Education Policy and Discourse". Theory into Practice. 55 (1): 11–19. doi:10.1080/00405841.2016.1116852. ISSN   0040-5841. S2CID   147252566.
  30. ↑ Dumas, Michael J.; ross, kihana miraya (April 2016). ""Be Real Black for Me": Imagining BlackCrit in Education". Urban Education. 51 (4): 415–442. doi:10.1177/0042085916628611. ISSN   0042-0859. S2CID   147319546.
  31. ↑ Bohonos, Jeremy W.; Sisco, Stephanie (June 2021). "Advocating for social justice, equity, and inclusion in the workplace: An agenda for anti‐racist learning organizations". New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. 2021 (170): 89–98. doi:10.1002/ace.20428. ISSN   1052-2891. S2CID   240576110.
  32. ↑ Wilderson 2021.


Works cited


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