Marcus Garvey and Du Bois on Blackness

Becoming Black

Introduction

The concept of "Becoming Black" is based on experiences of racial identity, a sense of cultural consciousness, and the wider notion of Pan-African unity. It is also simultaneously a process of racialization imposed by external forces in the face of the deliberate efforts of Black intellectuals and the wider African diaspora to redefine their narratives and assert their historical and contemporary significance. As a result, many people and their communities have contested racialized theories and have participated in the creation of a global Pan-African identity politics. This paper looks at the meaning of "Becoming Black" to show how these narratives are told and the part that the African identity plays in creating a sense of unity and connection among people of African descent.

The Meaning of Being Black

Howard Winant and W.E.B. Du Bois shed light on how the construction of racial identity was used in society to limit and restrict the movements of blacks. Winant examined race as a central tenet of social relations. Du Bois looked at the idea of double consciousness and what it meant for black people. Their works take different routes to the idea of blackness but both have a sense of what Africa means for the blacks of America and thus both have a sense of the importance of historical awareness. It is this sense that also plays a part in the movement of active resistance in the face of racialized oppression. For both Winant and Du Bois, Africa was a place with a real historical significance that that cast a long shadow and affected the lives of black Americans in the present.

Winant for example argued that race was not an aspect of society that existed on the margins but rather something that constituted a fundamental organizing principle. In America, people were grouped according to racial identity. In saying so, Winant looked past the experience of the individual to the structural and institutional dimensions of racism. He saw a society that was set up to exclude people of African descent from positions of power. In seeing and examining race as a central part of social relations, Winant showed how racial categories are constructed and maintained through social, economic, and political processes. For him, the idea of Africa was something that restricted black people’s movements because European Americans used it as a label to exclude.

Du Bois's concept of "double consciousness" also helps in understanding the African American experience of racial identity. This concept describes the internal conflict experienced by Black individuals who must hold the dual identities of being African and American in a society that devalues their Africanness. Du Bois posits that this "twoness" – an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings – forces Black individuals to see themselves through the eyes of a society that denies their full humanity.

Both Winant and Du Bois show the importance of historical awareness and active resistance in the face of racialized oppression. Understanding the historical roots and contemporary manifestations of racism is essential for challenging its structures and narratives. Winant's focus on race as a central social axis and Du Bois's concept of double consciousness provide tools for deconstructing racial ideologies and practices.

Gilroy on the other hand challenged some of the traditional notions of cultural identity that rely on purity and authenticity, and argued that such views fail to capture the reality of diasporic life. Instead, he posited that the identities of those within the Black Atlantic are characterized by hybridity and fluidity, shaped by the interplay of different cultural influences and histories. This hybridity is not a dilution of authenticity but a testament to the creative survival and resistance of Black cultures in the face of oppression and displacement. Gilroy's emphasis on hybridity and fluidity as central features of Black diasporic identity is a strong counter-narrative to racial essentialism and ethnonationalism.

Diaspora Stories and Africa's Role

The stories of Phillis Wheatley, Olaudah Equiano, and Marcus Garvey are also helpful in shedding light on the experiences of displacement, the search for identity, and the enduring connection to Africa. Each one gives some perspective on what Africa represents: a homeland, a source of cultural pride, and a foundation for global Black solidarity.

Phillis Wheatley's poem, "On Being Brought from Africa to America," is really something altogether different because it locates the experience of slavery and movement from Africa to America not in race ultimately but in salvation. For Wheatley, being black from Africa was a curse that descended from Cain. But as a Christian—a religion she adopts upon being brought to America—she has a sense of thanks. This is a surprising perspective that is different from the angry or bitter perspectives of other authors. She is not upset about being sold into slavery in this poem. Quite the contrary: she is full of appreciation and sees this experience as an act of mercy, which she states in the first line of her poem: “ 'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land…” She is glad because she is taught that Christ saved her—and that makes it all worth it; in Africa, she had received no such teaching.

However, her poem is also a reminder to other Christians—namely, that they should not look down on blacks just because their skin marks them as descendants of Cain. Her point is that all Christians are redeemed and made clean by the blood of Christ. Therefore, all are part of the same “angelic train” (Wheately). Her point ultimately is that Christianity makes all people equal, whereas race was used to set them apart. For her, Africa represents a pagan land, a land of false views about God. For her it is not about becoming Black. Rather, it is about becoming a Christian—that is the more significant thing. In so doing, she no longer has to define herself by blackness.

Olaudah Equiano's narrative Going Back to Africa as a Missionary or Settler, 1779 is something different, as it gives a firsthand account of the transatlantic slave trade and the profound disconnection from one's homeland. His desire to return to Africa as a missionary or settler speaks to the deep longing for reconnection with his roots and the land of his ancestors. Equiano's journey from enslavement to freedom, and his contemplation of returning to Africa, highlights the complexity of identity for those in the diaspora. His writings can be contrasted with Wheatley’s in that from his perspective he is more concerned with being Black and its meaning than she is. Ultimately, his desire to go back to Africa represents a desire to get back to an identity that is lost by being in America. He feels a strong and lasting connection to Africa, regardless of the physical distance or time spent away. Equiano's story is a compelling narrative of survival, resistance, and the quest for identity in a world that seeks to strip individuals of their heritage.

Then there is Marcus Garvey's Speech in Philadelphia (1919) and the principles of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), which represent a pivotal moment in the history of Pan-Africanism and the global Black solidarity movement. Garvey's Speech in Philadelphia, coupled with the UNIA bylaws, gives a vision of empowerment, self-reliance, and the unification of African people worldwide. Garvey's call for returning to Africa resonates as a call to reclaim dignity, heritage, and autonomy. He places emphasis on economic independence, cultural pride, and political sovereignty for African descendants was revolutionary, so as to give a sense of collective identity and purpose that transcended national boundaries. Garvey's work really promotes Africa as a homeland and as a symbol of unity and a light of hope for the future.