The Diasporic Black Immigrant Athlete: Blackness and Meaning in the African Diaspora

• In Event: 390 - Section on Race, Gender and Class Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 09. Race, Gender, and Class in Sports

Abstract

It is often assumed and reported by Western media that black African (im)migrant athletes are major celebrities in their respective countries, while almost nothing is said about their meaning to both foreign and native black diasporic communities in the West. This paper challenges these media assumptions by focusing on moments where we can 'see' the black diaspora, in a broad sense, engaging with black African athletes to form positive identities and fight white supremacy. Through the use of discourse analysis and a cultural studies approach, I focus on the concept of the black African diaspora via the media representation of black (im)migrant athletes. The work of Gilroy (1993) and Carrington (2010) describe the African diaspora as a space where events and black celebrities are symbolically appropriated by black peoples and used to construct meaning and identity. In particular, Gilroy's work is useful in thinking about the continued compression of time and space that has sustained a long 'tradition' of communication, the sharing of similar experiences of racism, among black communities around the Atlantic. With increasing migration and technological advances compressing time and space even further, black African athletes are emerging in the diaspora and occupying a role once dominated by African Americans. These athletes bring new meanings to the aforementioned cultural resources of black groups in the diaspora. It is my aim in this paper to begin exploring in a meaningful way what these athletes mean to different populations and communities in the black African diaspora.

Author

• Munene Mwaniki, Western Carolina University