In this unique comparative study, Michelle M. Wright, Becoming Black is a powerful theorization of Black subjectivity throughout the African diaspora. She noted that in these discussions it is also crucial to refrain from superimposing Western scholarship onto a non-Western space and instead to pay close attention to the scholarly work coming out of global Asian and Black communities. NEW, Becoming Black: Creating Identity in the African Diaspora, Michelle M. Professor Brown also emphasized that while collaboration is of course welcome in Afro-Asian networks, focusing exclusively on extant positive achievements will only empower their limitations. “We have to think about race even if we’re trying to be transracial,” she said, adding that global anti-Blackness cannot be eradicated if it is not addressed. Brown also addressed the problematic silence regarding race in the field of Asian studies. During the Mao era, Chinese efforts to unite global anti-colonialism often portrayed Black Americans as “an oppressed class rather than a distinct community,” she said.ĭr. But the fact that that visit was a success because of Robert Williams, a Black American who had lived in Beijing with his family for years before the official visit, often goes unacknowledged. As Professor Brown noted, Nixon’s 1972 visit is widely invoked. Historical narratives on China’s engagement with the world have been whitewashed. Drawing on both scholarly literature and personal experiences, Professor Brown also touched on global misconceptions regarding who is typically assumed to be “American” while abroad. She talked about the global political implications of forging Black identity in a transnational context and the challenge of overcoming white supremacy in its multiple and global manifestations. Brown provided a historical overview of Black internationalism and its legacies in China.

Becoming black michelle wright