Dr. João H. Costa Vargas Discuses Anti-Blackness From Brazil To The U.S. On The Season 2 Finale Of Ikonoklast Speaks!
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On the season 2 finale of IKONOKLAST SPEAKS!, the Ikonoklast is joined by renowned radical scholar Dr. João H. Costa Vargas to discuss the conditions of African people in the Diaspora from the U.S. to Brazil, and what it means for African people in the context of U.S. Imperialism in decline. João H. Costa Vargas is assistant professor in the Center for African and African American Studies and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of two critically acclaimed books, Catching Hell In The City Of Angels: Life And Meanings Of Blackness In South Central Los Angeles and Never Meant to Survive: Genocide and Utopias in Black Diaspora Communities.
“White supremacy and anti-Black racism happen both because of what We and others do as well as what We and others don’t do. Consequently, silence, inaction, and ignorance are as genocidal as the most overt racist acts and thoughts.” Never Meant to Survive: Genocide and Utopias in Black Diaspora Communities (page 17)
“In Brazil, for example, even though my racialized identity is ambiguous, my social class amplifies the White characteristics while defusing the Black ones. If, however, I were to be assumed poor and without education, the reverse would happen and my Black traits would become dominant.” Catching Hell In The City Of Angels: Life And Meanings Of Blackness In South Central Los Angeles (page 32)
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could somebody who listens to this next please tell me the name of the first song he played? I don’t have enough time to listen again. I mean the song by the guy with the UK/London accent. It was very but I can’t remember what it is called.
The topic is very interesting. I will try to read that book if I can find it. In the past indigenous people were classified like that because the colonizers wanted the people to ‘disappear’ and leave white people to inherit the land. They wanted Africans as labour so they wanted to increase their property by categorizing as many people as possible as Black. Now if as he said Africans aren’t required as labour they want Africans to assimilate/disappear too so they’re categorized in the way Indigenous people have been. And if you don’t want to die-off for their convenience of course you’re racist separatist, as bad as the nazis! Assimilation was used to advance their ‘dying race’ theories in the past and they still want us to get out of their way, we just have to be strong in our own definitions of who we are. It is interesting (for me) to compare this with the situations in NZ and Australia where Indigenous people are called black – even though we’re different colours btw, it seems like they decide who they call black! They make up different theories to jutify whatever they do but their policy is always whatever is convenient for white people at any moment.
Maybe I will listen again if I have some time. I love these podcasts, thanks for the education :)
Here is something very interesting I read about this topic: http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/106.3/ah000866.html It is by Patrick Wolfe from 2001, if anybody is interested.
Song is “Spectator” by Logic. Thanks for your support.
:)