Representations of the Black Body in Mexican Visual Art: Evidence of an African Historical Presence or a Cultural Myth?

Posted in Articles, Arts, Caribbean/Latin America, Literary/Artistic Criticism, Media Archive, Mexico, Slavery on 2009-09-06 23:36Z by Steven

Representations of the Black Body in Mexican Visual Art: Evidence of an African Historical Presence or a Cultural Myth?

Journal of Black Studies
Volume 39, Number 5 (May 2009)
pages 761-785
DOI: 10.1177/0021934707301474

Wendy E. Phillips, Photographer
Atlanta, GA

Although Africans have been present in Mexico since the time of the Afro-Atlantic slave trade, the larger Mexican culture seems to have forgotten this aspect of its history.  Although the descendents of these original Africans continue to live in the communities of coastal Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Veracruz states, many Mexicans seem to be unaware of their existence. This article reviews works of visual art made from the 1700s through the present that represent images of Mexicans of African descent and provide evidence of a historical Afromestizo presence in Mexico.  The works are also considered as possible sources of evidence about prevailing attitudes about Mexicans of African descent and anxieties about race mixing.  This article provides a brief overview of Mexico’s historical relationship with Africa as a participant in the Afro-Atlantic slave trade and considers the work of muralists, painters, and photographers who have created works of art in various regions of the country.

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Assessing Multiracial Identity Theory and Politics: The Challenge of Hypodescent

Posted in Articles, Media Archive, Politics/Public Policy, Social Science, United States on 2009-09-06 23:11Z by Steven

Assessing Multiracial Identity Theory and Politics: The Challenge of Hypodescent

Ethnicities
Volume 4, Number 3 (September 2004)
pages 357-379
DOI: 10.1177/1468796804045239

Rainier Spencer, Professor
Department of Anthropology & Ethnic Studies
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

It is increasingly possible to detect a split in regard to current analyses of multiracial identity in the United States. On the one hand there remains a relatively naive brand of multiracial activism and identity politics that has deep roots in the recent movement to institute a US federal multiracial category; while on the other hand we find a steadily maturing body of scholarship on mixed-race identity that is several levels removed in terms of intellectual rigor and objectivity.  As this latter movement continues to mature, it increasingly forces the former to acknowledge and to confront important issues of logical consistency in the multiracial identity debate. This article represents an effort to guide and shape that discussion in assessing the ideological foundation of multiracial identity politics in the United States.

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