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ENG 338
INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERATURE OF BLACK DIASPORA

Disclaimer: Although efforts have been made to ensure this note is 100% in
conformity with the lecture delivered by the lecturer in class, you are still expected to
use it as per your own discretion
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LECTURE NOTES
23rd June, 2023
Background/Introduction
Diaspora is a term that refers to a segment of a race or clan which is scattered,
extracted or forced out of their original environment and have settled in another
place where they still maintain a sense of their community and culture
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The extraction came as a result of a
major historical blight – the slave trade
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It
spanned 400 years and lasted from 1401 – 1800
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Their exploration soon included the need for manpower to grow the industries in
Europe, so, they exchanged some articles for some African ancestors who were then
taken as slaves to work in European industries and plantations (cocoa, sugar, etc
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As a result, the Blacks dominated New England (America) and the Caribbean Islands
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Places like Badagry and Ghana served as ports from which
slaves were transported
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So, when the
ancestors sold their brothers and sisters to the whites, they were ignorant of the
philosophy of the whites
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Thus, they bought able-bodied men
and beautiful ladies that would attract buyers over there in Europe
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Along the line, people fell sick, contracted diseases and so as not to jeopardise the
lives of the other slaves, the sick ones were thrown into the sea
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where people who needed slaves would come to buy them
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America is divided into two: the South and the North
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Thus, the South needed more hands and
possessed a large number of slaves
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These islands also had plantations owned by the
whites where the black slaves were taken to
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So, they made them work like animals in
the plantations, even locking their mouths with padlocks
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These continued until some events began to happen later on, one of which was the
American Civil War
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In the plantations also, some blacks who
felt their dignity assaulted began to revolt
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What the
gangs did was to train one another on warfare skills to attack plantations and rescue
willing slaves
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This group of whites was known as the ‘abolition group’ or
the ‘abolitionists’
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However, for abolition of slave trade to happen, both South and the North America
needed to come together
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This lack of agreement led to the American Civil War of 1861
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During the war, some blacks who thought the whites were superior and were
civilising them began to see that the same blood flows in both whites and blacks and
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that a white man when shot dies just like the black man also
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Even after the war, the South still sought to dominate the blacks, so, the blacks
began to move to the North
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Different factors lends credence to this, one of which is
‘structured racism’
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They were
only free in letter; structured racism persisted and gave room for different efforts to
keep the blacks still in bondage, such as the reduction of rent only in the slums of
America
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who have homes
abroad because they are not descendants of Negros
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The literature of black diaspora is that of transplantation
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Their culture was no longer in its
orginal form yet the black content was still residual, so, their literature is that of the
black culture modified by a new culture
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The black slaves sang
in the whites’ plantations
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They
composed and sang this when they were depressed, happy, etc
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Apart from spirituals, the first major written works are what is known as Slave
Narratives, which deal with the experiences of slaves from the port where they were
bought to their journey to Europe
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Some appear as Confessions, when slaves confess
a sin committed
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As such, they are called Neo-Slave
Narratives
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From the 1920s, there came a revival, rebirth and reawakening, wherein scholars,
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philosophers and writers of black origin came together to theorise on black identity,
a move that gave birth to the Harlem Renaissance
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So, blacks came together, started a
renaissance in which things that portray blackness in painting, music, art, etc
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Harlem is a part of America where blacks were concentrated
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g
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Black Power Movement, which was
efforts by blacks to attain political power also began
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During slave trade, one major development was the realisation of blacks as symbols
of sex due to the need to procreate more blacks to work in plantations
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These
women then paid money to the black man’s slave master
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In this
case, a black man would be set up with a white woman, after which he would be
caught and lynched, that is, set ablaze
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Aesthetics of Literature of Black Diaspora
Literature of Black Diaspora are distinguished in their theme, language, plot,
symbolism, etc
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For example, St
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France and Britain are the two major
countries that colonised them
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Another time, there was a great fire in St
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All of these would constitute the experience of a black
person from that area
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So, they came together and formed a federation in 1958, which unfortunately only
lasted for four years
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However, some common issues peculiar to both writers from America and the
Caribbean Islands are:
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·
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Race/Slavery
The hurt of history: The belief that history was not fair to them
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The question of identity
Self-blame: Blaming themselves for what had happened in history
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The Middle Passage experiences
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30th June, 2023
AESTHETICS OF LITERATURE OF BLACK DIASPORA
· THE QUESTION OF IDENTITY
The question of identity is the question of who a person is
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Identity as a theme is a huge feature of literature of black diaspora, where identity is
tied to the question of race
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Therefore, blacks in the diaspora wrote about this theme, sometimes to extol their
racial traits and say that they are proud of their black skin – ‘black and proud’; that
they love the black and white of their eyes unlike the blue and white of the eyes of
their enslavers; appreciating their cultural values and customs, etc
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So, in rediscovering their native identity, some
blacks dropped the foreign names to maintain their ancestral names, e
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Toni Cade
Bambara who added Bambara to her name after going through her granny’s
documents
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Contrarily, there were also some
people who felt their ancestors were savages and chose to adopt the whites’ names
or even added more names
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‘Gorilla, My Love’ by Toni Cade Bambara
The short story gets its title from the title of a movie
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However, Toni Cade Bambara has woven into
this story, black diaspora aesthetics which include the question of identity, religion
and social and political activism
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The first event is how another movie was shown in the cinema instead of ‘Gorilla, My
Love’ which she and her brother had paid to watch
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The second event is when Hunca Bubba announces his marriage, however,
when Hazel was a baby, he had looked at her, told her she was pretty and that he
would marry her when it is time to him to marry
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These two events left her wondering
how it is easy for the adult world to promise one thing and go on to do another
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This is an instance of a character dropping a white
man’s name to pick a black name
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Hazel’s family is black and lives in a multi-racial
environment, seen in the fact that there are both whites and blacks in her school
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Bambara’s work also contains elements of political activism – a bid to give voice to
the blacks, evident in the fact that Hazel’s parents are activists
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Some
blacks in the diaspora hates Christianity because some missionaries contributed to
slavery
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However, some
others remained Christians, getting inspiration from the liberation acts of Moses and
Joshua to free the Israelites from the Egyptians
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She begins to ask which father would
allow his child to be nailed to the cross
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As for language, the usage of the Black American English is also pronounced such
that a reader who does not pay special attention may not understand the language
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‘The Lesson’ by Toni Cade Bambara
This short story is a work of political activism and the narrator is also a child (just
like in ‘Gorilla, My Love’) who is assertive and street-wise
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At
the mall, these children see the price tags on some toys and they marvel at how
people use money capable of feeding a whole family to purchase toys
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Moore
has used the trip to teach the children political economy because the mall is in the
whites’ side of the town, while the children are from the poor, black section
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Moore thus tell them, “You are where you live
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The story is thus about racism, where the facilities in one side of the town is
overstretched, whereas, that of the other is relaxed and more comfortable
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In these two short stories, there is the influence of the author, Toni Cade Bambara,
who lived all her life as a social and political activist
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So, she addresses serious issues by introducing humour
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The literature of black diaspora is also that of transplantation, which means that
some elements found in African literature can also be found in their literature
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they may take on new forms but they are there
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So, there are
African-American dominant aesthetics, as well as transplanted aesthetics
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It is a story of a triangular love involving Bob
Stone (a white man), Tom (a black man) and a black lady
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Stone escapes and
makes it to the other whites in his community
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Spirituals (southern songs) can be
found in the story
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Silas is a sharecropper –one who works for a white man on his
plantation
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Later, a white salesman comes to their house to advertise a
phonograph to Sarah
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Silas comes back home and when he finds out about this
(because the white man forgets something in his house), he thrashes his wife
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The other white man escapes and tells the other white people in the neighbourhood
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So, we have in both stories how the whites, without enquiry only comes to deliver
jungle justice
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‘Black’ here in the title does not mean the black race
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Spirituals are also mentioned in this short story
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The song is a popular
hymn derived from a spiritual
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In ‘Blood Burning Moon’, there is the usage of significant titles
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Also present in both works is the usage of the Black American English
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The authors have also used this to distinguish the speech of the whites and
blacks
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The statement appears absurd but actually
has a deep meaning on careful consideration
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At his boss’ workshop, he tries to check the gun out but
eventually shoots a mule
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Jenny has been killed and this makes Dave no longer a slave too, which means the
death of Jenny is the end of the slavery of Dave
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A rite has occurred which involves death (of Jenny) and getting of
freedom, at last
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He is now free, reason why he can move to the North
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Other issues raised in the story include: the timidity of most blacks in challenging the
whites and the usage of the Black English rhythm
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This makes the ritual aesthetic also
one of the motifs that pervade literature of black diaspora
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‘Sonny’s Blues’ by James Baldwin
‘Sonny’s Blues’ is a long short story, a domestic story about a family and especially
two brothers
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Sonny is a dropout who plays blues
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Then, something happens
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Shortly
after, the brother, who is the narrator, loses a child and the tragedy makes him
rethink his decision towards his brother, Sonny
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This short story deals with Sonny’s families
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This story focuses on how blacks
have been disadvantaged and how they cope with difficult times using music,
heroine, drugs, prostitution, religion, etc
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At the end of the story, Sonny is seen to have had another family also –
the band
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In the course of the band’s performance,
joviality and friendship return
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For example, how Sonny’s uncle
was killed by white men, a sad event that his father never recovered from
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This
is a reference to the suffering of blacks
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So, the
concept of family in African American Literature is not just about the nuclear family,
it is about everyone in the black society
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The image of the ice-block is used to show the coldness between Sonny and his
brothers, however, in the end, there comes warmth
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In ‘Sonny’s Blues’, there is also reference to what African Americans resort to in a bid
to escape the harsh realities of their time
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7th July, 2023

Home by Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison is an African American author and a Nobel Prize Winner
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The condition of the African
American at different point in time also determined what authors wrote about
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Morrison’s
work came about a century after this period (post-Vietname War), a lot had
happened, thus it is a more modern work and treats different issues
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He and his parents don’t have money because they are blacks and lack money
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Frank then left Lotus (the
village) for the Army, not because he loves the War but because he wants to leave
Lotus
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He
had a humble background which is presented to draw attention to the suffering of
Black Americans, such as how they were asked to leave their settlements within 24
hours
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They lost so many things during
this phase
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When the story opens, Frank and his sister saw a man being buried improperly
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The man
who was buried is later revealed as the victim of an organised fight
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The story begins with his demobilisation from the war
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Frank has a girlfriend, Lily, later on but Lily eventually breaks up
with him to stop the love affair when she couldn’t understand him
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Prince marries Ycidra but doesn’t take care of her
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Later on,
she falls sick and Frank comes to rescue her, after which she was taken to Lotus
where she was treated
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Ycidra is now all-grown and can live independently of his
brother
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All those who helped Frank are all blacks
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So, it all goes down to the question of identity
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This is not different from treating blacks as beasts
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As a literary work, there are different themes in it, which are:
· Racial discrimination, seen in the diff

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