Queer in Black and White: Interraciality, Same Sex Desire, and Contemporary African American Culture

Index

Afrekete (Zami character), 61–64 Afrekete: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Writing (1995), 61–64 African American literature: absence of black lesbianism in, 74; black queer literary canon, 9–10, 113nn2–3; blackness as theme in, 16; interracial desire in, 21; miscegenation discourse in, 7, 14–17, 113–114n7; nationalist tropes in, 8–9; passing represented in, 14–16 Afrocentricity, 27, 29–30, 101, 119n21 Alexander, Elizabeth, 97–98 “alternative hip-hop,” 34–38, 36, 39 amalgamism, 10, 114, 116n25 Anderson, Benedict, 44 Another Country (1962): “another country” as utopian image, 41–42, 53–56, 59–60; as canonical text, 4; nationalism as theme in, 67; racial death-wish in Rufus Scott, 52–53; staging of race in, 55, 122n38. See also Baldwin, James; Scott, Rufus; Vivaldo armed nationalism, 41–42 Asante, Molefi Kete, 27–28 authenticity: Black Arts Movement and, 6; black homosexual subjectivity and, 74–75; black vernacular as assertion of, 74–75; dangers of interraciality study and, 21–22; miscegenation as staging of, 11; in nationalist discourse of exclusion , 23–25, 38; racism as staging of, 99–100; reproduction discourse and, 26, 44–48; Tongues Untied treatment of, 5–6; urban black identity and, 103; visual economy of queering and, 11 Baldwin, James: Blues for Mister Charlie (1964), 58; D/DC reference to, 40; Eldridge Cleaver on, 47–52; Giovanni’s Room (1956), 9; interracial desire in, 21, 106; on nationalism , 47. See also Another Country; Scott, Rufus Baraka, Amiri, 4, 6, 65 Beam, Joseph, 5, 18–19, 113n3 belonging: dance as vehicle for, 19–20, 101; miscegenation as staging of, 11; nationalist “coming home” and, 7 bisexuality, 31–32. See also heterosexuality ; homosexuality Black Arts Movement, 3, 6, 62, 65 black community: black homosexual community, 67, 72–73, 82, 89, 124n43; black nationalism compared with, 69; “coming home” and, 7; heterosexual “straightening out” initiative, 44; homophobia and, 87–89, 106; interracial narrative as grounded in, 9; mixed-race individuals in, 14–16, 117n37; nation and, 41–42; racial/sexual identity fracture, 106, 111 black family discourse, 3, 72 black feminism, 81, 87, 125–126n8 “Black is Beautiful” expression, 18–19 black lesbian invisibility: black community and, 68–69, 72–74; black index Page numbers in italics refer to figures. 1DUNNING_pages.indd 129 3/13/09 11:03:54 AM 130 Index lesbian literary characters, 63–64, 85–86, 90; erasure of lesbian subjectivity , 87–89, 92; eroticism in representations of, 92–93; Fae Richards’s hidden relationship and, 105; homophobia and, 87–88; occlusion of black lesbian history, 98; in “She’s a B*tch,” 84–85, 86, 105. See also black queer; lesbianism ; silence; The Watermelon Woman “Black men loving Black men” expression , 5, 18–19, 81, 105 black nationalism: Afrocentricity in, 27, 29–30; Another Country depiction of, 53–56; Black Arts Movement rejection of gay/lesbian identity, 4; black community compared with, 69; “Black is Beautiful” expression, 18–19; blackness as fundamental for, 73–74; “buy black” initiative , 26, 119n10; “coming home” and, 7; D/DC critique of, 40–41; as discourse of resistance, 25–26, 27, 45–46; Eurocentric nationalism relationship with, 45–47, 65; exclusion of queer subjects, 6–7, 21, 23–25; exclusion of women, 26, 64–65; feminism and, 121n6; heterosexual foundation in, 28–31, 38; homophobia associated with, 65–66; homosocial desire and, 51–52; individualism and, 62; interraciality and, 8–9; “liberty” discourse in, 45–46, 118; Loving Her depiction of, 64–67, 81–82; misogynistic tone in, 30, 64, 119nn24–25; political effectiveness of, 6; racial death-wish and, 52–53, 56, 72; racial vs. sexual politics in, 30–31; Ralph Ellison on, 62; treason /betrayal/failure discourse and, 3, 26 Black Panther Party, 45 black queer: black lesbian invisibility in, 85; black queer literary canon, 9–10, 21, 113nn2–3; D/DC articulation of, 40–41; interraciality and, 4, 20–21; monoraciality of, 5; nationalist discourse in, 32. See also black lesbian invisibility; homosexuality; queer Black Yellow Pages, 119n10 blackness: “black is/ain’t” in The Invisible Man, 62–63; black vernacular as staging of, 74–75; blackopaths, 80–81; cross-racial intimacy and, 12–14, 16–19, 47–51, 81–82, 96, 104; estrangement and reinscription of (in The Watermelon Woman), 89, 92, 95–96, 98–99; as fundamental to black nationalism, 73–74; heterosexuality and, 44; homosexual identity and, 72–74; miscegenated blackness, 13, 80–81; “New Negro” as transcendent blackness, 17; passing/mixed-race figures and, 15–16; “short natural” hairstyle and...