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notes Introduction 1. I borrow the term contact zones from James Clifford as a means of describing the way in which different experiences of the black diaspora are constituted in transcultural contexts. 2. I borrow the term world-sense from Oyèrónké Oyĕwùmí (1997, 3), who advocates its use as a more “inclusive way of describing the conception of the world by different cultural groups.” Chapter 1 1. For a more detailed discussion, see Countryman (1999), 3–13. As Countryman notes, the North Atlantic slave trade stretched from Montreal to Buenos Aires and “amounted to 9,566,000 people, the largest forced migration in all history,” with 4,700,000 taken to South America, 4,040,000 to the West Indies, and 399,000 (roughly 10 percent) to the British and American colonies (4). 2. These three are distinguished as follows: kin-based slavery was used to increase labor; pawnship generally involved girls whose labor reduced the debts of their fathers or male kin; and clientage concerned mostly autonomous individuals who owed labor or a share of crops and political loyalty to free persons or kin (Robertson 1996, 6–7). 3. For a more detailed discussion, see Thornton (1992), 72–97. 4. It should be noted that some schools of Afrocentrism prefer the term “Africentrism.” For the purposes of clarity, however, I use Asante’s original term, “Afrocentrism.” 5. Asante was born Arthur Lee Smith and changed his name to Molefi Kete Asante in 1972 after a visit to Ghana. For more detailed information, see Howe (1999), 230–39. 6. Elmina Castle (called “São Jorge da Mina” [Saint George’s of the mine], or simply “Elmina” [the mine]), was one of the first of many slave-trading posts built by Europeans along the west coast of Africa. Elmina Castle passed through many owners during the course of the slave trade, including the Portuguese , English and Dutch. By the eighteenth century, thirty thousand slaves passed through Elmina each year on their way to the Americas. See the Elmina Castle page at the Africans in America web site (Public Broadcasting Service, n.d.). See also Kandé (1998). 7. For a more detailed critique of Sankofa’s Afrocentric focus, see Kandé (1998). 8. In many African cultures, the word griot is used to describe praise singers who sing the accomplishments of a patron’s ancestors. This word has come to have a specific meaning, however, in African cinema, where filmmakers are often described as griots because films create “a ‘living’ record that could be ‘recited’ in the future” as a means of preserving tradition (Tomaselli and Eke 1995, 62). 9. Akan is a language group that includes the Twi, Fante, Asante, Ashona, Akim, and Juaben cultures. Grayson argues that Nunu is from the Asante people, based on imagery used in a chant she performs during a secret society initiation (1998, 220–21). 10. The inclusion of the monument in the montage is a direct reference to Afrocentrism and Asante’s belief, shared with African philosopher Cheikh Anta Diop, “that until Africa reclaims its ancient civilizations of the Nile Valley and reconnects them to the rest of Africa as Europe connects itself to its classical civilizations of Greece and Rome, we will remain children to the rest of the world” (Asante 1993, 47). Chapter 2 1. Although the title, Rue cases-nègres, has been translated as Black Shack Alley in the case of the novel, the translated title of Sugar Cane Alley is generally used in reference to the film. I retain that distinction here for clarity. 2. The term béké denotes an indigenous individual of all-white heritage in the French Caribbean. See, e.g., Hoetink (1986), 69; Herndon (1996); and Giraud (1995), 79. 3. I am indebted to Sada Niang for an e-mail discussion on this subject, which took place on March 31, 2005. In part, Niang points out that Martinique itself may be regarded as the castle because “one may not get out of it (the castle of Martinique) without the blessing of its owner (France), and only through a bridge across water (boat or plane).” 4. These phrases, which are reflective of African oral tradition, indicate the interactive nature of storytelling in Caribbean societies. The storyteller “initiates the performance by shouting ‘Krik?’ to which the audience, if it is in the mood to witness a performance, answers ‘Krak!’” (Cham 1992, 285n2). notes to chapter 2 260 [52.15.112.69] Project MUSE (2024...

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