African Diasporic Narratives from the Czech Republic

What is it about?

In the Czech Republic (CR) some studies have addressed the historical trajectories of people with African heritage in the country, but there is no comprehensive study that has examined contemporary lives and identities of African people. This empirical study emerges as part of a larger project which aims to address this paucity of research through an interdisciplinary and ethnographic lens. Its primary aim is to develop a nuanced understanding and account of socio-political identities among people with African heritage in the CR by focusing on dynamics of language and race and, to some extent, gender. Theoretically based on intersectionality and drawing from the recently developed framework of ‘raciolinguistics’, this paper provides first narratives of African people in the CR who have varying degrees of Czech language competencies and experience diverse forms of racialization and racism. Individual’s multiple life trajectories in the CR suggest that they are in a complex matrix of linguistic and racial discrimination but also a sense of reasonable safety and security. This highly ambiguous space African individuals experience, also suggest that on the one hand, there are instances where Czech language skills have the capacity to mitigate the challenges in racial discourse and racism, but on the other hand, there are also clear limits to the power of language in face of racial Othering and racism.

Featured Image