Towards a Black Cultural Memory

What is it about?

Situated in the context of Belgium, Europe, this work contributes to post-colonial discussions related to Belgium’s cultural memory, which have increasingly focused on national issues with memory and colonial imaginary, but failed to include the lived experiences and counter memories of its Black population. This article explores what these counter memories can entail for Black people in Belgium. It builds on the notion of cultural memory (Assman, 1995) and examines Black people’s identity constructing/maintaining embodied culture – conceptualized in this article as Black Cultural Memory (BCM). _x000D_ To illustrate how Black identities take shape beyond personal histories, cultures, and memories, the author does two things: First, she provides an explorative account of the way cultural memory is implicated in the lives of Afro-diasporic peoples and points out how BCM relates to and interweaves with other cultural signifying mechanisms and practices (cultural archive, Black consciousness, and diaspora literacy). Secondly, she sheds light on how media, memory and Black people’s lives interact, and discusses how cultural memory can be shaped, sharpened and inquired through Black people’s contemporary digital engagement and Black cyberculture. _x000D_ Based on semi-structured in-depth interviews and discourse analyses, article sheds light on Black people’s use of digital platforms in shaping notions and discourses of collective blackness and Afro-diasporic identity._x000D_

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