Antiblackness

Negrophobia (also termed anti-Blackness) is characterized by a fear, hatred or extreme aversion to Black people and Black culture worldwide. Caused amongst other factors by racism and traumatic events and circumstances, symptoms of this phobia include but are not limited to the attribution of negative characteristics to Black people, the fear or the strong dislike of Black men and the objectification of Black women.

Definitions

Lexicology

The hybrid word ''negrophobia'' consists of two components: ''negro'' and ''phobia''. As such, it literally derives from "Fear of black":

* From Spanish and Portuguese: ''negro'', "Black color"
* From Greek: φόβος, phóbos, "Fear of"

Other terms with similar meanings include ''antiblackness'' and ''blackophobia''. However, some publishers have discouraged designating individuals as ''blackophobes'' or ''negrophobes'' and rather highlight the general epithet that is usually applied to racists.

Although ''melanophobia'' is sometimes confused with ''negrophobia'', the former term is more commonly applied to situations involving inanimate objects that are very dark or black. ''Negrophobia'' is also distinct from ''Afrophobia'', which is a perceived fear of the various cultures and peoples of Africa and the African diaspora irrespective of their racial origin. Unlike ''negrophobia'', ''Afrophobia'' is thus essentially a cultural rather than a racial phenomenon.

Debates over definitions

There are differences in the senses that are applied to ''negrophobes'' or the noun ''Negrophobia''. Some senses use the term to describe a discriminatory sentiment towards people who may identify with the Black race. Accordingly, the latter sense adopts the notion that a person with ''Negrophobia'' believes that his or her race is superior to the Black race through xenophobia. However, an alternative definition stays true to the original clinical meaning of the suffix phobia. Thereby, ''Negrophobia'' would be associated not with racism, but rather with those who critically fear the Black race. In July 2010, a segment on ''Negrophobia'' was featured on '' The Rachel Maddow Show'' on MSNBC.

Overview

Historical context

In Europe, ''Negrophobia'' finds its roots in the 17th century due to its extensive historical colonisation and slavery. According to certain sources, the term ''Negrophobia'' would have been forged on the model of the word ''Nigrophilism'', itself first appearing in 1802 in Baudry des Lozières’s ''Les égarements du nigrophilisme''. It further reappeared in January 1927 in Lamine Senghor’s ''La voix des nègres'', a monthly anti-colonialist newspaper. The term was later popularised by Frantz Fanon, especially in his works ''Peaux noires masques blancs'' and ''Les Damnés de la Terre''. More recently in 2005, an anti-negrophobia brigade (BAN) was created in France to protest against increasing targeted acts and occurrences of police violence. The latter protest movements notably underwent severe police violence in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris during the 2011 and 2013 abolition of slavery commemorations.

''Negrophobia'' and identity

More specifically on Fanon's analysis of ''Negrophobia'', the psychiatrist was the first to introduce the concept of Black ''Negrophobia'', pointing to the hatred of Black people and Black culture by Black people themselves. Indeed, he asserts that ''Negrophobia'' is a form of "trauma for white people of the Negro". Equivalent to internalised racism caused by the trauma of living in a culture defining Black people as inherently evil, Fanon emphasises the slight existing cultural intricacies caused by the vast diversity of Black people and cultures, as well as the nature of their colonisation by White Europeans. The symptoms of such Black ''Negrophobia'' include a rejection of their native or ethnic language in favour of European languages, a marked preference for European cultures over Black cultures, and a tendency to surround themselves with lighter skinned people rather than darker skinned ones. Similarly, the pattern further includes attributing negative characteristics to Black people, culture, and things. Toni Morrison's novel '' The Bluest Eye'' (1970) stands as an illustrative work on the destroying effects of ''Negrophobia'' among the Black community on themselves. Indeed, the main character, Pecola Breedlove, through her non-reconciliation with her Black identity, her Black societal indifference and her craving for symbolic blue eyes, presents all the signs of an internalised ''Negrophobia''. She develops an anti-Black neurosis due to her feeling of non-existence both within the White and her own community.

While the latter theoretical framework is academically debated, Fanon insists on the nature of ''Negrophobia'' as a socio-diagnosis, thus characterising not individuals but rather entire societies and their patterns. Fanon thereby implies that ''Negrophobia'' is a cross-disciplinary area of research, justifying that its analysis and understanding may not be confined to the psychological field.

''Negrophobia'' and law

The notion of involuntary ''Negrophobia'' is highly debated in the academic and legal arenas, specifically opposing non instrumentalists and instrumentalists. The formers are favourable to the involuntary nature of a post-traumatic stress disorder, thereby defending the uncontrollable nature of a defendant’s actions. This approach focusses on the personal culpability of the individual defendant, thus disregarding any possible social implications. On the other hand, instrumentalists do consider such broader implications, viewing the law as an object of social change and claiming to promote the general welfare by refusing to recognise legal claims damaging the integrity of the legal. This view criticises non instrumentalists for equating ''Negrophobia'' with insanity by allowing a person’s racial fear to legally justify and even excuse violent behaviour. Following widespread claims that sane but guilty defendants may exploit the insanity defence to escape long prison sentences, a similar skepticism with respect to defences invoking ''Negrophobia'' would result in significant distrust in the legal and criminal justice system, thereby indirectly destroying the legitimacy of such courts.

Anti-Blackness in Education and Organization Studies.

In response to Black Lives Matter organizing contemporary scholars of Education, Human Resource Development, and Critical Management Studies have begun focusing on anti-Blackness in schools and places of business. These efforts build on established critical race discourses in their respective field and incorporate concepts from Afropessimism.

See also

* Negrophilia
* Afrophobia
* Missing white woman syndrome
* Ethnocentrism
* List of phobias
* Racial bias in criminal news
* Racism against African Americans
* Stereotypes of African Americans
* Xenophobia

References

{{Racism topics

Anti-black racism in the United States

Prejudice and discrimination by type
Anti-black racism