Black Like Who?: Writing - Black- Canada

by Rinaldo Walcott

A study of black Canadian culture, Black Like Who? remaps the North American landscape. With hip-hop, film, literature, social unrest, sports, and the electronic media as his focus, Rinaldo Walcott not only outlines the role of black Canadians in building and defining Canada, he also demonstrates how Canadian blackness is conceived and lived out in ways that are both radically un-American and, ultimately, un-Canadian. Exploring everything from the lyrics and sampling of the Dream Warriors and Maestro Fresh-Wes to the writing of Dionne Brand, the tensions between sprinters Donovan Bailey and Michael Johnson, the Rodney King verdict, the popularity of the hood film, and the treatment of immigrant Somali communities, Black Like Who? is a compelling investigation into what it means to be both black and Canadian.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Essays, Politics, Anti Racist, Canada, American

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

Rinaldo Walcott is a Professor in the Women and Gender Studies Institute, University of Toronto, author of Queer Returns: Essays on Multiculturalism, Diaspora, and Black Studies, and coauthor of BlackLife: Post-BLM and the Struggle for Freedom.

Reviews

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parts of this that were about Canadian Black culture and and the ways in which is is (and should not be) overshadowed by African American culture or reduced to Caribbean immigrant stereotypes were really interesting. But far too much of this was taken up by critical nitpicking and academic arguments that were on the level of disputing how many angels could dance on the head of a pin (e.g, arguing about whether 'Black Studies' or 'Black Cultural Studies' was the better field). That made much of this book a slog.

**Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book taught me so much! It’s written as critical essays of Black works of film, writing, etc. from the POV of what is the Black Canadian experience. It’s kind of academic/analytical so not for everyone but beyond the slightly dry structure, the thoughts and ideas are anything but.

[Morgan Dhu · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Black Like Who? Writing Black Canada, his 1997 collection of essays focussing on aspects of Black culture in Canada, Rinaldo Wincott, African-Canadian writer and academic, suggests that his readers “read the essays as an attempt to articulate some grammars for thinking Canadian blackness.”

He goes on to expand on what he means by “writing blackness”:

“Writing blackness after the civil-rights era, second wave feminism, black cultural nationalism, gay and lesbian liberation, the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill spectacle, the Rodney King beating and L.A. riots, the Yonge Street Riots, and the O.J. Simpson trials, is difficult work.Yet, writing blackness remains important work. Black postmodernity insists upon being chronicled as it makes fun of and spoofs the very notion of writing blackness. A certain kind of upheaval of blacknesses exists which makes apparent the senselessness of writing blackness even as we are compelled and forced to write it.

“In a Canadian context, writing blackness is a scary scenario: we are an absented presence always under erasure. Located between the U.S. and the Caribbean, Canadian blackness is a bubbling brew of desires for elsewhere, disappointments in the nation and the pleasures of exile— even for those who have resided here for many generations. The project of articulating Canadian blackness is difficult not because of the small number of us trying to take the tentative steps towards writing it, but rather because of the ways in which so many of us are nearly always pre-occupied with elsewhere and seldom with here. It seems then that a tempered arrogance might be a necessary element of any grammar that is used to construct a language for writing blackness in Canada. A shift in gaze can be an important moment.

“The writing of blackness in Canada, then, might begin with a belief that something important happens here. If we accept this, finally, then critics can move beyond mere celebration into the sustaining work that critique is. A belief that something important happens here would mean that celebration could become the site for investigating ourselves in critical ways. We can begin to refuse the seductions of firstness and engage in critique, dialogue and debate, which are always much more sustaining than celebrations of originality.”

Thus, the act of discussing and critiquing black literature, music, film, art, becomes a declarative and profoundly political act - it announces that Black Canadian culture and art exist, that they are situated here, in and among other Canadian cultures, and that they are important, worth not just noting, but debating, being taken seriously. In writing these essays which deal with themes, aspects and artefacts of Black Canadian culture and history, Wincott asserts their value and importance and announces the necessity of acknowledging that these subjects are every bit as central to the Canadian cultural identity as the subjects written about by white critics. It is a revolutionary declaration.

The essays that follow cover a diverse range of subjects, from the complexity of Black Canadian culture in relation to African-American culture within the context of the Black diaspora, to the poetry of M. Nourbese Philips and Dione Brand to the films of Clement Virgo and Stephen Williams. With his essays, Wincott asserts the centrality of exploring blackness in the works of black Canadians, and the importance of this to Canadian culture as a whole. Black art is a part of Canadian art, and discussions of messages about blackness must be recognised as a legitimate topic in Canadian cultural criticism.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Chapter One of this book, the author begins with a quote then continues with, “This is a meditation on the place of Black Canadas in contemporary discourses of Black diasporas and the Black Atlantic.” Clearly in my mind, meaning a treatise on Black men and women in Canadian history. Continuing, a clear, academic feel arises. This is not to say the book (I listened to the audio version) was boring. Far from it. The author Rinaldo Walcott (and the narrator, Nigel Shawn Williams), created a very interesting reading on the view of Black culture in Canada by way of the use of literature and music and other cultural aspects. One chapter of interest is Chapter Five on the politics of 3rd cinema in Canada. Featured is the Canadian film director, Clement Virgo and discussion of his first featured film, Rude. He states that Black bodies (physical body) had gone MIA in public debate. "The Black body in western discourse is a marked body--marked with a history of enslavement and disenfranchisement." The author goes on to say that discourses concerning Blackness shifted since the 1950s and the 60s and 70s and “Black post-modernity is an unsentimental approach to addressing the complex and varied history of diasporic Black peoples.” There is some comparison and discussion of Blacks in America, Britain, and other parts of the world in a historical sense. The title of this book, “Black Like Who?” deserves some pondering.

[Jamie Cha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free e audiobook from Netgalley. I realized I had no knowledge of Black Canadian history. As a person, that is interested in Black history this surprised me. I started googling Black Canadian history as I listened to this book.

The book gives so much information on Black Canadian history. As a person, who realized knew nothing about the subject, it was a little overwhelming at times. However, the book is a good overview. I really liked the narrator of the book.

The book is very academic. It made me feel like I was taking an introductory class. Words like diaspora and Blackness are used a lot in the book. Unfortunately, Canada has done a lot wrong in how it has treated its Black citizens ( not very different from America).

I did start to wander off at times. I don't know if it was too much information or my lack of knowledge in the subject. .I usually read books instead of listen to them.

I want to thank the author for allowing me to listen to his book. Giving me the opportunity to learn more about the history of Black Canadians. Thank you for so much research into the material.

[Stacie Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is good reason this is still considered such an important work, especially in the world of academia. I was fortunate to be chosen to receive an advanced reader copy of the anniversary edition. The original study of Black culture in Canada has been updated to now include of-the-moment topics, such as BLM.

I truly learned — and felt — a lot. The essays cover so much information and undoubtedly provoke thought. This is a book that will stick with me. It has clearly stood the test of time, and the updated version will surely help many others better understand the complexity of the lives of Black Canadians, past and present. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of the anniversary edition in exchange for my honest review.

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, complex, and still actual.
I really enjoyed Walcott's take on the notion that the Canadian identity is perceived inherently non-black as a form of denialism of history in favor of a foundational lie (his take is far more nuanced and complex than I am able to convey in a review).
The narrator was pleasant to listen to and it overall felt like listening to a good lecturer, I also enjoyed that the footnotes were included in the narration and not just in an attached PDF.

[amyleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful and urgently written text that calls for the need to think through Blackness -its grammars, aesthetics, and affects - in relation, but not necessarily as part of, the Canadian nation. Walcott raises important questions around belonging, diaspora, policing, and unintelligibility.

[Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few of the essays here went over my head as I was unfamiliar with the texts the author is referencing, however really great analysis and discussion.
Reads quite academically.