Boundaries of Belonging: Theorizing Black African Migrant Experiences in Australia

Kathomi Gatwiri and Leticia Anderson
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Kathomi Gatwiri: School of Arts and Social Science, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, QLD 4225, Australia
Leticia Anderson: School of Arts and Social Science, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, QLD 4225, Australia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 18, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: As nationalist ideologies intensify in Australia, so do the experiences of ‘everyday racism’ and exclusion for Black African immigrants. In this article, we utilize critical theories and engage with colonial histories to contextualize Afrodiasporic experiences in Australia, arguing that the conditional acceptance of Black bodies within Australian spaces is contingent upon the status quo of the white hegemony. The tropes and discourses that render the bodies of Black African migrants simultaneously invisible and hyper-visible indicate that immigration is not only a movement of bodies, but also a phenomenon solidly tied to global inequality, power, and the abjection of blackness. Drawing on critical race perspectives and theories of belonging, we highlight through use of literature how Black Africans in Australia are constructed as ‘perpetual strangers’. As moral panics and discourses of hyper-criminality are summoned, the bordering processes are also simultaneously co-opted to reinforce scrutiny and securitization, with significant implications for social cohesion, belonging and public health.

Keywords: African diaspora; migration; Australia; belonging; politics of belonging; bordering; racism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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