Laura Chrisman

This interdisciplinary project explores how black America and black South Africa reciprocally informed each other’s imaginations, ideologies, and practices from 1900 to 1945. During this formative period of anti-racist struggle in both countries, the two communities developed strong connections across print journalism, literature, social sciences, and political organizations. By analyzing this substantial if generally overlooked archive, we can better understand the national and transnational contours of black political cultures. The project shows how black South Africans both affirmed and criticized black American thought, intimating alternative conceptions of political and cultural leadership for themselves and for the US diaspora.