This essay, ‘Fear of Erasure: Distinguishing the boundaries of African American identity on Twitter,’ offers a valuable exploration of identity dynamics within the African American community on ‘Black Twitter.’ It delves into a pivotal debate sparked by biracial Americans questioning their ...
Fear of Erasure: Distinguishing the boundaries of African American
Identity on Twitter
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Ellise Gordon
02/09/2023
My fieldwork initially began by investigating communities existing on social media that were made
for African diasporic audiences. During my research on what is known as 'black Twitter,' 'a network of
culturally connected communicators using the platform to draw attention to issues of concern to
black communities,' I came across a debate that was occurring on the platform (Reid, 2018). The
debate was concerning whether biracial American heritage should refer to themselves as 'black.' It
was an intriguing discourse, not on whether biracial people should refer to themselves as black but
instead an insight into how the African American ethnic group distinguishes itself.
I conducted my research predominantly on Twitter, in which I followed a conversation regarding the
biracial debate. To give further context, the debate appeared to have occurred due to Kamala Harris
having been elected the first woman and person of colour to be vice president in the USA. In
celebration of her election online, it was clear that there was controversy regarding African
Americans referring to her solely as the first 'black' female vice president (See Figure 1). Though this
, may appear as a simple declaration of excitement and hope, it has created a large discussion on
Twitter regarding who belongs to the African American Ethnic group.
Before continuing my report, I must say the following. It is important to consider that the term 'black'
was used predominantly in this debate to refer to African ancestry. However, I have decided to utilise
the term not merely as a racial category but instead as an alternative way of referring to the African
American ethnic group. In my research of political blackness, I came across an article called 'the
problem of political blackness' which deemed that 'the term ethnic seems to be used on occasion as
a euphemism for racial groups - though this is more common in the United States,' furthermore
ethnic identities become 'subsumed under the American racialised system' (Andrews, 2016). These
statements demonstrate the deep-rooted nature of race in American ethnic groups, particularly for
African Americans. As a result of this, alongside the fact that this debate was predominantly if not
completely made up of African Americans, I believe it is useful to view 'black' in this discourse as a
synonym for African Americans rather than simply a biological phenotype.
In discussing the data of my fieldwork, I believe it is best first to discuss Frederick Barth's definition of
ethnicity, which follows the principle that in order for ethnicity or an ethnic group to be established,
it must be done so in relation to another (Allen and Eade, 1996). That is to say, it is the characteristics
that an ethnic group A does or does not have in comparison to ethnic group B that really
distinguishes its ethnicity; "it is not so much the group which endures as the idea of the group"
(Banks, 2010). From my observations, I believe that such an ideology is intrinsic to the concept of
African Americans as an ethnic group and has influenced this contentious debate regarding who may
or may not be referred to as black in an African American context. I am particularly careful to say
African American as I believe it would be too much of a generalised statement to refer to the black
diaspora as there are historical differences that make the conversation relative to black people in
America. I will concentrate on this topic, which I will refer to and evidence later in this report.
To further expand on Barth's definition concerning my data, I will highlight how, within this discourse,
African Americans have distinguished what is to be 'black' within their ethnic group in order to
validate their points. The first distinction that was frequently made was that one must have 'two
black parents' to be deemed black. Though such a statement appears to be based on biological
distinctions, there are actually societal constructs within America that have influenced such an
opinion, particularly the rejection of the notion of the one-drop rule.
Though this rule refers to a particular bill passed in Arkansas in 1911, it tends to be a blanket term. It
more specifically refers to North America's first blood-fraction law, in 1705, which used a one-eighth
rule (a person was black if one great-grandparent was entirely of African ancestry). Such laws were
put in place to preserve white racial purity, and ironically, the rejection of it by African Americans
appears to be an attempt to do the same. The rejection of this rule appears to respond to issues of
colourism where, during slavery, those with lighter skin tones, including biracial people who classed
into the racial category of black, were favoured over those with darker skin tones, an ideology that
still exists today. Thus, rejection of this rule allows African Americans to set a boundary within their
ethnic group and fits Barth's definition of ethnicity.
Secondly, oppression and discrimination also appeared to be a boundary set within the African
American ethnic group. It was said that biracial people did not experience the same form of racism
and oppression as their monoracial and darker-skinned counterparts (See Figure 4). This restriction
creates an interesting dialogue regarding 'blackness' as a political category and thus a form of
identity for African Americans. "Blacks effectively have no culture as they borrow much from white
society and therefore have to fall back on an essentially political identity: black ethnicity becomes
curiously wedded to politics" (Kilson 1975 cited in Banks, 2010). Political blackness is a term utilised
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