African American Diaspora

For hundreds of years, the African diaspora has taken individuals out of Africa and dispersed them around the world. In the United States, the African diaspora has resulted in a large African American population that has helped to shape the country’s culture and literature. However, literature from the African diaspora also includes authors who have arrived in the United States more recently, including Nigerian American, Liberian American, and Ghanaian American writers.

Definition of African American Diaspora

In general, diaspora refers to a group of people who have been dispersed or displaced but remain united by retaining their homeland's beliefs, values, and cultural identity and practice. The African diaspora is a particularly complex and diverse diaspora that includes individuals dispersed from many different countries for many reasons. Like many African Americans, some have been living outside Africa for generations. Others members of the African diaspora, such as refugees from countries like Sudan, Uganda, and the Congo, may have left Africa much more recently.

The African diaspora has had a profound effect on societies around the world.

In Perspectives on History, the American Historical Association’s newsmagazine, Colin Palmer offers this definition of the African diaspora:

Technically speaking, all African Americans are part of the African diaspora. However, in terms of literature, many African American writers, particularly contemporary ones, don’t feature as many diasporic themes in their work.

Causes of the African American Diaspora

The modern African diaspora is primarily made up of two separate migratory events. The first started with the forced dispersal of African people through the transatlantic slave trade beginning in the 16th century. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, estimates claim that anywhere between 5 and 100 million Africans were sold into slavery and later dispersed worldwide, primarily to the Americas.²

Characteristics of African American Diaspora Literature

African American diaspora literature has the same fundamental characteristics as diaspora literature more broadly. These include a strong connection to the homeland, in this case, Africa, details of a journey that takes the displaced person away from the homeland, and contrasting the new place of residence with the homeland.

African American diaspora literature also explores further issues, such as the legacy of slavery and issues of racism that are specific to the United States.

Additionally, modern-day African diaspora writers working in the United States often offer critiques of contemporary US society and contrast the experience of African immigrants with that of African Americans.

Depiction of the Homeland

Diaspora communities are unique in that they maintain a strong connection to their home country and culture even if they live in a different place; they retain the feeling that their country of origin is their true home. Many African American writers explore Africa’s significance for individuals outside of the continent.

Alice Walker's The Color Purple is an example of African American diaspora literature.

Alice Walker’s classic novel, The Color Purple (1982), tells the story of two sisters, Celie and Nettie, living in rural Georgia at the start of the 20th century. Nettie becomes a missionary and travels back to Africa, where she describes learning about the continent to her sister:

Celie and Nettie have not maintained a connection to Africa, and much of their ancestral knowledge was lost to the oppression they experienced. Celie states at one point that she “don’t know where Africa at” (Letter 50). However, as Nettie learns more about Africa, she immediately feels connected to the continent. She feels that learning about Africa helps her learn more about herself.

A Difficult Journey

A prime example of African diaspora literature in the United States is the slave narratives of the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of these narratives described the enslaved person’s voyage from Africa to the Americas.

This example comes from one of the United States’ best-known slave narratives, Venture Smith’s A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa, but Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America (1798). In his account, Smith describes his capture in Africa, subsequent voyage to the Americas, and his life there as an enslaved person.

Depiction of the Host Country

The final characteristic of diaspora literature is the depiction of the host country and, frequently, the comparison of the host country with the displaced person’s homeland. The African American literary tradition often involves critiques of US society but not necessarily comparisons to Africa. However, in literature from contemporary African writers residing in the United States, the difference between African and American (and African American) culture is a common theme.

The above quote comes from award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2013). The novel tells the story of Ifemelu, a young Nigerian woman who immigrates to the United States. In the United States, Ifemelu begins to experience racism and sees herself as a Black woman for the first time.

Examples of African American Diaspora Literature

Some examples of African American diaspora literature include slave narratives of the 18th and 19th centuries, work by African American writers, and work by African authors living in the United States.

Slave Narratives

Slave narratives are a strong example of early literature from the African diaspora. Works such as A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa, but Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America (1798) and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) often emphasize the enslaved person’s continued connection to Africa and usually included a description of the Middle Passage, the voyage between Africa and the Americas.

The journey enslaved Africans made from Africa to the Americas became an important feature of the diaspora's literature.

African American Writers and the Diaspora

For many years, African Americans were thought to have lost their culture and connection to Africa during the Middle Passage and subsequent enslavement. However, many writers rekindled a connection to their ancestral homeland during the Harlem Renaissance. Authors like Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen make numerous references to Africa in their work, examining the role of Africa as a homeland in constructing African American identity.

Modern-Day African Diaspora Writers in the United States

Many African diaspora writers working in the United States are not African American. These include well-known Nigerian writers Akwaeke Emezi and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Liberian American Wayétu Moore, and Ghanaian American Yaa Gyasi. Because these writers have arrived in the United States more recently, their work is quite different from African American writers and usually offers clearer examples of diasporic themes.

Facts about African American Diaspora Literature

• All African American literature can be considered part of the African diaspora, but African diaspora literature also includes literature from African writers living in countries around the world as well as African immigrants in the United States.
• Scholars began to use the term ‘diaspora’ to describe Africans and people of African descent who lived outside of Africa in the 1960s and 70s.
• The Americas have the largest population of Africans and people of African descent outside of Africa.
• The African diaspora has produced many award-winning authors that have significantly impacted American literature.