Blackness and Racial Mixture in Portland, Oregon and Esmeraldas, Ecuador
Published In
Relating Worlds of Racism: Dehumanisation, Belonging, and the Normativity of European Whiteness
ISBN
9783319789903
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2019
Subjects
Culture -- Ecuador, African Americans, Social Movements, Race, Social Classes, Social Sciences -- Research
Abstract
In this paper, Dr. Ethan Johnson aims to answer the question, what does Anti-Blackness in two apparently disparate locations, the city and province of Esmeraldas, Ecuador and Portland, Oregon in the United States, have to do with each other? In the Portland Metro Area for example, Black people have never comprised more than 3 percent of the population and the region is often characterized as the Whitest large metro area in America. Whether or not related, there are strong indications a Black identity is less salient in Portland than in other parts of the country. In contrast, the city of Esmeraldas, Ecuador has the largest proportion of Black people compared to any other municipality in the country, approximately 40 percent, and counter to the general trend of eschewing Blackness in Ecuador and Latin America, in the city of Esmeraldas Blackness remains a significantly more salient identity choice for people of African descent than in other parts of the country. Contrary to Portland, the city and province of Esmeraldas in the national imagination are Black places.
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-78990-3
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/27240
Citation Details
Johnson, Ethan. “Blackness and Racial Mixture in Portland, Oregon and Esmeraldas, Ecuador.” In Relating Worlds of Racism: Dehumanisation, Belonging, and the Normativity of European Whiteness. Eds. P. Essed, et al. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.