Majid Hannoum, Ali A. Mazrui Senior Fellow in Residence at The Africa Institute, participated in Colorism 2.0: Insights from Psychology, Economics, and the Media, held at New York University Abu Dhabi on April 17–18, 2025. The international conference convened leading scholars and practitioners to examine how skin color continues to shape lived experience, social status, and structural inequality across cultural and regional contexts.
Speaking on the second day of the conference during the session Borders and Boundaries, Professor Hannoum presented his paper, Colorism and Racial Grammar in Morocco. Drawing from his extensive research in the region, he examined how anti-Black racism in Morocco is shaped by colonial-era racial frameworks that continue to influence perceptions of sub-Saharan African migrants today.
Professor Hannoum introduced the concept of “racial grammar” to describe the persistent structures of racial categorization that have defined Moroccan society since colonial rule. He argued that colonial regimes embedded whiteness as the normative reference point, producing a racial hierarchy that has persisted into the present and continues to shape attitudes toward Blackness, especially in the context of migration.
Highlighting Morocco’s position as a key route for migrants seeking entry into Europe, Hannoum noted that these new migration patterns have intensified the visibility of race in a region where it has historically been overlooked in academic discourse. The resulting tensions, he suggested, reveal how deeply racial distinctions are embedded in collective social imaginaries.
His presentation brought a critical North African perspective to a global conversation about colorism’s psychological, economic, and media dimensions. The conference featured speakers from institutions including Georgetown University Qatar, Adler University, and the NYU Global Network, and aimed to foster collaborative approaches to understanding and addressing colorism in both historical and contemporary contexts. Hosted in UAE’s capital, known for its diversity, Colorism 2.0 reaffirmed the value of cross-cultural dialogue and interdisciplinary approaches to addressing persistent forms of discrimination tied to skin color.
Hannoum is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Kansas and the author of numerous books on colonialism, race, and regional identity in North Africa, including The Invention of the Maghreb and Living Tangier. During his current fellowship at The Africa Institute, he is working on a new book examining French secularism in Algeria and its entanglements with local religious traditions.
Applications for The Africa Institute’s 2026 Senior and Postdoctoral Fellowships are now open. Deadline: August 1, 2025.
Majid Hannoum, Ali A. Mazrui Senior Fellow in Residence at The Africa Institute, participated in Colorism 2.0: Insights from Psychology, Economics, and the Media, held at New York University Abu Dhabi on April 17–18, 2025. The international conference convened leading scholars and practitioners to examine how skin color continues to shape lived experience, social status, and structural inequality across cultural and regional contexts.
Majid Hannoum, Ali A. Mazrui Senior Fellow in Residence at The Africa Institute, participated in Colorism 2.0: Insights from Psychology, Economics, and the Media, held at New York University Abu Dhabi on April 17–18, 2025. The international conference convened leading scholars and practitioners to examine how skin color continues to shape lived experience, social status, and structural inequality across cultural and regional contexts.
Speaking on the second day of the conference during the session Borders and Boundaries, Professor Hannoum presented his paper, Colorism and Racial Grammar in Morocco. Drawing from his extensive research in the region, he examined how anti-Black racism in Morocco is shaped by colonial-era racial frameworks that continue to influence perceptions of sub-Saharan African migrants today.
Professor Hannoum introduced the concept of “racial grammar” to describe the persistent structures of racial categorization that have defined Moroccan society since colonial rule. He argued that colonial regimes embedded whiteness as the normative reference point, producing a racial hierarchy that has persisted into the present and continues to shape attitudes toward Blackness, especially in the context of migration.
Highlighting Morocco’s position as a key route for migrants seeking entry into Europe, Hannoum noted that these new migration patterns have intensified the visibility of race in a region where it has historically been overlooked in academic discourse. The resulting tensions, he suggested, reveal how deeply racial distinctions are embedded in collective social imaginaries.
His presentation brought a critical North African perspective to a global conversation about colorism’s psychological, economic, and media dimensions. The conference featured speakers from institutions including Georgetown University Qatar, Adler University, and the NYU Global Network, and aimed to foster collaborative approaches to understanding and addressing colorism in both historical and contemporary contexts. Hosted in UAE’s capital, known for its diversity, Colorism 2.0 reaffirmed the value of cross-cultural dialogue and interdisciplinary approaches to addressing persistent forms of discrimination tied to skin color.
Hannoum is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Kansas and the author of numerous books on colonialism, race, and regional identity in North Africa, including The Invention of the Maghreb and Living Tangier. During his current fellowship at The Africa Institute, he is working on a new book examining French secularism in Algeria and its entanglements with local religious traditions.
Applications for The Africa Institute’s 2026 Senior and Postdoctoral Fellowships are now open. Deadline: August 1, 2025.
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