Understanding Colorism Across Global Lines: Professor Diabate’s Scholarly Contributions to the Field

Naminata Diabate, the Ali Mazrui Senior Research Fellow at The Africa Institute Sharjah and an Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at Cornell University, participated in the annual conference on “Colorism Across Global Lines” organized by the NYU Abu Dhabi Office of Inclusion and Equity. The conference was held on May 15-16, 2023.

This global symposium addressed the impact of colorism – a subject often overlooked and centered around bi-racial identities within the U.S. American context – and its manifestations in different parts of the world such as Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The conference featured keynote addresses by Fatiah Touray, Executive Director for Inclusion and Equity at NYUAD, and Michaela Angela Davis, a writer, creative director, producer, and image activist.

On May 16, Professor Diabate presented a session titled “Making Sense of Light Skin, Privileges, and Womanhood: Social and Linguistic Excursions in Malinké.” Her presentation examined pop music and phrases in Malinké that praise light-skinned women, aiming to argue the contingency of the linguistic and social significance of skin color. By focusing on the language usage in Malinké, she challenged the notion of lightness as a fixed category and an inherent result of Western influence.

Professor Diabate’s participation in the conference provided valuable insights into the complex and nuanced nature of colorism and how it operates in different cultural contexts. Her contributions were well-received by the audience, and her work continues to influence the academic and broader community’s understanding of issues related to race, gender, and identity.

“As a comparatist, I aim to redefine our starting point in the discussion on the origins, manifestations, and futures of colorism. Typically, the debate, both popular and scholarly, on colorism – the discrimination and prejudice against people with darker skin tones – looks outward, mainly towards Europe and the United States, to trace its origins. This is understandable as the concept originated within Black Studies in the United States in the 1980s, and Alice Walker is believed to have coined the term,” Professor Diabate explained.

“Although this perspective is useful, the emphasis on external factors in non-American and non-European societies obscures another dimension: the inclination of humans to hierarchize and dominate, which often becomes embedded in the language we speak. Language structures and conditions our worldviews, dispositions, and values. Therefore, I encourage scholars to examine how language upholds and perpetuates colorism. Drawing on my experience as a dark-skinned woman, I analyze proverbs, jokes, popular music, and other language genres in Mandé, my primary language spoken across nine African countries and their diasporas. I demonstrate how the language privileges light-skinned women through translation, philological, and speculative approaches. The fact that the term ‘moussogbè’ (the light-skinned woman) is a single word while the supposed opposite ‘mousso fin’ (dark-skinned woman) requires two words highlights the social and emotional disposition towards women of a specific skin shade,” she added.

Professor Diabate further emphasized the importance of historicizing these language adaptations to determine their origins. She raised questions about whether these statements are independent creations of the language speakers and if there are political, historical, cultural, or social factors contributing to their emergence. Additionally, she explored the influence of contact with the “outside” world, particularly the Arab and European worlds, on the language of the Mandé people. She noted that the Mandé people, primarily known as traders, have had contact with Arabs and the Muslim world since the 7th century and with Europeans since the 19th century through colonization. However, determining the impact of these contacts requires scholars to analyze the historical context of these language adaptations.

Therefore, as the notion of colorism expands into different geographic contexts, Professor Diabate argued that a different analysis is necessary to accurately understand its origins and manifestations. Her insights carry implications for theoretical and methodological approaches and policy strategies to combat colorism. She proposed a re-evaluation of language, considering how biases may be embedded within it.

Professor Diabate’s scholarly work in African and African diaspora studies, sexuality and gender studies, and linguistic expertise in Malinké, French, English, Nouchi, Spanish, and Latin have redefined how we understand specific forms of embodied agency in the neoliberal present in global Africa.

Her recent book, “Naked Agency: Genital Cursing and Biopolitics in Africa,” provocatively explores defiant disrobing, erotic pleasure, and the impact of Internet media on queerness. The book was awarded the African Studies Association (ASA) 2021 Best Book Prize and the African Literature Association (ALA) 2022 First Book Award.

In addition to her contributions to academia, Professor Diabate has made regular appearances in various media outlets, including newspapers, women’s magazines, and podcasts such as NBC News, BBC’s The Comb, PBS’s Academic Minute, and The New Books in Women’s History podcast.