Negotiating Black Identity

Abstract

This paper interrogates location as a fulcrum for hybrid identity creation for African characters in Africa, African Americans and African characters in the Diaspora. Over time, identity has been negotiated on the basis of race, ethnicity and religion. These are often linked to a specific place and find expression in definitions of culture, suggesting location as a necessary component of culture and, by extension, a major influence on identity. Conceptual notions of diaspora and hybridity, as explored within the postcolonial theory, serve as the framework which research uses to comparatively query the negotiation of hybrid identity as given in Roots by Alex Haley and Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. These two texts represent African American and African characters’ experiences, respectively. The study aims to reveal that regardless of regional difference and other nuances in the experiences of African American and African characters, hybrid identity creation for both African American and African characters, is tied to location—which, in this case, is Africa.