Becoming African in America

This work explores the emergence of an African identity in the late eighteenth-century Atlantic world, tracing its transformation from a derogatory term to a source of pride among enslaved individuals.

Becoming African in America by James Sidbury explores the evolution of African identity in the late eighteenth-century Atlantic world. The book traces the transformation of the term African, which originally carried derogatory connotations, into a symbol of pride and unity among the diverse individuals affected by the Atlantic slave trade. Initially, enslaved people identified themselves with their specific ethnic groups, such as the Temne, Igbo, or Yoruba, rather than as African.

Sidbury delves into the contributions of black writers like Ignatius Sancho and Phillis Wheatley, who played pivotal roles in shaping a narrative of African identity rooted in the shared experiences of the diaspora. This narrative emerged from the harsh realities of enslavement and the Middle Passage, allowing individuals of various ethnic backgrounds to embrace the term African as a collective identity born from their common struggle against oppression.

The book also examines the political activism that arose during the burgeoning antislavery movement in England and North America in the 1780s and 1790s. Sidbury highlights the establishment of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the efforts of figures like Paul Cuffe, who sought to create a black-controlled emigration movement linking Sierra Leone with the African diaspora in North America. Through its intricate weaving of intellectual, social, cultural, religious, and political elements, Becoming African in America significantly enhances our understanding of African American history and the complex origins of African nationalist thought in the United States and the broader black Atlantic.