Blackness in the White Nation - by George Reid Andrews (Paperback)

About the Book

Blackness in the White Nation: A History of Afro-Uruguay

Book Synopsis

Uruguay is not conventionally thought of as part of the African diaspora, yet during the period of Spanish colonial rule, thousands of enslaved Africans arrived in the country. Afro-Uruguayans played important roles in Uruguay's national life, creating the second-largest black press in Latin America, a racially defined political party, and numerous social and civic organizations.

Afro-Uruguayans were also central participants in the creation of Uruguayan popular culture and the country's principal musical forms, tango and candombe. Candombe, a style of African-inflected music, is one of the defining features of the nation's culture, embraced equally by white and black citizens.

In Blackness in the White Nation, George Reid Andrews offers a comprehensive history of Afro-Uruguayans from the colonial period to the present. Showing how social and political mobilization is intertwined with candombe, he traces the development of Afro-Uruguayan racial discourse and argues that candombe's evolution as a central part of the nation's culture has not fundamentally helped the cause of racial equality. Incorporating lively descriptions of his own experiences as a member of a candombe drumming and performance group, Andrews consistently connects the struggles of Afro-Uruguayans to the broader issues of race, culture, gender, and politics throughout Latin America and the African diaspora generally.

Review Quotes

"Blackness in the White Nation: A History of Afro-Uruguay, offers a refreshingly nuanced and successful statement on the continuing importance of nation-specific analyses in the study of blackness and black history." -- H-Net Reviews

"[An] engagingly written, creative, and politically relevant study." -- Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"A fabulous read . . . . Andrews is a superb comparativist, and in his hands, the story of a small black population in a small country -- far from being a curiosity or mere footnote to Afro-Latin American history -- sheds new light on the specificity and contingency of patterns of racial formation and mobilization across the region." -- The Americas

"A valuable contribution to the broader history of the African presence in Latin America which has gathered considerable momentum in recent years." -- Latin American Review of Books

"It is striking how seamlessly Andrews integrates diverse sources into this fascinating history." -- Hispanic American Historical Review