Afro-Cypriots: Prejudice, Colourism, Racism, and Rising Black Consciousness in Cyprus

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on Afro-Cypriots, whose ancestors came to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus during the Ottoman period. The paper contributes to extant literature by exploring the impact of colonialism, racism, and slavery by questioning the ways Afro-Cypriots navigate their identities within the particular context of North Cyprus. By de-emphasizing the ethnic division of Turkish and Greek Cypriot identities, this paper focuses on the shifts from double consciousness to developing Afro-Cypriot consciousness. A rich methodology of oral history interview analyses from 20 Black Cypriots and a life-story narrative of a pioneering Black Cypriot expose the communal and familial microaggressions towards darker skin tones. We explore how colonial construction of ethnicity as a master status creates double consciousness for Black Cypriots. The paper concludes with a call against colour prejudice in Cyprus for a positive shift in Afro-Cypriot people's everyday experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Afro-Cypriots
• Black consciousness
• mix-raced
• colourism
• Cyprus

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Umut Ozkaleli

Umut Ozkaleli is an Associate Professor at ADA University. She earned her PhD from Syracuse University-Maxwell School. Her research interests are intersectionality, agency, gendered war memories and refugee experiences. Her articles appeared in the academic journals such as International Feminist Journal of Politics, Women's Studies International Forum, Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, Asian Journal of Women's Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Ethnic & Racial Studies, and Departures in Critical Qualitative Research.

Serap Kanay

Serap Kanay is a freelance artist, social commentator, and a tourist guide. She earned a research master degree in Cultural Analysis from University of Amsterdam. In her installations she deals with memory, gendered oral history and African heritage where she employs the use of sound, text, textiles and photographs as medium. She participated in exhibitions and paper presentations in Cyprus, England, Sweden, France and Germany.