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

What is it about?

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.

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