This panel explores how US Black culture and people interact with contemporary Asian cosmopolitanism, ultimately proposing a new lens to theorize “Afro Asia.” “Afro Asia” is a political paradigm that typically points to the mid-20th century as a radical utopian moment of Black and Asian solidarity. Conventional scholarly discourses of Afro Asia nostalgize masculinist, leftist, and often essentializing political projects. The panel reconsiders these terms of Afro Asia by observing how contemporary Asian and US Black culture and people are bound by broader cultural ideas, affinities, and aspirations. Mark Villegas explores the universe of Black geek culture. Using the bassist/vocalist Thundercat, the rapper RZA, and Black geek conventions as examples, he demonstrates the role of anime in the world building of Black geek communities. Roderick Labrador examines the ways Jeff Bernat, a Filipino American R&B singer, songwriter, and producer, has been able to gain a significant fan base in different parts of Asia. Through Bernat, he investigates the racial, cultural, musical, and media infrastructures that permit the transoceanic flow of Black sound. Ethan Caldwell observes how Black diasporic singers forge understanding and belonging at the intersections of Blackness in Asia and Oceania through their performances of linguistic remixes to the “Black National Anthem,” “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Authors:
Mark Villegas, Franklin and Marshall College, United States
Roderick Labrador, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, United States
Ethan Caldwell, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Mark Redondo Villegas is an associate professor in American Studies at Franklin & Marshall College. His next book monograph in tentatively titled "Geek Hop: Study, Science, and Orientalism in Hip Hop Culture."

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-v-93b5922b6

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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