Why have the struggles of the African Diaspora so resonated with
South Pacific people? How have Maori, Pasifika and Pakeha activists
incorporated the ideologies of the African diaspora into their
struggle against colonial rule and racism, and their pursuit of
social justice?
This book challenges
predominant understandings of the historical linkages that make up
the (post-)colonial world. The author goes beyond both the domination
of the Atlantic viewpoint, and the correctives now being offered by
South Pacific and Indian Ocean studies, to look at how the Atlantic
ecumene is refracted in and has influenced the Pacific ecumene. The
book is empirically rich, using extensive interviews, participation
and archival work and focusing on the politics of Black Power and the
Rastafari faith. It is also theoretically sophisticated, offering an
innovative hermeneutical critique of post-colonial and subaltern
studies.
The Black Pacific
is essential reading for students and scholars of Politics,
International Relations, History and Anthropology interested in
anti-colonial struggles, anti-racism and the quests for equality,
justice, freedom and self-determination.