Pasifika Black: Oceania, Anti-colonialism, and the African World

Pasifika Black is a book that explores the understudied anti-colonial movements in Oceania, highlighting how indigenous Oceanic activists forged international connections with the African world to fight for liberation. It features Oceania's playwrights, organizers, religious leaders, scholars, Black Power advocates, musicians, environmental justice activists, feminists, and revolutionaries who carried the banners of Black liberation across the globe. The book is a triumphant history and a tragic reminder of the ongoing quests for decolonization in Oceania, the African world, and the Global South.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 01 May 2022
Publisher: New York University Press

Oceania is a vast expanse of islands, encompassing large-scale political conflicts and remarkable historical events. Pasifika Black is a captivating exploration of understudied anti-colonial movements within this region, shedding light on how indigenous Oceanic activists strategically established international connections with the African world to pursue liberation. Drawing from extensive research conducted in Fiji, Australia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Britain, and the United States, Quito Swan demonstrates how liberation struggles in Oceania actively engaged Black internationalism in their diverse battles against colonial rule.

Pasifika Black serves as a testament to the remarkable individuals who played pivotal roles in carrying the banners of Black liberation across the globe. These protagonists include Oceania's diverse array of playwrights, organizers, religious leaders, scholars, Black Power advocates, musicians, environmental justice activists, feminists, and revolutionaries. The book places artists such as Aboriginal poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal and her 1976 call for a Black Pacific in conversation with Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka, Nuclear Free and Independent Pacifics leader Amelia Rokotuivuna, Samoan politician Albert Wendt, African American anthropologist Angela Gilliam, NAACP leader Roy Wilkins, West Papuan activist Ben Tanggahma, New Caledonian politician Déwé Gorodey, and Polynesian Panther Will 'Ilolahia. By doing so, Swan highlights the conscious and meticulous connections forged by Oceanic activists to connect Black metropoles across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

In a world grappling with the profound global significance of Black Lives Matter and state-sanctioned violence against Black and Brown bodies, Pasifika Black emerges as a triumphal history and a poignant reminder of the ongoing struggles. It serves as a testament to the resilience and determination of those who have fought against oppression and injustice, and it underscores the importance of recognizing and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities worldwide.

Weight: 700g
Dimension: 161 x 236 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479885084