Comparative Perspectives on Afro-Latin America

A review of Comparative Perspectives on Afro-Latin America by Kwame Dixon and John Burdick (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2012. 382 pp., ISBN 978-0-8130-3756-1) reviewed by Eric R. Jackson (Book Review Editor, The Journal of Pan African Studies; jacksoner@nku.edu) Associate Professor, Department of History and Geography; Director--Black Studies Program; Northern Kentucky University. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The United States immigration system is outdated and in many ways almost completely broken. Thousands of employers have manipulated the system to hire thousands of undocumented workers from Latin America, particularly those of African descent. It is estimated that about eleven million illegal immigrants now call the United States their home. Also important to this situation is the various voices that emerged during and soon after the 2001 "World Conference Against Racism" that was held in Durban, South Africa that referenced the immigration problem of the United States. Thus, the one million dollar question is what can be done to resolve this dilemma in a fair and comprehensive fashion? One way to tactical this problem is to examine and understand the cultural heritage and countless histories of some of the major groups of Latin American migrants who seek employment and a better life in the United States. The editors of this volume, Kwame Dixon and John Burdick, members of the African American Studies and Anthropology Departments at Syracuse University respectively, seek to perform this task in the book under review here. In Comparative Perspectives of Afro-Latin America Dixon and Burdick offers a powerful and original collection of fifteen essays by various prominent scholars who explore the topics of Blackness and cultural differences, Black political mobilization, and various Latin American countries' responses to Afro-Latin activism throughout Latin America. More importantly, however, the overall goal of the editors was to create a volume that will "provide a range of disciplinary perspectives, in-depth regional coverage, and cutting-edge analysis of Afro-descendant peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean" (1). Also important was the editors' quest to investigate "how the region's Afro-descendants are reconfiguring notions of citizenship, territory, race, gender, belonging, and nation" (1). The volume is divided into three thematic sections titled "Blackness and Cultural Differences," "Afro Social Movements and Mobilization," and "State Responses" respectively. Each section discusses some aspect of either the cultural heritage or the potent contemporary realities of the numerous Afro-Latin American socio-economic, political, societal, and ethnic challenges and complexities of this region of the Western Hemisphere that has received little attention from most scholars, political leaders, and community activists. Also included in this volume is a masterful balance of gender-focused essays that broadens the book far beyond any of its competitors. Finally, this book contains several essays that examine a wide-ranging of geographical locations and Afro-Latin American experiences from at least nine different countries. Comparative Perspectives of Afro-Latin America, in general, contains numerous profound and powerful essays that rest on the use of an abundance of personal interviews from members of a variety of Afro-Latin American communities that rarely have had a voice outside of their specific location. The use of this type of research methodology greatly enhances the creditability and authenticity of each essay. Also crucial is that the use of this methodology helps the authors greatly analyze the subjects of race, gender, ethnicity, political activism, and geographical location with great ease. For instance, in the essay titled "The Black Movement's Foot Soldiers: Black Women and Neighborhood Struggles for Land Rights in Brazil," author Keisha-Klan Y. …