Filling the void: Disseminating 'blackness' in Japan
To date, others have been the purveyors of blackness in Japan, serving up a hodgepodge of inaccuracies and misinformation. Black educators in Japan are changing that dynamic for the better.
For the past 10 years, my column for the Japan Times, Black Eye, has focused primarily on black lives in Japan because I believe that information, education, and, of course, legislation are the major keys to addressing race issues. How blackness (in all its multitudinous manifestations) is introduced to Japanese minds is of paramount importance.
To date, historians and educators of European descent and the media have been the primary purveyors of blackness globally, and, to put it mildly, this has been an unmitigated disaster. That is to say that when this information hasn't been inundated with inaccuracies, it's incomplete to the point of footnoting the extensive history of black contributions to humanity into irrelevance.
This remains an impediment to black strides toward equality, dignity, and respect on a global basis. Not to mention the direct history between people of African descent and Japanese —my main concern as a 20-year resident here— which has been woefully under-taught. What the mainstream public here doesn't know leaves a void that often gets filled with what it thinks it knows, which history has shown easily lends itself to the baser aspects of human nature.
Academically, here in Japan, the filling of that void has been largely in the hands of Japanese educators, but, as a venerable scholar of color here in Japan once said, "Blacks must communicate directly with the Japanese and explain the meaning and substance of black aspirations." That gentleman's name is Reginald Kearney, Ph.D., an educator who first blessed these shores in 1957. Yep, you read that right, 1957! But I'll come back to that.
Several professors of African descent live and teach in Japan. Some specialize in areas of research like anthropology, sociology, history, politics—even race relations—but the majority of the ones I've met over the years are (or were) teaching language-related curricula, mostly English, which by no means should be discounted.
Any conspicuous non-Japanese living here knows that whatever your occupation, in the minds of many Japanese outside your circle of friends and family, you'll always be moonlighting as that. First and foremost, your primary and perpetual occupation is that of a representative of the outside world. And, particularly in the case of black people, where the knowledge of our vast diversity is sorely limited (encapsulated in the convenient and reductive label kokujin), our behavior and attributes will invariably be attached to anyone who even vaguely resembles a "kokujin" and amended to the list of stereotypes and presumptions already floating around about our ilk.
Like it or not, we are all uncredentialed ambassadors of “Blackness.”
As an unofficial envoy of all things un-Japanese, you won't have perks like diplomatic immunity, but you will be granted substantial influence and presented with incalculable opportunities to educate your hosts. Or mis-educate them: I can't tell you how many times I've sat in a cafe or bar straining not to overhear some emissary of a non-Asian persuasion diffusing disparaging propaganda about the world outside Japan like it's indisputable fact. And I'm positive anyone harboring any delusions of racial supremacy sitting in earshot of this here conscripted ambassador of global blackness has heard some language that's gotten their dander up as well.
All of this makes me all the more thankful that there are true-to-life professional educators of African descent here, doing the right thing, with the bona fides to back it up. Offhand, I can only think of a handful (but I intend to remedy that soon). Among them, there's, of course, John G. Russell, professor of anthropology at Gifu University, whose research here in Japan is damn near legendary in certain circles. There's Ben Karp, an adjunct fellow at Temple University's Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies. And there's Avril Haye Matsui of Aichi Prefectural University (an educator I've profiled previously on Black Eye), whose dissertation on the experiences of black women in Japan I had the privilege of attending.
There’s Nsenda Lukumwena, an architect who teaches urban planning at Kwansei Gakuin University in Kansai, and the former president of Kyoto Seika University, Oussouby Sacko. And, just putting out feelers in preparation for this article, a whole host of others have popped up on my radar.
These men and women have dedicated their lives and intellects to what Professor Kearney characterized as "an uphill battle." Ideally, I'll be speaking with not just black scholars but Japanese scholars, too, because, as it stands, it will chiefly be Japanese curating blackness in Japan for years to come.
Several years back, I was co-teaching a couple of classes at Temple University Japan with Eric L. Robinson, creative director of Black Tokyo (If you're not familiar with BT, it's a helluva resource for material related to the black experience in Japan) and owner and operator of the Black Tokyo Store in Yokosuka. We lectured about the sociology of race, racial profiling, and Trump's ascendency. It was then that I first heard the name Reginald Kearney.
"The impact of Dr. Kearney's academic research and publications has contributed to my overall understanding of both past and present Japan," Robinson said. "His works often examine the overlooked, disregarded or muted interactions between the Japanese and those of the African diaspora."
Robinson told me that Kearney was one of his main motivations for his research into the negative imagery of blacks, other foreigners, and the U.S. military in Japan. I was hooked and wanted to know how I could catch up with the man. "Easier said than done," Robinson said, informing me that Kearney teaches at a university in Okinawa during the academic year and spends much of his free time off the grid, scuba diving, and such. "Good luck."
I did some sniffing around and found out that Robinson wasn't the only scholar inspired by Kearney's work. Kearney's exploration of the impact of Japan, the Japanese, and the idea of Japan on African Americans has blazed a trail and served as a resource for quite a bit of scholarly research on the relationship between blacks and Japanese.
"I think anyone interested in Japan tries to connect the dots, to draw connections between Japan and their own society or culture," said John G. Russell in an email. "For white Americans, these connections are known (although some have opted to ignore or forget them); for black Americans, they are largely hidden, and it takes some digging to unearth them. Dr. Kearney was one of the first to take up the shovel, do the heavy lifting, and point out that black America's relationship with Japan did not begin, as so many think, with the Occupation."
I initially set out with due diligence to reach Professor Kearney but had no luck. Just as I was about to give up and set my sights elsewhere, I got a message on social media from none other than the good doctor himself. I wound up interviewing him that very same evening. We spoke for over three hours in what could best be described as a mini-graduate course.
During that conversation, I decided it was time to find out — and, of course, share with you guys — about the true state of scholarship in Japan in regards to Africans and the African diaspora and the people behind it, regardless of their nationality.
Coming soon, I'll be sharing with you guys Kearney's epic story, which spans six decades, from his experiences as a U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa during the U.S. Occupation to the sweeping project he's currently researching on African-Americans who have expatriated or resided in Japan long-term. This will be followed by a series of profiles of other Japan-based scholars who have answered this crucial calling to fill the void.
This story is way overdue, but the wait is almost over.
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