A Disconnected Diaspora? Emerging Scholarly Conversations on Anti-Blackness in Poland

Semi-structured interviews conducted with Afro-Polish and other black Polish residents/citizens show that blackness and the racism that comes of it is bestowed upon them by others (mainly white Poles) in Poland but not necessarily by their own self interpretations.  Although they acknowledge their African-ness and blackness, the subjects interviewed do not necessarily live their lives with a heightened sense of “blackness.”  The subjects suggest that “blackness” and thereby “anti-blackness” is always there, but the oppression is not quite “front and center.”  Such findings provide a unique theoretical case that Mueller’s Theory of Racial Ignorance can fit nicely with. Moreover, conversations on the connection and disconnection of African Diasporic communities in Poland has emerged in the research which will be beneficial to broaden conversations on African Diaspora Studies in the American academy. 

About the Presenter:
Bryan L. Greene is currently a PhD Student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Connecticut, with research interest broadly speaking in race, racism, gender/sexuality and public policy.  He received a master’s degree in Sociology in 2020 from The New School for Social Research (NSSR) in New York, NY.  He received dual bachelor’s degrees in Political Science, International Studies and African-American Studies from The Ohio State University back in 2006.  He also holds graduate degrees from the University of Connecticut (UCONN), Rutgers University-Newark and The Graduate Center at the City University of New York (CUNY).  For the 2022-2023 academic year, Bryan is conducting research on anti-black racism in Poland as a Fulbright US Student Researcher.