The Political-Cultural Category of Amefricanity

This chapter presents a translation of Lélia Gonzalez&s;s foundational essay “The Political-Cultural Category of Amefricanity.” Lélia Gonzalez challenges Eurocentric and US-centric narratives by proposing Amefricanity as a category, which should be used to better reflect the shared African heritage, historical experience, resistance and cultural creativity of Black populations in the Americas – that is, throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, and beyond, also in parts including the US. The chapter focuses on how the Black presence in the Americas must be understood not through mere imported categories or imposed ones, as is the case with the term African-American. Rather, this Black presence and these Black experiences should be analysed through a concept that arises from the lived historical and cultural experience across the entire continent. The chapter shows that the category of Amefricanity is not just a cultural identity but a political and epistemological tool for resistance and transformation. It resists both Eurocentric whiteness and US-centric imperialism, suggesting instead a continent-wide Black consciousness rooted in shared creativity and survival.