Afropolitan

Afropolitan is a term constructed from the name Africa and the ancient Greek root -polis, which literally means city. Polis can also mean citizenship or body of citizens. It is to the latter meaning that the term Afropolitan takes its essence. It is an attempt at redefining African phenomena by placing emphasis on ordinary citizens' experiences in Africa. Afropolitanism is similar to the older Panafricanism ideology. However, it defines being an "African" in explicitly continent-wide and multiracial terms, and rejects all pretensions to victimhood.

As J.A. Mbembe & Sarah Nuttall write: "In an attempt to overturn predominant readings of Africa, we need to identify sites within the continent...not usually dwelt upon in research and public discourse, that defamiliarize commonplace readings of Africa." 352. These sites include fields like fashion, visual art, music and spiritual concerns.

The term was popularized in 2005 by a widely disseminated essay, "Bye-Bye, Babar (Or: What is an Afropolitan?)" by the author Taiye Selasi. Originally published in March 2005 in the Africa Issue of the LIP Magazine, the essay defines an Afropolitan identity, sensibility and experience. The critiques of the Afropolitan, as portrayed by Selasi in Bye-Bye, Babar, condemn its elitism and class biased approach. Susanne Gehrmann states that Selasi’s Afropolitan “is addicted to urban hip life” and “international careers.” However, the essay is important in discussing where emigrantes of Africa fit into the spectrum of African. Knudsen and Rahbek suggest that Bye-Bye, Babar “is an integral part [in the] ongoing conversation about the relationship between identity and individuality” in the way that it “speaks to the individual” who may feel alone in the sense that they do not have “labels or identities” to understand their positioning in the world. In 2006 the essay was republished by the Michael Stevenson Gallery in Cape Town and in 2007 by The Nation in Nairobi, whereupon it went viral. Several communities, artists, and publications now use the label, most notably The Afropolitan Network, The Afropolitan Experience, The Afropolitan Legacy Theatre, The Afropolitan Collection, and South Africa's The Afropolitan Magazine. In June 2011 The Victoria and Albert Museum hosted "Friday Late: Afropolitans" in London. In September 2011 the Houston Museum of African American Culture convened the symposium "Africans in America: The New Beat of Afropolitans,” featuring author Teju Cole, musician Derrick Ashong and artist Wangechi Mutu alongside Selasi.

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