BLM in Sudan: Addressing the Country’s Anti-Blackness

Anti-Blackness is not uniquely American, yet the solution to racism in the United States cannot neatly be transferred to countries in which white supremacy is not the root cause of their own anti-Blackness. This is not to say that white supremacy doesn't have its tentacles around the whole world, but in most Western countries, the issue is white vs. Black. In other countries, beyond the focus of much dialogue, it's Black vs. Blacker. Sudan, in particular, is a country in which everyone is Black in appearance, yet the racism many in the region face stems from a complicated history of Arab superiority, which I explored in detail in my last blog. Therefore, understanding how to combat racism in Sudan requires a re-examination of the way anti-Blackness is framed when it is discussed in the country.

So where does Sudan go from here? The obvious solution is for the country to embrace its unique identity as Afro-Arab, an identity that is rarely shared anywhere else in the world. Yet, Sudanese people always gravitate toward one over the other, consciously and subconsciously, within the country and throughout the diaspora. It doesn't help that some Arabs don't consider Sudanese as Arabs and some Africans don't consider Sudanese as Africans. Those Sudanese who lean toward their Arab identity cite the fact that Arabs were the first Muslims and the people who spread Islam to the world, therefore seeing a certain prestige in being associated with that. They argue that Arab civilization lifted African civilizations, which were "limited and mysterious," since Arabs came from a faraway land rich in innovations and products that reflected their advancement in contrast to pre-Arab Sudanese ways. This way of thinking is engraved in the mind of Sudanese northerners and southerners alike, with the latter feeling a sense of internalized inferiority.

However, there has also been a rise in African pride, especially with how the explosion of hip-hop and rap music's popularity in the late 1990s made it "cool" for many Sudanese to self-identify primarily as Black rather than Arab. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the diaspora, with many young Sudanese participating in the cultural wave of embracing their Black identity and Afro roots. Today, you will see many Sudanese Americans participating in Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests as well as on the frontlines of the natural hair movement.

Ultimately, Sudanese do not make up a homogeneous group, no matter how hard the country's Arab elite tries. With over 19 major ethnic groups and over 500 different languages in Sudan, it is not possible to give a comprehensive description of each tribe, their subgroups, and their different cultural, religious, and linguistic identities. However, one should appreciate that the social landscape of Sudan is very diverse, and for Sudan to move forward, it must realize that this diversity is a strength rather than a weakness. Sudan always has been and always will be a multi-ethnic, multi-religious melting pot. Multi-ethnic given its minorities and various Arab, Afro-Arab, and African tribes, and multi-religious given its diverse population of Muslims, Christians, and other faiths.

Right now, the BLM movement is at the forefront of the global conversation on race. America's structural racism is exposed to the rest of the world, and in many other countries, such as France, the UK, Belgium, and South Africa, people are protesting their own national racial injustices through George Floyd's death. The global anti-racism solidarity is both historic and promising, suggesting that the future can be different. However, it is important to be mindful of an interesting quote credited to Sebabatso Manoeli:

"The American framework for anti-Black racism is rooted in white supremacy, stemming from Europe's long history of racism and through its imperialist occupations in large parts of the world. However, although this specific prism illuminates anti-Black racism in post-colonial cities and countries, it inadvertently conceals it in places with different histories. The current global public discourse does not yet adequately include anti-Black racism beyond how the West and white settler states experience and theorize it. Indeed, white supremacy has given us the most sophisticated forms of racism — replete with expansive colonialism and convoluted legal systems that produced seamless segregation and virulent oppression, from the Jim Crow South to apartheid South Africa. Yet, far less is known and done about the many forms of anti-Black racism suffered elsewhere. If we do not ensure that our frames of reference include white supremacy, and expand beyond it, we will betray our Euro-centricity… This is a time to seek to understand anti-Black racism in less influential countries, where it might not fit into neat narratives, but maims and kills nonetheless."

As Manoeli argued, in the period following Sudan's independence, which aligned with the U.S. civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, the world could only understand, and therefore fight, racism in places like the U.S. and South Africa. However, the world did not have the framework to understand racism in places like Khartoum. As a result, the Sudanese people did not receive international support to address anti-Black racism within their country. Several Sudanese civil wars and a genocide later, one sees that unaddressed anti-Black racism has deadly consequences. And as anti-racism protests swept through various parts of the world following George Floyd's death in May 2020, in Sudan there was little take-up of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.

Alongside the transnational solidarity that George Floyd's killing has ignited, there must be a concurrent effort to understand Blackness across borders. It is time to acknowledge anti-Black racism in not only Sudan, but also across the rest of Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Australia, and many other places. A truly global effort to end anti-Black racism will have to simultaneously address it not only in major countries like the U.S., but also in less prominent countries that do not receive as much attention. Only after this deeper examination of racism can the liberation of all Black people be championed everywhere.

Sudan is in a period of change and is currently headed by a transitional government after the 2019 overthrow of Omar al-Bashir, who had held power since 1989 and was culpable for numerous atrocities. This is the perfect time for Sudan to address its most challenging issues. The government can do this by revising the national legal code to loosen strict Islamic and Arabized laws, which, to its credit, it has already begun. It can also promote the appointment of historically marginalized people into government, business, and banking in order to make these sectors more representative of the overall population. Finally, it should implement an education program, starting in primary schools, that embraces Sudan's rich cultural history, multi-ethnicity, and social diversity. As for the rest of the world, there needs to be a global effort by universities, NGOs, and think tanks to study anti-Blackness in countries both within and outside North America and Europe, so that the global discourse surrounding BLM is not limited to ending just white supremacy, but all forms of racism.

Mustafa Abubakr is a pre-law student studying Sociology and International Relations and Diplomacy at The Ohio State University. He was a Stafford Capacity Building Intern with the Wilson Africa Program in 2020.

Photo credit: People protesting over George Floyd's death during the Black Lives Matter Movement in New York City on June 5, 2020. Credit: Tetiana.photographer/Shutterstock. Source: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-city-usa-june-5-1749606074.

Citations

Amir Ahmed, "Ending Sudan's Identity Crisis." The Guardian, June 10, 2011, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/10/sudan-identity-crisis-north-south.

Deng Aling, "Exploring the Identity of Sudanese Culture. Is It Arabic or African?" This Is Africa, Feb 16, 2016, https://thisisafrica.me/african-identities/16613-2/.

Manu Ampim, "Racial Identity In The Sudan: Dispelling Popular Myths." Manu Ampim – Racial Identity in the Sudan, Jan 21, 2008, https://manuampim.com/racialD2.html.

Nina Evason, "North Sudanese Culture." Cultural Atlas, https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/north-sudanese-culture/north-sudanese-culture-core-concepts.

Sebabatso C. Manoeli, "'We Have No Harlem in Sudan'." Africa Is a Country, June 29, 2020, https://africasacountry.com/2020/06/we-have-no-harlem-in-sudan.

Fareeha Rehman, "The Sudanese Identity." Fourth Estate, April 24, 2017, http://gmufourthestate.com/2017/04/24/14888/.

Zeinab Mohammed Salih, "Viewpoint from Sudan – Where Black People Are Called Slaves." BBC News, BBC, July 25, 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53147864.