Introduction: New Directions in African Diaspora Archaeology

“The Future of Archaeology Is Antiracist”: Archaeology in the Time of Black Lives Matter

“…These include Angela Davis's (2003) work on mass incarceration; Kimberle Crenshaw's (1989) interventions in theorizing inequality and difference; Dána-Ain Davis's (2019) research on Black women's reproductive rights; and Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi's cofounding of the Black Lives Matter movement (Khan-Cullors and Bandele 2017). Black feminist scholarship is relevant to historicizing, critiquing, and deconstructing power relations (Alexander 2006;Hartman 1997;hooks 2014;Lorde 2012;McKittrick 2006;Sharpe 2016), and it has inspired critical work in archaeology (Arjona 2017;Battle-Baptiste 2011;Franklin 2001;Lee and Scott 2019;Morris 2017;Sesma 2016;Sterling 2015;Wilkie 2003).…”

“…Fundamentally, Black archaeology is rooted in the tradition of Black Studies generally, and Black feminism more specifically (Battle-Baptiste 2011; Flewellen 2017;Franklin 2001;Sterling 2015). Recognizing its Black feminist roots, inquiry and interpretation must be intersectional (Lee and Scott 2019), embracing the ways in which the interstices of race, class, and gender scaffold Black experiences.…”

“…The common ground for many is African diaspora archaeology and a commitment to addressing inequality in the treatment of cultural resources and historical narratives of marginalized groups (Agbe- Davies 2014;Flewellen 2017;Martin 2019;Ogundiran and Falola 2007;Singleton 1999Singleton , 2010White 2010White , 2017 within archival spaces (Flewellen 2020), through community-based research (Agbe-Davies 2010a; Battle- Baptiste 2017;Franklin and Lee 2020;Jones and Pickens 2020;LaRoche 2012;Mullins and Jones 2011;Skipper 2014;White 2010), and in field-based educational practices (Jones 2011;Odewale et al 2018). Our commitment to the field extends to forging new pathways forward (Battle-Baptiste 2011;Franklin and McKee 2004;Lee and Scott 2019). Although African diaspora archaeology was certainly a draw, it was also the public-facing and decolonizing practices of archaeologists more broadly that engendered our dedication to a career in this field (e.g., Atalay 2006Atalay , 2012Colwell-Chanthaphonh and Ferguson 2008;Larkin and McGuire 2009;Nassaney and Levine 2009;Orser 2001;Reeves 2004;Shackel et al 1998;Singleton 1999).…”

Introduction: Current Directions in Community Archaeology of the African Diaspora

“…All archaeology is political, and community archaeology, with its resurfacing of potentially dark histories, is especially so (Ayan-Vila and Gonzalez-Ruibal 2014). Rooted in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, the archaeology of the African Diaspora represents not just greater visibility of African American history but an active engagement with the racial politics of archaeology as a whole (Blakey 2020;Lee and Scott 2019). African Diaspora archaeology has "contributed to the growth of an active community of scholars-both of African and European descent-eager to align their scholarship and professional training with the concomitant goals of decolonizing anthropology and challenging race, class, and gender oppression through archaeology" (Lee and Scott 2019: 85; see also Agbe-Davies 2007;Franklin and McKee 2004;Singleton and Bograd 1995).…”

“…These papers span the breadth of community archaeology practices in the present moment, from the challenges of setting up collaborative projects to the barriers to working in developing contexts to the actions archaeologists are taking to change both the discipline and the archaeological status quo. In the vein of other recent scholarship on both the theory and praxis of African Diaspora archaeology (e.g., Blakey 2020;Franklin et al 2020;Lee and Scott 2019;White and Fennell 2017), this volume seeks to not just present current projects but to push forward with a vision for what may be possible. In this introduction, we review the origins of community archaeology and African Diaspora archaeology and current trends within both fields.…”