BLACK SUBJECTIVITY: PROCESSES OF IDENTIFICATION AND BELONGING

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the constitution of Black subjectivity based on the relationships between racism, processes of identification, recognition, and racial belonging. The study is characterized as qualitative and theoretical research, developed through the reading, analysis, and articulation of theoretical works selected according to their relevance to the research problem and objectives, using note-taking as a resource for organizing the analyzed material. The objective is to analyze the relationships between racism and the constitution of Black subjectivity, considering the contributions of Susana Molon, Frantz Fanon, Neusa Santos Souza, Maria Aparecida Bento, and Ricardo Franklin Ferreira. The results show that racial devaluation is not an inherent characteristic of Black individuals, but is related to historical processes that produced racial hierarchies and established whiteness as a reference for value and recognition. They also indicate that the effects of racism reach the subjective dimension, affecting individuals’ relationships with their bodies, trajectories, ideals, and sense of belonging, while the analysis of whiteness reveals social and psychosocial mechanisms involved in maintaining positions of privilege. Finally, the study demonstrates that Black subjectivity is not constituted exclusively through the effects of racial violence, but also involves processes of questioning, resistance, resignification, and the construction of new forms of identification and belonging. It is concluded that understanding Black subjectivity requires relating it to the historical and social conditions that contribute to the production of racial inequalities, without disregarding the possibilities for transformation constructed by individuals in their social relationships.