Former slaves and their descendants in North Africa and the Middle East might be formally free, but the racial legacies of slavery continue to affect intimate, social and political forms of life. With this week's special series, we seek to unpack the 'racial issue' in different post-slavery contexts in West Africa, North Africa and the Middle East by interrogating its connections with local histories of slavery and their contemporary legacies. A "culture of silence" has long prevented these countries from engaging with, and discussing overtly, questions of race, slavery and colour. However, we need to explore if and how current developments are reshaping racialised dynamics in social, political and intimate lives. Lived legacies and present pastsThe processes of abolition and emancipation followed different paths and took place at different times in North Africa and the Middle East.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 12, 2018 08:03 UTC