Panama in Black is the first historical study to examine the activism of Caribbean migrants and their descendants as they forged diasporic communities that linked Panama to the Caribbean and the United States. It is based on over a decade of research and draws from the rich histories that shaped my life experiences in Colón, Panama and Brooklyn, New York.
The cover art for the book, “Devenir,” is a one of a kind piece by the talented artist Giana de Dier. Be sure to check out and support her work.
Where to Buy the Book
Please visit the Duke University Press website for free access to the book’s introduction and to order the book. Orders of the hardback, paperback, and e-book editions are also available through Cafe con Libros (including some signed copies), Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most other book sellers. Paperback copies are also available at the Museo Afroantillano de Panamá in Panama City, Panama.
What People Are Saying About the Book
“Mientras leía este libro me resultaba evidente el fatal resultado de haber tenido un discurso cultural nacionalista obtuso, tribalista y cerrado, en Panamá, basado en nuestra llamada herencia hispánica, para negarnos y negarle al país sistemáticamente la gran oportunidad de ser un país cosmopolita, dinámico y abierto al mundo por tantos años. ¿Cuántos emprendedores, trabajadores, artistas, comerciantes, educadores y maestros no habrá perdido el país?.” Luis Pulido Ritter (Sociologist & Journalist) La Estrella de Panamá
“Corinealdi’s account of Afro-diasporic world making reveals an ongoing practice in which Afro-Caribbean migrants shaped ideas of citizenship on the isthmus and throughout the Americas. As a result, this book is essential reading for those interested in the history of Caribbean migrations, the African diaspora, the Canal Zone, Panamanian nation formation, and citizenship in Latin America.” Takkara Brunson (author of Black Women, Citizenship, and the Making of Modern Cuba) H-Net/H-Caribbean Reviews
“As Kaysha Corinealdi deftly shows us, the afterlives of migration can be precarious. Afro-Caribbean Panamanians coming to age in the 1940s to 1960s increasingly navigated anti-Black exclusionist policies seeking to deny them Panamanian citizenship or restrict their mobility within and beyond the isthmus.” Sharika Crawford (author of The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean ) Black Perspectives
“Through the book’s five chapters, Corinealdi “focuses on the words, ideas, and actions of men and women who self-identified as members of a Black diaspora and pushes against a narrative of rescuing Black voices trapped in the shadows of mestizaje” (4). As opposed to a “rescue,” Corinealdi’s book highlights the ways such “words, ideas, and actions” were ever-present components of national and diasporic conversations, and often comprised powerful resistance practices.” Elizabeth Manley (author of The Paradox of Paternalism: Women and Authoritarianism in the Dominican Republic) The Americas
“Corinealdi’s work takes up the mantle of Afro-Panamanian scholars like Melva Lowe Goodin, George Priestley, and Gerardo Maloney to center the uniquely Afro-Caribbean contributions to nation-building in Panama. In so doing, Panama in Black illuminates the uniquely diasporic, Pan-Caribbean nature of this project and positions Panama at the center of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. This book is a powerful invitation to remap the terrain of hemispheric race-making and activism in the 20th century. ” (Marcus Johnson, University of Maryland-College Park) Black Perspectives
Dr. Kaysha Corinealdi 