Although the presence of Black African population in Portugal has been established by many historians as a result of the slave trade which began in the 15th century, people still think this population as a result of the process of Independences of the former Portuguese African colonies in the middle seventies of the 20th century. This is not innocent – it is rather ideological: through this perspective Black African people are seen as foreigners, not belonging to the Portuguese “imagined community”, and called immigrants of 2nd, 3rd or even 4th generation, no matter he/she was born in Portugal or how long his/her ancestors are living in Portugal.

This seminar aims to understand the historical and present meanderings of the place of Black people in Portugal and how this determines the reception of their cultural production.

African Migrations in Portugal: Now & Then is an outcome of the research group led by Dr Chinekwo Obidoa and Dr Eimad Houri, at the Department of International & Global Studies, Mercer University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (GA, USA), a partnership with GENORE, at the Center for Comparative Studies, School of Arts and Humanities.