I would also like to add that the scene in "4 White Guys" where they were in the Halal meat store looking around at all of the different Allah decor and standing by the butcher's station gave me vivid flashbacks to hanging out at the meat store while my mom did groceries. I loved it!

Thank you for your comment, Safiya. I think you make a great connection with Muñoz's idea of disidentification. Your point that "their culture and identity is solidified through the existence of the Other ..." reminds me very much of what Said was saying in Orientalism as well.

Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful and reflective experience from your time in Dakar. It's clear that being in an enviroment where your race became more noticeable led to some deep personal reflection, and I truly appreciate how you've used that experience to consider your own identity and the privilege that comes with it.

Your awareness of how your witness was observed by others is such an important realization. As you noted. the attention you received wasn't malicious but more out of curiosity, and that difference is significant. It highlights the experience in majority-white spaces. George Yancy's idea in Look, a white- that making witness visible is a way to challenge norms, fits perfectly with your experience. It shows how being in different spaces can give us a new perspective on your own racial identity and the way it operates in society. I also found it meaningful how your reflection touched on James Bladwin's My Dungeon Shook. Baldwin takes about how black people are constantly aware of how they are seen by others, and while your experience in Dakar was different, it gave you a moment to reflect on that type of awareness. You've recognized the privilege of being able to navigate spaces without the same consequences, which is a really powerful insight.

Additionally, your mention of how this experience connects with the music of Charged's Snakecharmer and The Kominas 4 is such great point. In both cases, these artists challenge the way cultural identities are simplified or reduced to stereotypes, and your experience of being seen as different in Dakar reflect that dynamic in reverse.

I really appreciate how you've used this experience to reflect on your own privilege and what its means to be aware of racial dynamics in different spaces. It's through these kinds of reflections that we can all become more conscious of the role play in addressing inequality.

Also, would like to recommend a song that I think would be a very good connection. Kendrick Lamar's “The Heart Part 5” delves deeply into themes of the Black identity, and I think a lot of it connects to the concept of the “invisible white power” - especially in terms of media.

Throughout the song, he reflects on the way Black culture is represented in a negative light (“In the land where hurt people hurt more people, f*ck calling it culture”) and he touches on the burden of feeling like you are not seen as an individual by white people, but rather as a representative of your race who has to act a certain way to be deemed acceptable in white society. Despite this he uses lines like “I want the hood to want me back”, which can represent the internal conflict many Black individuals face because of society's expectations. He doesn't want to let go of the "culture" even though it becomes a negative loop due to the white system of power. Its interesting to compare how Yancy talks about how whiteness operates as a silent force and how Kendrick illustrates how the weight of this invisible system defines how Black identity is perceived and lived today.