Language, Identity and the Black Diaspora: Isidore Okpewho’s Call Me By My Rightful Name

Abstract

This paper uses Okpewho’s tour-de-force, Call Me By My Rightful Name to explore the dynamics of language vis-à-vis identity (or more accurately, identities) and the crucial issue of diasporality. It examines how Okpewho charts the fate of the black man from the dawn of consciousness through the dark past of slavery and the Slave Trade to the present time, showing the role of memory, the stubborn tenacity of the oral tradition and the contested nature of the concept of the Self. The paper argues the need for greater understanding and respect from western centres/institutions of learning through the teaching of and research in African/African-American letters.