Chapter 6. - My Journey into Black/Africana Studies : Knowledge Should Be Power to Unite Us

Summary

Abstract

Approaching transnational history from a unique, historical autoethnographical perspective, this chapter presents Furukawa Tetsushi's own account of his intellectual life as a leading Black Studies scholar in Japan. Furukawa self-reflectively examines his four decades of commitment to Black Studies, from his encounter with Japanese “sex workers” in Zanzibar, to his teaching of multi-racial and cultural classes to Ohio state prison inmates. He recounts his intellectual struggle to decolonize the mind and the academy, an integral part of the development of Japan's Black Studies. His intellectual journey calls for knowledge making that serves to unite us, not divide us as humans.

Keywords: Black/Africana Studies, Black/Africana-Japanese relations, Japan Black Studies Association, Kokujin kenkyū no kai, Kokujin kenkyū gakkai

The following interview with Professor Furukawa Tetsushi was conducted remotely, as an exchange of back-and-forth written messages. Although a sudden and severe illness made it not possible for him to write a traditional-style chapter, Professor Furukawa graciously consented to the following interview format. We are grateful to Professor Furukawa for his indomitable enthusiasm for cross-cultural exchange—whether in a classroom, a prison, or a hospital bed—and would like to thank him for sharing his experiences and insight into Black Studies and Japan with us.

ND & SK: To get things started, could you please tell us a bit about your experiences in Black Studies? How did you first become involved in Black Studies in Japan? It surely came from my father Furukawa Hiromi (1927–2012). He spent his school days during the Pacific War (1941–1945) and he was taught that the US was enemy number one. As a result, even English was no longer taught in Japan, since it was considered the “enemy language.” However, the defeat of Japan changed such views. Under the occupation of Japan by the Allied Forces, substantially comprised of US troops, the US began to be seen as a symbol of a rich civilization and democracy. At that time, army facilities stationed in my father's town were racially segregated. My father, observing Black soldiers for the first time, sometimes observed conflicts and fighting between White and Black troops. Such experiences made him wonder what American democracy was, and also about what types of racial issues existed in the US and the wider world.