As a part-Indian, part-Russian girl growing up in Hawaii, Dr. Nitasha Sharma did not know much about fellow South Asian youth, African Americans or hip-hop culture. That all changed when Sharma attended the University of California, Santa Cruz. Sharma, now an assistant professor of African American Studies and Asian American Studies at Northwestern, said she found a distinct “separation” between South Asian youth, who call themselves ‘desis,’ and African Americans.
“I’m concerned about Asian/black tensions and Asian anti-black racism,” said Sharma, author of a new book on the subject. “And I found that some desi youth – rare among their group – used hip-hop to bridge those divisions.”
In her book, “Hip Hop Desis: South Asian Americans, Blackness, and a Global Race Consciousness,” published this year by Duke University Press, Sharma analyzes the lives and lyrics of 24 such hip-hop artists. She illustrates a “model of cross-racial alliance building” through music.
Dr. Martha Biondi, director of undergraduate studies in the African American Studies department, praised Sharma’s work.
“It’s a brilliant and thought-provoking book,” Biondi said in an e-mail. “South Asian Americans, like all Americans, including those groups who have their own histories of colonialism and forced labor, have been exposed to anti-black discourses and messages. Her findings are a hopeful testament to the ability of young people to use popular culture to develop transformative ideas and cultivate new identities.”
Sharma’s love of hip-hop started when she was in college and eventually inspired her book. She appreciated the “political edge and sonic quality” of hip-hop, which she said speaks to young Americans’ concerns about racism and life in general.
However, Sharma said she hopes the book will go beyond hip-hop to teach a lesson on the nature of Asian-black relations in the U.S. Although the groups are sometimes seen as in competition, Sharma wants the book to “remind people that Asians and blacks share a history and have overlapping areas of concern that affect members of both groups.”
The book might be controversial, Sharma said, as ‘anti-black racism’ is discussed within it – specifically racism stemming from Asian Americans. She surmises this attitude develops from the negative depiction of African Americans in American culture and the desire of Asian immigrants to fit in. She said Asian Americans don’t want to be perceived as allying themselves with those who are considered to occupy the “bottom of the ladder.” This relationship goes both ways, Sharma said, as racism toward Asians and other immigrant groups is also expressed by other ethnic groups in America.
But hip-hop can transcend this gap, Sharma said.
“(The book) is a good idea,” said Weinberg freshman Pooja Garg, a second-generation South Asian immigrant. “It shows how hip-hop is not specific to African-American culture and can span divides.”
