Journal of Negro Education

A Case Study from “Barracoon: The Story of the Last 'Black

Cargo'” with Practice of Race Theory
Marcus Croom
Journal of Negro Education
Journal of Negro Education
Volume 89, Number 4, Fall 2020
pp. 385-409
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Abstract
Abstract:

Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo,” a nonfiction book by Zora Neale Hurston, was completed in 1931 but only published in 2018.
Hurston’s data were analyzed with race critical discourse analysis, using practice of race theory (PRT) to answer the following: How did
Kossula conceptualize race over his lifetime? Inquiry concluded that Kossula (ca. 1841-1935) did not practice race, or rarely did so, until taken
from his West African home, the kingdom of “Takkoi,” in 1860. After taken, Kossula used genres of race (e.g., labeling) and evidenced at least
three conceptualizations of race: race as meaningless, race as social adjective, and race as unreasonable, lived difference. Results show PRT
is a viable alternative account of race.