The Negro, the My Nigga, and the African

This work in black studies puts forth the argument that people of African descent in the postindustrial capitalist world-system of America are no longer Africans. Instead, their practical consciousnesses are the product of two structurally reproduced and differentiated identities, the negro, i.e., black bourgeoisie, or African Americans, on the one hand, under the leadership of educated professionals and preachers; and the ¿my nigga,¿ i.e., the black underclass, on the other hand, under the leadership of street and prison personalities, athletes, and entertainers vying for ideological and linguistic domination of black America. These two structurally reproduced and differentiated social class language games were historically constituted by different ideological apparatuses¿the church and education, on the one hand; and the streets, prisons, and the athletic and entertainment industries on the other.