"Becoming black" in the words of Bayo Akomolafe, would be an eloquent exploration of identity that transcends mere pigmentation and dives deeply into the essence of existence within a world marred by colonial legacies and racial constructs. It is an unfolding, a continual process of negotiating, redefining, and asserting one’s place in the interstitial spaces of culture, history, and society. This becoming is not about arriving at a fixed endpoint but involves engaging with the shadowed narratives, intersections, and liminalities often erased or invisibilized by mainstream discourses. It is a diasporic journey, an embrace of fluidity that challenges static definitions, and a reclaiming of the rich, layered experiences that constitute blackness in its multiplicity and dynamism. In essence, it is the poetics of existence, lived through an ever-evolving dance of resistance, resilience, and radical self-creation.

See also: black bodies, slave trade, white supremacy, racial justice, black lives