Crossing the River : An Example of Black Politics of Resistance

Caryl Phillis’s novel Crossing the River tells a story of the African diaspora caused by the slave trade. The novel not only depicts the physical aspect of diasporic life, but also sheds light on the cognitive aspects. It is visible separately in the four chapters, but also in the prologue and epilogue through Phillips’s use of the mystical voice of the disembodied father who addresses all his children of the African diaspora. This essay argues that Crossing the River is an example of black politics of resistance from two different perspectives. Firstly, Phillips uses the African diaspora to exemplify the hybrid identity, and to reject a binary colonial discourse and racism that have caused tremendous suffering for the African diaspora. Secondly, by not only rejecting the binary colonial discourse but also contesting and taking part in shaping a discourse that synthesizes different worlds, Crossing the River takes part in creating a more diverse and equal sense of the world.