Eurafrican Invisibility in Zambia’s Census as an Echo of Colonial Whiteness: The Case for a British Apology

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for this opportunity to review your manuscript on Eurafrican invisibility in Zambia. I really like the narrative you create and the way you tell the stories. I learned a lot from reading your piece. Different sections of the article are very well written in an intriguing way. However, as a whole, the article feels too scattered. The autoethnography of Aaron Milner is very telling, as are your personal stories (pp. 20-21), but the following section on Whiteness, census terminology, and the Australian census seems to connect very little with Aaron and your stories. I recommend that you make sure to connect these different parts, or make a choice to focus on the historical description of Zambia, either on how Eurafricans were treated together with Aaron’s story or on contemporary census terminology.

Another thing I would like to comment on is the section where you bring up Kim’s racial triangulation theory and apply it to Black/White and Eurafrican dynamics. Kim’s theory is specific to the US context and also to the Asian American experience, and it needs a thorough examination with different empirical evidence if you would like to apply it to the Zambian context. Racial triangulation theory is based on a complex relationality between superiority and inferiority and relative valorization and civic ostracism. The way you describe it seems too simplistic.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review my manuscript ‘Eurafrican invisibility in Zambia’s census as an echo of colonial whiteness: The need for a British apology’. I genuinely appreciate your time and thoughtful comments. As you made me realise that I needed to make much clearer links within the article to the recurring themes: whiteness, Australian and Zambian census terminology, and autoethnography as told through Aaron and my stories of being racialised the Other.  I have made your recommended changes.  Kindly see attached my response. 

Kind regards,

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

 

When I started reading your article, I was expecting a critique of ‘mixed race’ identity in Zambia. However, you have delivered this plus much more, investigating and exposing the scope of British colonialism (across several continents) and the idea of whiteness with which it is entwined. Further, the exploration of gendered racial and ethnic categories offers nuanced insight to the unique sociopolitical framework around which mixed race people are often placed. In terms of biography, your use of autoethnography as well as historicism, results in a well-thought out, thorough and, not only intriguing, but also powerful set of arguments/concepts. The only thing I might suggest you consider amending is the final paragraph of the conclusion. To frame it (the call for an apology from King Charles) as a “final thought”, I think discounts your otherwise fantastic argument. This is a very important paper and is as timely and relevant as ever.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you so much for kindly reviewing my paper and for your very generous comments.  I agree with you that I needed to amend the conclusion and have done so. Kindly see the attached review.

Kind regards, 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

My initial comments remain. The revision is very minimum and the connection between autoethnography and other parts of the papers are still sparce. Racial Triangulation Theory continues to be used in a very simplistic way.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review my manuscript ‘Eurafrican invisibility in Zambia’s census as an echo of colonial whiteness: The need for a British apology’. I genuinely appreciate your time and thoughtful comments. As you made me realise that I needed to make much clearer links within the article to the recurring themes: whiteness, Australian and Zambian census terminology, and autoethnography as told through Aaron and my stories of being racialised as the inferior Other.  I have made your recommended changes. 

Kind regards

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf