Creolization means cultural descent for Europeans and cultural ascent for Africans

Evidence

Thus, the principles of hierarchization of West Indian Creole society are intimately tied to notions of European civilization and African savagery. As it applies to Europeans, creolization implies the taint of savagery. In its application to Africans, it implies a brush with civilization. The Caribbean is the location where civilization and savagery meet and where both become transformed. These have had profound implications for nationalist discourse. For the African, creolization implies a quest for European purity through cultural acquisition and miscegenation. With creolite as the central cultural construct of West Indian nationalism, these aspirations have become firmly embedded in the nationalist project. In this regard, nationalism becomes transformed into a quest to be fully European. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3206 (#expands, via linked claim)

In these expressions of creolite, what clearly emerges is the rejection of Africa and the embrace of Europe. This pattern of rejection and embrace is firmly implanted in the nationalist aspirations of the Caribbean. It is more convincingly evident in the competing versions of nationalist expression in the French West Indies. Rejection of Africa and embrace of Europe are not so obvious in the Anglophone versions. They became camouflaged in the racial challenge to the authorial power of Britain in the campaign for independence. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3234 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Creolization means opposite things for Europeans and Africans — taint versus civilization — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3206; Creolite movements rejected African roots while embracing European cultural identity — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3234; Creolized language threatens colonizers by enabling resistance in their presence — David Theo Goldberg, The Racial State, 19 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Creolization means opposite things for Europeans and Africans — taint versus civilization #expands (0.97) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3206
• Creolite movements rejected African roots while embracing European cultural identity #complicates (0.72) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3234