On the Question of Blackness: Toward Grammars of Possibility in Knowledge Production

Whereas racialization is at the core of Western social, political, and economic systems, this inquiry highlights how Blackness is more than a site of oppression. It is also a space for radical theory-making and world-building. Engaging with the capaciousness of Blackness within qualitative inquiry reveals its potential to disrupt dominant frameworks, and, as such, this chapter examines how Blackness is operationalized within the Western social imaginary and qualitative inquiry. It explores Blackness as a world-making practice, interrogating how Black people navigate these imposed structures while simultaneously generating alternative ways of being. By doing so, Blackness is reimagined not as mere opposition to whiteness but as a framework for understanding desire, humanity, and the varied dimensions of Black living.