Anti-racist discursive practice in the Facebook group Africans in Deutschland

This paper analyses experiences of racism shared by members of the Facebook group Africans in Deutschland (AID). It draws on van Dijk’s multidisciplinary approach, which links discourse and social structures through the framework of social cognition. While existing research emphasises the importance of active antiracism and the limitations of passive non-racism, everyday discourse remains underexplored as a site of anti-racist social cognition and agency. The analysis identifies three key discursive practices that enhance capacity to recognise and challenge racism, namely; affirming Black identity and self-worth, explicitly naming and rejecting racism, and promoting racial advocacy and collective responsibility. These discursive practices create opportunities for solidarity and racial socialisation that facilitate the circulation of anti-racist social cognition within the group.