The Black Atlantic is a non-fiction historical book about a distinct "black Atlantic" culture and identity, which includes aspects of African, Caribbean, American, and British cultures simultaneously. The book was published in 1993 by Harvard University Press and Verso books and is considered to be a landmark historical text in the study of modernity and race, still read today by academics.
The book is significant as it explores the idea of "double consciousness," experienced by black Europeans and black Americans, in which they have two seemingly separate and mutually exclusive identities. In this book, Gilroy really delves into the depths of race theory and the concepts of culture and nationality, in order to produce a text that considers the idea of a "black Atlantic" culture, that had not previously been considered.
