“Everyday racism is not something that keeps me up at night” : The second-generation Afro-Swedes experience of public spaces as racialized and gendered bodies.

Abstract: This thesis aims to understand how the second-generation Afro-Swedes experience everyday racism in public spaces as racialized and gendered bodies. The three key dimensions of study are to recognize (1) blackness in public space, (2) experiences of everyday racism in public space, and (3) coping strategies to everyday racism. These three dimensions are gathered from six participants’ narratives done through semi-structured interviews. The thesis reveals that public spaces are based on lived experiences. The second-generation Afro-Swedes are likely to suffer from emotional damage while exposed to racism and discrimination acts in public spaces. The collective notion amongst the select group is that feeling unsafe and unwelcomed in predominantly white spaces hinders their mobility patterns. The internal individualization of the concept of blackness is additional; however, there are similarities in how the Swedish society misses the individual aspect of their identity and groups black people as a collective. The thesis further concludes that everyday racism is a product of structural racism and is thus the aspect society should focus on the most. More research needs to be done regarding second-generation Afro-Swedes and black people in Sweden about spatial processes of race and the interconnection with gender, focusing on the embodiment of space rather than segregation.