Finding the Words: Negotiating Self-Presentation Within a Decolonial Collective in Belgium

This paper presents a case study regarding the creation of a charter within the collective "Les Ateliers Décoloniaux Liégeois" in Liège, French-speaking Belgium. The substantial empirical data collected through participant observation since the collective's formation in 2022 allows for an analysis of the tensions and negotiations between the diverse perspectives on race, racism, and anti-racism among members with varying backgrounds and experiences (or lack thereof) of racism and discrimination. Additionally, it examines how members perceive their role in local decolonial and anti-racist activism, in relation to other socio-political movements and anti-racist actors in Liège. The analysis will be informed by the sociology of social movements. The paper is not centered on specific populations, but rather on the process of alliance building and the formation of collective action. The role of positionalities is, of course, a key consideration in the discussion.

The objective of this paper is to gain insight into the construction of a local decolonial collective in a Walloon city through negotiation and framing processes. This context remains relatively under-explored in academic literature. Additionally, the paper questions the overall development of a "decolonial turn" of activism. Therefore, this study contributes to the growing, though still limited, body of research on anti-racism in Belgium.