This workshop uncovers an interdisciplinary exploration of white appropriations of black African voices in Spanish theater from the 1500s through the 1700s, where Jones makes a strong case for revising the belief, long held by literary critics and linguists, that white appropriations and representations of habla de negros language are “racist buffoonery” or stereotype. Instead, Jones shows black characters who laugh, sing, and shout, ultimately combating the violent desire of white supremacy. By placing early modern Iberia in conversation with discourses on African diaspora studies, Jones showcases how black Africans and their descendants who built communities in early modern Spain, Portugal, and beyond were rendered legible in performative literary texts.