Facing the “Race Question”

Abstract This article examines how Guadeloupe's two main trade unions, the UGTG and the CGTG, mobilize race in their discourse and activist practices. Drawing on fieldwork and biographical interviews, it shows that race is not merely a contextual factor but a strategic axis of political differentiation in a postcolonial setting marked by social and racial inequalities. The analysis highlights contrasting and intersectional uses of race and class, revealing how these organizations articulate competing visions of trade unionism, subalternity, and emancipation within a broader context of French domination.