hi! you may find some useful info in these earlier discussions:

• Who were the Moors and why did they invade the Iberian Peninsula?

• Can you please explain the relationship between the Moors and the Berbers? ... and a bit more on Moors & Berbers: Were Berbers the ones who rode around in the desert on camels? Whats the distinction over time between berbers and arabs? What important events were the berbers apart of?

• What is the basis for people believing that the Moors were black?

• Who were the "Moors" who once occupied the Iberian peninsula, and why is the word "Moor" used instead of Muslim?

Black (and white) is relative. It's best to think of black as "the other" or in your context unity of "the other".

The Moors (from Northern Africa) are darker skinned than the Spanish and "othering" lead to exaggerations. The Island of California as depicted in "Las sergas de Esplandián" describes an island of warrior women, in service of a Caliph (and themselves ruled by a Queen Califia) with skin dark as midnight. In the wake of the Reconquista, the author was trying to depict an inherently different society opposite of Spanish culture (women warriors with "black" skin).

The term black has no meaning and is a general characterization. Just as Saracens at one point in time included all Muslims and Franks at one point in time included all Christians, regardless of what they actually thought about themselves.

As much as race has been used to ignorantly divide, it has been used to ignorantly unite. In a revision of history, many people are trying to paint a struggle of us vs them. To unite Northern Africa to the same cause as the global south under the umbrella term "black".