52 Books, Week 8: We Who are Dark

Wow. If I knew this post would directly follow such a controversial dialogue about black class warfare, I would have made book 8 my Marx-Engles reader and tried to write this in Esperanto. GOT DAMN.

Before I start yapping about We Who Are Dark (subtitle: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity), a quick reflection. Honestly, I would have been surprised about accusations of black essentialism regarding cultural responses, but now I realize this type of stuff has been going on for at least 120 years (ask Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, Bill Cosby, or Michael Eric Dyson).

As for my opinion on the oscar hoopla. Didn't care for the song, wasn't mad it won the award (now if it was whoop that trick....)

Now on to the book:

Early in the text, Tommie Shelby primarily plays the role of intellectual historian in describing notions of Black Solidarity in modern American history. However, as the book progresses Shelby lays out a pragmatic framework for organizing black folk without using biological conceptions of race, culture, shared ancestry, nationality, or familial ties (which run into trouble in a philosophical tradition for various reasons). What Shelby articulates is a vision of black solidarity based on the elimination of social and racial injustice. Pragmatically, this means organizing around issues that people who the dominant culture identify as black, have a collective interest in. This practical notion of black solidarity, he contrasts with classical nationalism which recognizes the desire for an independent nation state.

The issues Shelby refers to are directly tied to institutional racism, and include

"having one's life prospects diminished by institutional racism; suffering discrimination on the basis of presumed incompetence; enduring arbitrary exclusion from certain neighborhoods, schools, and school circles; being preemptively regarded as unsuitable for intimate social interaction; navigating the social world with the knowledge that one is often the object of unjustified hatred, contempt, suspicion, or fear; seeking to avoid "confirming" an array of degrading racial stereotypes; serving as the perennial scapegoat for social problems and economic crises; and living with the knowledge that one is vulnerable, at almost any time, to an antiblack attitude, action, social practice, or institutional policy. The common experience of racial oppression can be a valuable source of motivation that blacks should continue to harness in the interest of social justice."

Its important to note that Shelby doesn't argue that social notions of black solidarity aren't valuable and necessary, but his work is primarily dedicated to political interventions. He also recognizes the constellation of social and global forces that affect low-income black communities. For example, "it would be impossible to determine whether their impoverished condition is due primarily to institutional racism, the impact of past racial injustice, the increasing technological basis of the economy, shrinking state budgets, the vicissitudes of world trade, the ascendancy of conservative ideology, poorly funded schools, lack of personal initiative, a violent drug trade that deters business investment, some combination of these factors, or some explanation altogether". Touche.

Anyway, this post has droned on for far, far, far too long. There's a lot here, but if you hate repetition (philosopher's favorite trick) and you're looking for practical actions, you will be very disappointed (Shelby is unapologetic about what the book is, and what it isn't). As for me, it was a pretty good read for an ole philosophy minor.