8.4 African American Philosophical and Political Thought

African American philosophical thought tackles big ideas about race, identity, and justice. From Pan-Africanism to Afrofuturism, thinkers challenge oppression and imagine new futures for Black people.

Critical theories like CRT and Black Marxism examine how racism shapes society. Black feminism and womanism highlight Black women's unique experiences. These ideas push for liberation and equality.

Black Philosophical Movements

Pan-Africanism and Black Nationalism

Top images from around the web for Pan-Africanism and Black Nationalism

• 

  Pan-Africanism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Black suffrage - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Malcolm X - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Pan-Africanism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Black suffrage - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

Top images from around the web for Pan-Africanism and Black Nationalism

• 

  Pan-Africanism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Black suffrage - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Malcolm X - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Pan-Africanism - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Black suffrage - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

• Pan-Africanism emphasizes unity and solidarity among people of African descent worldwide, promoting the idea that Africans share a common history, culture, and destiny
• Advocates for political, economic, and cultural cooperation among African nations and the African diaspora to resist oppression and achieve liberation
• Black Nationalism focuses on the development of independent black political and economic power within nation-states, often emphasizing self-determination and separatism from white-dominated institutions (Malcolm X, Nation of Islam)
• Both movements emerged in response to the global oppression of African peoples and seek to challenge white supremacy and colonial domination

Afrocentricity and Black Existentialism

• Afrocentricity is an intellectual paradigm that centers African history, culture, and perspectives in the study of human experience, challenging Eurocentric biases in academia and society (Molefi Kete Asante)
• Emphasizes the importance of African cultural values, such as communalism, spirituality, and oral tradition, in shaping African and African diasporic identities and worldviews
• Black Existentialism explores the lived experiences of black individuals confronting the absurdity and anguish of anti-black racism, emphasizing themes of freedom, authenticity, and self-definition (Frantz Fanon, Lewis Gordon)
• Examines how black subjects navigate the tensions between their individual agency and the constraints imposed by oppressive social structures

Afrofuturism in Philosophy

• Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic and philosophical movement that combines science fiction, fantasy, and Afrocentricity to imagine alternative futures and possibilities for African and African diasporic peoples
• Explores themes of technology, liberation, and identity, often subverting dominant narratives of black marginalization and envisioning empowered black futures (Octavia Butler, Sun Ra)
• In philosophy, Afrofuturism provides a framework for speculative and utopian thinking, challenging linear conceptions of time and progress and imagining new forms of black subjectivity and social organization

Critical Theories and Philosophies

Critical Race Theory and Black Marxism

• Critical Race Theory (CRT) is an interdisciplinary framework that examines the intersections of race, law, and power, emphasizing the centrality of racism in shaping social institutions and individual experiences (Kimberlé Crenshaw, Derrick Bell)
• Challenges liberal notions of colorblindness and meritocracy, arguing that race is a social construct that serves to maintain white supremacy and privilege
• Black Marxism analyzes the relationship between racism and capitalism, arguing that anti-black racism is a fundamental feature of the global capitalist system (Cedric Robinson, C.L.R. James)
• Examines how the exploitation of black labor and the devaluation of black life are integral to the accumulation of capital and the reproduction of class inequality

Afropessimism and Black Liberation Theology

• Afropessimism is a theoretical framework that posits anti-blackness as the foundational logic of Western society, arguing that black people are structurally excluded from the category of the human (Frank B. Wilderson III, Saidiya Hartman)
• Emphasizes the ontological condition of blackness as one of social death, fungibility, and gratuitous violence, challenging narratives of progress and inclusion
• Black Liberation Theology is a theological perspective that interprets Christianity through the lens of black struggle and resistance, emphasizing God's identification with the oppressed (James H. Cone)
• Draws on biblical themes of exodus and redemption to articulate a vision of black liberation and spiritual empowerment in the face of systemic racism and white supremacy

Black Feminist Thought

Black Feminism and Intersectionality

• Black Feminism is a theoretical and activist tradition that centers the experiences and perspectives of black women, challenging the interlocking systems of racism, sexism, and classism that shape their lives (Patricia Hill Collins, Audre Lorde)
• Emphasizes the importance of self-definition and self-valuation in resisting dominant stereotypes and asserting black women's agency and humanity
• Intersectionality is a concept developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw to analyze how multiple forms of oppression (race, gender, class, sexuality) intersect and compound in the lives of marginalized individuals and groups
• Highlights the ways in which black women's experiences cannot be fully captured by single-axis frameworks of race or gender, requiring a more complex and nuanced analysis

Womanism

• Womanism is a term coined by Alice Walker to describe a black feminist perspective that prioritizes the survival and wholeness of all people, emphasizing the importance of community, spirituality, and cultural heritage
• Distinguishes itself from mainstream (white) feminism by centering the experiences and cultural traditions of women of color, particularly black women
• Emphasizes the interconnectedness of struggles against racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression, advocating for a more holistic and inclusive approach to social justice and liberation