Revolution will not be theorized : cultural revolution in the Black Power Era / Errol A. Henderson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Henderson, Errol Anthony, author.

Series:

African-American studies.

African-American studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Black power--United States--History--20th century.

Black power.

African Americans--Politics and government--20th century.

African Americans.

African American political activists--History--20th century.

African American political activists.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxii, 491 pages).

Other Title:

Revolution Will Not Be Theorized

Place of Publication:

Albany : SUNY Press, [2019]

Summary:

The study of the impact of Black Power Movement (BPM) activists and organizations in the 1960s through '70s has largely been confined to their role as proponents of social change; but they were also theorists of the change they sought. In The revolution will not be theorized Errol A. Henderson explains this theoretical contribution and places it within a broader social theory of black revolution in the United States dating back to nineteenth-century black intellectuals. These include black nationalists, feminists, and anti-imperialists; activists and artists of the Harlem Renaissance; and early Cold War-era black revolutionists. The book first elaborates W.E.B. Du Bois's thesis of the "General Strike" during the Civil War, Alain Locke's thesis relating black culture to political and economic change, Harold Cruse's work on black cultural revolution, and Malcolm X's advocacy of black cultural and political revolution in the United States. Henderson then critically examines BPM revolutionists' theorizing regarding cultural and political revolution and the relationship between them in order to realize their revolutionary objectives. Focused more on importing theory from third world contexts that were dramatically different from the United States, BPM revolutionists largely ignored the theoretical template for black revolution most salient to their case, which undermined their ability to theorize a successful black revolution in the United States.

Contents:

Introduction: The revolution will not be theorized

Malcom X and the revolutionary turn in the Civil Rights Movement

Black nationalism: Civilization and reverse civilization

The general strike and the slave revolution of the U.S. Civil War

Cultural revolution and cultural evolution

Theorizing cultural revolution in the Black Power Era

RAM, us, the Black Panther Party

Republic of New Africa, League of Revolutionary Black Workers

CAP, shrine of the Black Madonna/Pan-African Orthodox Christian Church

Conclusion: Black revolutionary theory in the BPM.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 457-472) and index.