10Radical_Black_Philosophies_of_Race_and_Racism_2012.pdf

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PHIL 353/AFST 353: RADICAL BLACK

PHILOSOPHIES OF RACE AND RACISM

INSTRUCTOR: DR. TOMMY J. CURRY

OFFICE: YMCA # 412

OFFICE PH: (979) 862-2211

EMAIL: T-

[email protected]

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to familiarize students with the various philosophical

perspectives African descended people throughout the Diaspora have offered for dealing with white

supremacy, colonialism, and the modern construction of race. Instead of focusing primarily on “critical

theories of race,” this course is designed to give students the historical background in the thinkers that

have laid the foundations of contemporary race theories. Unlike traditional race theory, which focuses on

improving race relations through American Democratic Liberalism, these thinkers oppose the notion of

“America,” American democracy, and the success of the Civil Rights Movement.

PURPOSE: This class emerges from the concern that many times in the study of race and racism, only the

contemporary ideas that converge with our post-civil rights ideology are valued as “contributing” to

theory. In this vein, only “sexy” theories like: post-colonialism, critical race theory, feminism and

humanism are allowed into the gates of the academy, while the dominant theories that inspired the most

wide ranging movements and traditions amongst African descended people throughout the Diaspora

remain ignored by those scholars and institutions valorizing the benefits of the post-civil rights era.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The aim of this course is to provide the student with a more comprehensive

perspective on the ideas of race and racism that were at odds with what we now take to be the resolution

of the American race problem in integration. By the end of this course, it is expected that the student will

be able to (1) Identify the contrasting political and conceptual differences between Black Americanism

and Pan-Africanist perspectives, (2) Articulate the role that anti-colonial movements in Algeria played in

the development of Internal Colonization models in the United States, and (3) Understand theconversations and worries that Black scholars in America and the Diaspora have with American Liberal

Democracy and Humanism.



REQUIRED TEXTS:

1. Carole Boyce Davies (ed.), Beyond Containment (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2011) ISBN-13:

978-0956240163

2. Eldrige Cleaver, Soul on Ice (Delta Book, 1992)

3. George Jackson, Blood in My Eye (Black Classics Press,1996) ISBN-13: 978-0933121232

4. Martin Luther King Jr. Where do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community (Beacon Press, 2010)

ISBN-13: 978-0807000670

5. Robert Allen, Black Awakening in Capitalist America (Africa World Press, 1990).

6. Carter G. Woodson, The MisEducation of the Negro (Tribeca Books, 2011)

7. Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (Grove Press, 2005)

SCHEDULED READINGS FOR THE CLASS

WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE CLASS.

T: (1/17): The Genealogy of Black Radical Thought: A Timetable to the present outlining the influence of

“Black Radicalism” on Contemporary Theory.

R: (1/19): Racism as white Supremacy by Tommy J. Curry

WEEK 2: ON THE SPILLING OF WHITE BLOOD: 19 TH

CENTURY REVOLUTIONARY THEORY

T: (1/24): Walker’s Appeal—Articles I-II (Can be found Online: [Walker’s Appeal PDF:

http://www.jpanafrican.com/ebooks/eBook%20David%20Walker%27s%20Appeal.pdf]

R: (1/26): Walker’s Appeal—Articles III-IV

WEEK 3: THE EMIGRATIONIST ARGUMENT FOR THE PERMENANCE OF RACISM

T: (1/31): Martin R. Delany, “The Political Destiny of the Colored Race” (1854); The Condition,

Elevation, Emigration and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States and the Official Report of

the Niger Valley Exploring Party (1852 )(Excerpts); and “Who Knew: The Nation-ist Contour of RacialIdentity in the Thought of Martin R. Delany and John E. Bruce” by Tommy J. Curry

R: (2/2): John E. Bruce-- The Importance of Thinking Black,” “The One-ness of the Darker Races,” “The

Destiny of the Darker Races,” “Anglo-Saxon Concepts of Justice,” “The Fiction of Equality,” “The

Meaning of white Democracy,” “Is the Negro Under white Rule Living a Double Life,” and “The

Making of a Race.”



WEEK 4: THE RADICAL CIVIL RIGHTS AGENDA—A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF 50 YEARS BEFORE THE

PASSIVISM OF KING

T: (2/7): The Fortune of Wells: Ida B. Well's Use of T. Thomas Fortune's Philosophy of Social Agitation

as a Prolegomenon to Militant Civil Rights Activism by Tommy J. Curry

R: (2/9): Carter G. Woodson— The Mis-education of the Negro (1933).

WEEK 5: THE RADICAL DUBOIS—FROM SEPARATIST TO ANTI-COLONIALIST

T: (2/14): W.E.B. DuBois—A Negro Nation within a Nation (1935); “The Souls of white Folk (1920)

R: (2/16): W.E.B. DuBois—“An Address to the Black Academic Community” (1975); “American

Negroes and Africa’s Rise to Freedom” (1961); “whites in Africa after Negro Autonomy,” (1962)

WEEK 6: BLACK SOCIALISM

T: (2/21): Claudia Jones—Selected Readings from Beyond Containment

R: (2/23): Hubert Harrison—Selected Readings

WEEK 7: BLACK POWER ERA

T: (2/28): Robert F. Williams— Negroes w/Guns (Selected Readings)

R; (3/1): Eldridge Cleaver— Soul on Ice Chapter I “Letters from Prison.”

WEEK 8: BLACK POWER ERA

T: (3/6): Eldridge Cleaver— Soul on Ice Chapters IV “white Woman, Black Man.”

R: (3/8): Test One—Black Radicalism from Ante-Bellum to Black Power

WEEK 9: SPRING BREAK

T: (3/13)—Reflective Time

R: (3/15)—Think about your Final Paper

WEEK 10: BLACK POWER, PRISONS, AND REVOLUTIONARY THINKING DURING THE CIVIL

RIGHTS ERA

T: (3/20): George Jackson Blood in My Eye

R: (3/22): George Jackson’s Blood in my Eye Continued; and Angela Davis: Political Prisoners, Prisons,

and Black Liberation

WEEK 11: FROM BLACK POWER TO BLACK STUDIES

T: (3/27): Robert Allen-- Black Awakening in Capitalist America (Selected Chapters)



R: (3/29): Peniel Joseph—“Black Studies, Student Activism, and the Black Power Movement,” and

“Introduction” and “Reimagining the Black Power Movement” in Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black

Power to Barack Obama.

WEEK 12: BLACK STUDIES AND THE STUDY OF THE BLACK WOMAN.

T: (4/3): Clenora Hudson Weems—“Africana Thought/Action,” and “Africana Womanism: An

Overview;” and “Self-Naming and Self Definition” & Ronald Hall—“White Women as a Vehicle of

Black Oppression,” and “Women: Better white than Male

R: (4/5): Vivian Verdell Gordon: “Black women, Feminism, and Black Studies;” and Valethia Watkins

Beatty: “Womanism and Black Feminism: Issues in the Manipulation of African Historiography.

WEEK 13: ANTI-COLONIALISM

T: (4/10): Frantz Fanon—Wretched of the Earth Chapter 1 “On Violence,” and Chapter 4 “On National

Culture.”

R: (4/12): Martin Luther King— Where Do We Go From Here? (Selected Chapters)

WEEK 14: REFLECTIONS ON THE BLACK INTELLECTUAL AFTER CIVIL RIGHTS—CONDUIT OR IN

COLONIAL CRISIS

T: (4/17): Robert L. Carter’s “The Warren Court and Desegregation,” Derrick Bell’s “Racial Realism;”

Mary Dudziak’s “Desegregation as Cold War Imperative”

R: (4/19): E. Fraklin Frazier—“The Failure of the Negro Intellectual;” Harold Cruse—“The Integrationist

Ethic as a Basis for Scholarly Endeavors.

WEEK 15: THE WRAP- UP

T: (4/24): Test Two—Black Power to Black Studies

R: (4/26): Reviews and Evaluations Due



Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Pol

Statement The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

federal anti-discrimination statute that provid

comprehensive civil rights protection for pers

with disabilities. Among other things, thislegislation requires that all students with

disabilities be guaranteed a learning environm

that provides for reasonable accommodation

their disabilities. If you believe you have a

disability requiring an accommodation, pleas

contact the Department of Student Life, Servi

for Students with Disabilities, in Cain Hall or

call 845-1637.

Academic Integrity Statements

AGGIE HONOR CODE

“An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tole

those who do.”

Upon accepting admission to Texas A&M

University, a student immediately assumes a

commitment to uphold the Honor Code, to

accept responsibility for learning, and to follo

the philosophy and rules of the Honor System

Students will be required to state their

commitment on examinations, research paperand other academic work. Ignorance of the ru

does not exclude any member of the TAMUcommunity from the requirements or the

processes of the Honor System.

FINAL PAPERS DUE: MONDAY MAY 7 TH BY 3

P.M VIA EMAIL…LATE PAPERS NOT

ACCEPTED!!! YOU WILL BE FAILED!!!

Grading: The student will be graded in three areas: (1) Two inclass tests 40%, (2) The Final Paper (40%), and (3) Class

Attendance and Participation (20%). The in-class tests MUST

BE TAKEN in a BLUE BOOK. They will not be graded

otherwise. The Final Paper should a 12-15 page paper, cited in

Chicago Style 16th edition, as footnote citation. Incorrect

citation is 10 points off the Final paper grade. You can find an

online guide here:

[http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/]

Grading Scale: A: (90-100); B: (80-89); C: (70-79); D: (60-69);F: (59 and Below)

Technology Policy: Cell phones, computers and PDA’s must be

turned off during lectures and test. Texting or internet surfing

during class, especially during a test will be construed as

violating the Aggie Honor Code and entail possible charges of

cheating.

Attendance: Class participation and attendance is mandatory.

The student gets two unexcused absences, more than the

allowed absences WILL RESULT IN A LOWERING of

student’s FINAL GRADE. Only university excused absences

will be tolerated.

10Radical_Black_Philosophies_of_Race_and_Racism_2012.pdf

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