Description
Book SynopsisThis is an innovative work in Africana philosophical thought that links the phenomenon of nihilism in black America, in particular black American youth, to modern traditions of Western philosophy. Black Nihilism and Antiblack Racism engages defining themes of black existential life by offering a framework for considering the relationships between antiblack racism, pessimism, nihilism, weakness, strength, maturity, freedom, and hope in the 21st century. This book readdresses themes popularly raised by Cornel West in 1994 regarding the nature, causes, evaluations, diagnoses, and prognoses of what has been called, “nihilism in black America.” Black Nihilism and Antiblack Racism seeks to recontextualize discussions of nihilism and its possibilities for American cultural life. As a result, this book bears important questions, offers unique analyses, and suggests radical responses that are relevant for studies of black life and theories of justice in twenty-first century America.
Trade ReviewSince there have been few, if any, signs of the demise of anti-Black racism in America—indeed, the cold-blooded police murder of unarmed George Floyd clearly demonstrates the opposite—what would happen if Black Americans gave up on the so-called American dream? During the Civil Rights Movement of the late-1950s and early 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr. feared the growing Black Power Movement, which he called nihilism. However, many critics of King have argued over the years that Black people have become increasingly disenchanted with the unrelenting, pervasive, and increasing presence of white supremacy and antiblack racism in the existential life experiences of Black people. In Black Nihilism and Antiblack Racism, Devon Johnson presents a thoughtful and welcomed philosophical explanation, analysis, and argument of Black existential thought in response to the contemporary situation. This book demands our attention.
-- Floyd W. Hayes, III, Johns Hopkins University
What is the Black (Hu) Man? Rarely are the values that affirmatively assert this position into the world fully presented and engaged as material for philosophical thought. Devon Johnson’s Black Nihilism and Anti-Black Racism provides an invaluable philosophical resource that indicts the quotidian proclamations of Blackness as nonbeing by reclaiming deliberate and positive construction of the Black self. Rather than fatalism, Johnson’s strong Black Nihilism posits a world of creation, liberation, and revolt despite the decadence of the white supremacist reality Black people face. This is an accomplished text and a reading that will generate that momentary pause before the declaration that Blackness is slave far too many scholars have come to embrace.
-- Tommy Curry, Distinguished Professor of Africana philosophy & black male studies, School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh
Table of ContentsForeword: by Lewis Gordon
Introduction
Chapter 1: Philosophizing Black Nihilism
Chapter 2: White Nihilism
Chapter 3: Traditional Nihilism in Black America
Chapter 4: Strong Black Nihilism
Chapter 5: The Future …
Afterword:
Bibliography
Index
