Description
Book SynopsisStruggle on Their Minds shows how the American political tradition have been continually challenged—and strengthened—by antiracist resistance, creating a rich legacy of African American thought. Alex Zamalin focuses on five activists across two centuries who fought to foreground slavery and racial injustice in American political discourse.
Trade ReviewFred Moten memorably wrote that the "history of blackness is testament to the fact that objects can and do resist." Alex Zamalin reaffirms this assertion through exquisite examination of narratives of resistance—not merely protest—by David Walker, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Huey Newton, and Angela Davis. Zamalin's deft treatise demonstrates how Afro-modern political thought refashions our fundamental understandings of resistance and the attendant ideals of democracy and freedom. -- Neil Roberts, author of
Freedom as Marronage, Williams College
Struggle on Their Minds places Alex Zamalin at the forefront of scholars concerned with the political thought of African American activists. I can think of no reading more timely than this rich account of the centrality of black resistance to U.S. democracy and democratic citizenship. -- Nick Bromell, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
In intellectually compelling and valuable ways, this book presents significant (but relatively neglected) figures in the canon of African American political theorizing and relates them both to broad idioms of American political thought and to our contemporary political conjuncture. -- George Shulman, Professor of Political Science at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University
Overall, the book offers an alternative view to American consensus theories on history, politics, and race. Excellent for American history, race, and political thought collections. * Choice *
Zamalin thoughtfully and concisely illustrates how his chosen writers reveal not only the paradoxes of resistance but also the inherent tensions within American democracy.
Struggle on Their Minds will work well in undergraduate classrooms as a systematic deconstruction of the idea that America has arrived at a 'so-called postracial moment.' . . . He shows how Walker, Douglass, Wells, Newton, and Davis have radically explicated the inherent, continual, pervasive and pernicious commitment to white supremacy that runs throughout U.S. history. -- Chernoh M. Sesay Jr. * Journal of American History *
Zamalin...make[s] a significant contribution to contemporary political theory by demonstrating the importance of taking black thinkers seriously. -- Justin Rose * Contemporary Political Theory *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Political Thought of African American Resistance
1. David Walker, Frederick Douglass, and the Abolitionist Democratic Vision
2. Ida B. Wells, the Antilynching Movement, and the Politics of Seeing
3. Huey Newton, the Black Panthers, and the Decolonization of America
4. Angela Davis, Prison Abolition, and the End of the American Carceral State
Conclusion: The Future of Resistance
Notes
Bibliography
Index
