The Black Liberation Movement in the United States has reached an almost unprecedented level of ideological confusion. Unlike in the 20th century, significant sections of the contemporary Black Left openly embrace an understanding of ‘identity politics’[i] that is based in philosophical idealism.[ii] A somewhat resurgent US Left has, correctly, begun to critique these perceived political errors. Unfortunately, social democrats such as DSA, Jacobin and Cedric Johnson in his award-winning article[iii] add to the ideological confusion. This essay asserts that contrary to the claims of advancing democracy and freedom, social democracy has consistently undermined the struggle for national liberation and socialism. In 1896, Eduard Bernstein, the . . .
Theory Corner
Identity Without Responsibility
It’s very difficult to really get to the bottom of an issue with a celebrity at the center. On Hood Communist, we have written and talked a lot about the issues created by celebrity-centered analysis. Once the concept of celebrity enters a room, it stands in the middle of the floor and expands outward in every direction, making it impossible for other issues, like class, to get a word in. The conversation can no longer be about the issue itself, only the spectacle of the celebrity and what we project on our relationship with that person. This is proven true . . .
Liberal Democracy: The Bedfellow of Fascism
Antifascism, as a politic and concept, has grown more appealing in the last 6 years because of the rise of right-wing authoritarianism domestically and globally rooted in patriarchy and ongoing (settler) colonialism. Nonetheless, there remains much confusion about fascism. Earlier this month, I was a featured panelist for a roundtable discussion with the editors of For Antifascist Futures: Against the Violence of Imperial Crisis and author of On Microfascism: Gender War and Death at the Red Emma’s bookstore in Baltimore. It was a compelling cultural and political exploration wherein we engaged the feminist and anticolonial dimensions of antifascism with readers . . .
The Lethal Threat of the White Boss
In the early morning hours of October 2nd, relatives of 20-year-old Porter Burks called Detroit police because the young Black man, who was challenged by schizophrenia, wandered the neighborhood brandishing a knife with a blade slightly longer than three inches. He slashed his brother’s tires and was otherwise acting out in ways that concerned his loved ones. The specific request was that police assist with getting control of the young man so that he could be transported for treatment. When five officers arrived, they took positions more than fifty feet away from Burks. As they shouted pleas for cooperation, they . . .
To Save Black Mental Health, Destroy Racial Capitalism
“Amerika trips me and proceeds to ask me how I fell; whips me, then asks me how to stop the bleeding.” There is no conversation about the state of mental health in Amerika’s Black communities without discussing the violence wrought on them by racial capitalism—a term coined by Cedric Robinson. Robinson, a pioneer in the study of the Black Radical Tradition, argued that the “development, organization and expansion of capitalist society pursued essentially racial directions.”1 It is this pursuit that has helped shape many of today’s societal ills, including poor rates of Black mental health. Historical oppression, including slavery, sharecropping, . . .
The Enemy’s Unity vs. African Unity
Unity has been the watchword for Africa’s enemies. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) united countries engaged in colonialism and imperialism under the leadership of the United States. NATO’s role in Africa has been to defend the United States and Western Europe’s economic dominance over Africa’s land and resources. As just one example, NATO supported fascist Portugal with planes, ships, and arms in the fight to preserve colonies in the 1960s and 1970s. NATO remains a threat to Africa and the world. Under the leadership of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Africa’s enemies united and used military force to attempt to . . .
Why So Few of Us Have a Good Job
A good job is obviously one that brings you a sense of fulfillment while carrying it out. Since you are going to spend so much time there, more than you will with your loved ones, than this is a pretty important requirement. Other equally important characteristics of a good job are livable wages, quality health care, and a good retirement program. This means a wage that permits you to have a roof over your head, place food on the table, pay all your necessities, and have enough left over to save for a rainy day and enjoy some of the . . .
The Real Crisis of Black Manhood
The current fight against the feminization of Black men is a fight to sustain an oppressive status quo of female degradation and subjugation, it’s not about preserving Black manhood. First off we need to understand that: Black manhood has never even existed in the USA! We were not men under chattel slavery, we were not even recognized as human. After emancipation and during the Reconstruction era we simply imitated the roles, behaviors, standards, dress, and values of white men, that’s all we had known as Black men in the US for over 200 years. White men were our only reference . . .