Black Anarchism and the Black Radical Tradition: Moving Beyond Racial Capitalism

This work is an important achievement in clarifying the history and current importance of Black anarchism. The information that the book presents will be new to many readers. For instance, one important component involves the explanations of how hierarchical principles within the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army helped generate the emergence of Black anarchism among key party members who later developed their ideas and strategies while in prison. Likewise, the book breaks new ground in demonstrating that Black anarchism has emerged not from the European/ North American anarchist traditions but rather from roots in Pan-Africanism, the Black radical tradition focusing on racial capitalism and the work of Cedric Robinson, and grassroots struggles partly in the U.S. South. An in-depth analysis of the somewhat different but complementary focuses within the two generations of Black anarchism also is very helpful. Finally, the book highlights concrete, contemporary implications for revolutionary strategy, including a perceptive analysis of the compatibilities between socialist and Black anarchist approaches to current transformative struggles. This publication will become widely known and used because it brings enlightening new ways to understand and act on the intertwined structures of racial capitalism and the capitalist state.

ISBN Print: 9781990263323
Publication Date: January 2023
Page Count: 62
Binding Type: Soft-cover
Trim Size: 6x9
Language: English
Colour: B&W

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Atticus is a communist theorist though he likes to think of himself as an anarchist in practice. His theoretical work is concerned with historical and contemporaneous black anarchist thought, the multiplicity of social struggles against oppression in the United States, and…

    Shannon (they/them) is a non binary BlaQueer organizer in the Midwest who's current work focuses primarily on abolition, Black Autonomous/Anarchic Radical (BAR) theory and praxis, and creating affordable, cooperative housing options in their city with their co-op crew. They live…

      This work is an important achievement in clarifying the history and current importance of Black anarchism. The information that the book presents will be new to many readers. For instance, one important component involves the explanations of how hierarchical principles within the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army helped generate the emergence of Black anarchism among key party members who later developed their ideas and strategies while in prison. Likewise, the book breaks new ground in demonstrating that Black anarchism has emerged not from the European/ North American anarchist traditions but rather from roots in Pan-Africanism, the Black radical tradition focusing on racial capitalism and the work of Cedric Robinson, and grassroots struggles partly in the U.S. South. An in-depth analysis of the somewhat different but complementary focuses within the two generations of Black anarchism also is very helpful. Finally, the book highlights concrete, contemporary implications for revolutionary strategy, including a perceptive analysis of the compatibilities between socialist and Black anarchist approaches to current transformative struggles. This publication will become widely known and used because it brings enlightening new ways to understand and act on the intertwined structures of racial capitalism and the capitalist state.

      Customer Reviews

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      • Gabriel Kuhn

        Besides prominent Black anarchists such as Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin and Kuwasi Balagoon (whose main works – Anarchism and the Black Revolution and A Soldier’s Story: Revolutionary Writings by a New Afrikan Anarchist, respectively – have recently seen new editions), Atticus Bagby-Williams and Nsambu Za Suekama discuss radical Black theorists such as Frantz Fanon and Cedric Robinson. The engagement with the latter is of particular interest, as Robinson is mainly known for his work on Black Marxism. However, the subtitle of Robinson’s main work, Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition, suggests why Atticus Bagby-Williams and Nsambu Za Suekama would find it useful to relate Robinson’s studies to the emergence of Black anarchism. By doing so, they are making a very valuable contribution to the history of radical thought.

        In their concluding chapter, “Toward Black Autonomy,” Atticus Bagby-Williams and Nsambu Za Suekama write that “contributions of Black anarchist politics will be vital towards building a more liberated post-capitalist world.” This, without doubt, is true. Track down a copy, read, and learn. — Gabriel Kuhn: LeftTwoThree https://lefttwothree.org/anarchism-and-the-black-radical-tradition/

        July 30, 2023

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