Afro-Pessimism and the (Un)Logic of Anti-Blackness
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Annie Olaloku-Teriba in
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Abstract
In the coming months and years, the left faces a historic juncture. On the one hand, racist violence is on the rise across the West, and the political class seems intent on mobilising both overt and subtle racism. On the other hand, strategies of anti-racist organising, which have developed on both sides of the Atlantic, have reached a theoretical impasse. I argue that now, more than ever, a serious project of historical and intellectual retrieval is necessary. This article interrogates the theoretical limitations of ‘anti-blackness’ as an analysis of racialised oppression. Through the thought of Frantz Fanon and Steve Biko, among others, I argue that theories of ‘anti-blackness’, specifically those rooted in Afro-pessimism, are predicated on a theoretical shift away from relational social theory to identitarian essentialism which obscures, rather than illuminates, the processes of racialisation which undergird racial oppression.
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Afro-Pessimism and the (Un)Logic of Anti-Blackness
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Annie Olaloku-Teriba in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
In the coming months and years, the left faces a historic juncture. On the one hand, racist violence is on the rise across the West, and the political class seems intent on mobilising both overt and subtle racism. On the other hand, strategies of anti-racist organising, which have developed on both sides of the Atlantic, have reached a theoretical impasse. I argue that now, more than ever, a serious project of historical and intellectual retrieval is necessary. This article interrogates the theoretical limitations of ‘anti-blackness’ as an analysis of racialised oppression. Through the thought of Frantz Fanon and Steve Biko, among others, I argue that theories of ‘anti-blackness’, specifically those rooted in Afro-pessimism, are predicated on a theoretical shift away from relational social theory to identitarian essentialism which obscures, rather than illuminates, the processes of racialisation which undergird racial oppression.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 6539 | 1044 | 99 |
| Full Text Views | 1952 | 131 | 17 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 2598 | 288 | 31 |