Black Movements in America

Cedric Robinson traces the emergence of Black political cultures in the United States from slave resistances in the 16th and 17th centuries to the civil rights movements of the present. Drawing on the historical record, he argues that Blacks have constructed both a culture of resistance and a culture of accommodation based on the radically different experiences of slaves and free Blacks.

"...stimulating...synthesis of African American protest...Robinson's framework forces one to consider black social movements from interesting perspectives." -- Rich Newman, The Historian
"Robinson's writing is crisp and his meaning is always crystal clear." -- Journal of American History
"Robinson...offers a compelling, concise look at the history of black activism in the U.S. Exploring nearly 400 years of this under-examined subject, Robinson reveals little-known, fascinating events in black activism, from pre-Revolutionary War America to the Civil War to the civil-rights movement era...a thoughtful, well-written work." -- Booklist

Autorentext

Cedric J. Robinson is a Professor of Black Studies and Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His published works include Black Marxism (1983) and The Terms of Order (1980).

Klappentext

In Black Movements in America, Cedric Robinson traces the emergence of Black political cultures in the United States from slave resistances in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the civil rights movements of the present. Drawing on historical records, Robinson argues that Blacks have constructed both a culture of resistance and a culture of accommodation based on the radically different experiences of slaves and free Blacks. Robinson concludes that contemporary Black movements are inspired by either a social vision - held by the relatively privileged strata - which holds the American nation to its ideals and public representation, and another - that of the masses - which interprets the Black experience in America as proof of the country's venality and hypocrisy.

Zusammenfassung
Traces Black political cultures in the US from slave resistances in the 16th and 17th centuries to civil rights movements of the late 20th century. The text argues that Blacks have constructed cultures resistance and accommodation based on the different experiences of slaves and free Blacks.

Inhalt

CONTENTS: 1. The Coming to America; Blacks and Colonial English America; The Early Black Movements of Resistance; Marronage in North America; Diverging Political Cultures; 2. Slavery and Constitutions; Three American Revolutions; Documenting Indifference and Interest; The Slave's Revolution Continues; 3. Free Blacks and Resistance; Abolition and Free Blacks; The Black Abolitionist; Black Sovereignty; Insurrection; 4. The Civil War and Its Aftermaths; Opposing Objectives: Accumulation vs. Liberty; The Black's War; White Reconstruction and Black Deconstruction; 5. The Nadir and Its Aftermath; Black Agrarians; The Antilynching Movement; The First World War; Black Self-Determination; 6. The Search for Higher Ground; The Second World War and Black Struggles; The Cold War and the Race War; Civil Rights and Mass Struggle; Civil Rights and the Rituals of Oppression; The Negations of the Movement