Black Intellectual Leaders
Black Intellectual leaders .
Because I think race is the single most critical and most divisive issue in American politics, I always included a unit on Black politics in my course on American government. And in my course on Revolution. And in my Honors course. The approaches in these three courses were very different but they all followed a theme: resistance to injustice.
There are two podcasts on Black leaders. One is on Political leaders, one on intellectual leaders. This is the lecture on Intellectual leaders. These are people who write books and analyze situations. The other talk is on those who take leadership positions and head organizations.
The goal of this talk is to show how complex the issues are and how various Black intellectuals approach the problems of the Black community in different ways. In each case I try to follow the Rules of Good Studenting, to explain that person’s position to their own satisfaction.
As you listen to these different ideas, please remember that all of these people are trying to make the situation better. They do not agree with each other on what is the proper approach.
Regrettably I did not discuss James Baldwin (The Fire Next Time) or Ta’Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me) or Derrick Bell (Faces at the Bottom of the Well), all of which influenced my own thinking. I do plan future podcasts on Louis Farrakhan and Critical Race Theory (which will include Bell's book). Meanwhile, do yourself a favor and add them to your reading list, if you have not already read them.
Names mentioned in this podcast:
St. Clair Drake
Nicholas Lemann
Marcus Garvey (who is discussed more fully in the talk on leaders)
Franklin Frasier and his book The Black Bourgeoisie
Shelby Steele and his two books, The Content of Our Character and White Guilt
Barack Obama and his Father’s Day Speech (plus his books Dreams from my Father and The Audacity of Hope).
Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post and his book Disintegration
Murray and Herrnstein and their book The Bell Curve
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her book Amerikanah (I love this book).
Some terms used: Race Man, Bronzeville, caste, Black Conservative