The recent explosion in US scholarship on the Black Power Movement provides the context for this close reading and textual analysis of Peniel Joseph’s latest book, Dark Days, Bright Nights: from Black Power to Barack Obama. Taking into account the context of the book’s appearance and the critical public debate surrounding it, this article unpacks Joseph’s discussion of Black Power, paying particular attention to his rendering of ‘self-determination’ and other key political ideologies. It asks what is at stake for Black radical memory when knowledge production on the Black Power Movement is governed by the dictates of the American marketplace and, more specifically, the publishing industry. In addition, it briefly reconnoitres the ways that Black radical (collective) memory can serve as a counterbalance to the erasures of marketplace history, and keep us attentive to the contemporary pertinence and unfinished business of the past. The article closes by highlighting some alternative routes taken by scholars concerned with the future of Black Power Studies.
This article is a critical rejoinder to Manning Marable's "Beyond Brown: The Revolution in Black Studies," featured in the Summer 2005 issue of The Black Scholar. Written in the form of a letter, the article addresses the role of professional organizations within the field of Black Studies and the failed commitment on behalf of "public intellectuals" to build and maintain these disciplinary institutions. Through an interrogation of scholarly writings, current events, conventional media coverage, and various organizational documents, the article lobbies for a recommitment to broad-based dialogue and professional Black Studies associations. Furthermore, it critically engages and outlines developing trends in the field of Black Studies, like institutional under/development, "theoretical balkanization," and the emergence of paradigmatic schools of thought.
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