A bold new collection of essays by one of America's most prominent scholar/activists, Black Liberation in Conservative America defines the crises and challenges confronting black America on the eve of the 21st century.Manning Marable chronicles the major debates, issues, and conflicts that have defined the politics of race, class, and gender in the 1990s, giving particular attention to the social and economic factors that have contributed to a growing climate of political conservatism: the urban crisis of expanding poverty and unemployment; reductions in spending for health care, education, and housing; and the globalization of capitalism and declines in real wages for working people. It is in this context that reactionary policies and movements based in racism, sexism, homophobia and class domination have emerged.Black Liberation in Conservative America analyzes the internal divisions within contemporary African-American communities, from schisms in the Naacp to the controversial Million Man March. Marable argues that the upsurge in black nationalist separatism and the increasing influence of Louis Farrakhan reveals a black conservative reaction incapable of advancing the struggles of African-Americans. From a political perspective rooted in radical democracy and social transformation, Marable's powerful commentaries call for a renewal of activism and mass protest against a system of unequal power and privilege.Destined to have a profound impact on debates regarding race, class, and politics, Black Liberation in Conservative America sharpens the agenda for black empowerment and multicultural democracy in the United States. It is essential reading for students of black politicsand history and progressive activists fighting for liberation.
