2017 in Review: Roundtables on Black Perspectives
In 2017, Black Perspectives, the blog of the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS), hosted ten online roundtables and forums, featuring leading scholars and important topics in African American History. As the year closes, the editors at Black Perspectives have chosen to provide our readers with this list of roundtables and forums in order to celebrate this accomplishment. We also want to take this opportunity to thank our contributors, our collaborators, and our readers. We plan to feature more exciting roundtables and forums in 2018 and hope that you will join us. If you would like to submit a proposal for an online forum on a particular topic, please contact us for more details.
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Heather Ann Thompson’s Blood in the Water
In partnership with the Journal of Civil and Human Rights (JCHR), we hosted a roundtable on Heather Ann Thompson‘s Blood in the Water, exploring state violence, the archive, trauma, and storytelling as resistance. Michael Ezra moderated the roundtable and it featured responses from Kali Nicole Gross; Robert Chase; Danielle McGuire; Dan Berger; LaShawn D. Harris; and Russell Rickford. Professor Thompson offered concluding remarks. Click here to read the essays.
Remembering Malcolm
In recognition of the 52nd anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination, we hosted “Remembering Malcolm” to bring together a diverse group of scholars to reflect on Malcolm’s life and legacy. The week-long forum allowed scholars to offer insights on the lasting influence and significance of Malcolm, including meditations on public memory, anti-imperialism, love and antiracist philosophy. Organized by Garrett Felber, the forum featured essays by Laura Warren Hill; Alaina M. Morgan; Ibram X. Kendi; Amy Ongiri; Zaheer Ali and Russell Rickford. Click here to read the essays.
Sowande’ Mustakeem’s Slavery at Sea
In March, we hosted a roundtable on Sowande’ Mustakeem‘s Slavery at Sea, which delved into Mustakeem’s consideration of the violence, memory, morality, and death within the transatlantic slave trade. Jessica Marie Johnson moderated the roundtable which featured responses from Doug Egerton; Marisa Fuentes; Jessica Millward; Vanessa Holden; and Joshua D. Rothman. Professor Mustakeem offered concluding remarks. Click here to read the essays.
Black Women and the Politics of Respectability
In partnership with Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Culture, Politics, and Society, we hosted the forum “Black Women and the Politics of Respectability.” This week-long forum interrogated the ways in which representations of African American women can be silenced–or resisted–through moral contestation and conformity in mass culture. It grappled with how the “politics of respectability,” a phrase coined by historian Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, shaped black women’s lives and experiences from the early twentieth century to the present. It featured essays by Ralina L. Joseph; Jane Rhodes; Sara P. Díaz; Katharina Fackler; and Julian Kevon Glover. Click here to read the essays.
Gerald Horne’s Radical Black History
To honor the scholarship of Gerald Horne, we hosted the forum “Gerald Horne’s Radical Black History” in which scholars used Horne’s work to reflect on pressing themes in black history’s global reach. Due to his prolific career, scholars addressed various aspects of Horne’s contributions to our knowledge on African American History, including his books on slavery, Caribbean history, and transpacific black history, along with his biographies, and works on W. E. B. Du Bois. Organized by Phillip Luke Sinitiere, the forum featured essays by Yuichiro Onishi; Jessica Marie Johnson; Brandon Byrd; Phillip Luke Sinitiere; and Charisse Burden-Stelly. At the conclusion of the roundtable, Professor Horne responded. Click here to read the essays.
Robyn Spencer’s The Revolution Has Come
In partnership with the Journal of Civil and Human Rights (JCHR), we hosted a roundtable on Robyn Spencer‘s The Revolution Has Come, which discussed central themes in the book including state repression, gender, grassroots activism, and its innovative look at the Oakland chapter of the Black Panther Party. The roundtable featured posts from Michael Ezra; Ashley D. Farmer; Garrett Felber; Tracy E. K’Meyer; Ibram X. Kendi; and Quito Swan. Professor Spencer offered concluding remarks. Click here to read the essays.
Judith Weisenfeld’s New World A-Coming
In collaboration with the Journal of Africana Religions, we hosted a roundtable on Judith Weisenfeld‘s New World A-Coming that explored the book’s central themes of religion, identity and migration during the twentieth century. Moderated by Rhon S. Manigault-Bryant, the roundtable featured responses from Emily Clark; Chernoh Sesay Jr.; Danielle Brune Sigler; and Tisa Wenger. On the final day, Professor Weisenfeld offered concluding remarks. Click here to read the essays.
Devyn Spence Benson’s Antiracism in Cuba
In the fall, we hosted a roundtable on Devyn Spence Benson‘s Antiracism in Cuba. The week-long forum explored the ideology and rhetoric around race in Cuba during the Cuban revolution. It featured responses from Yesenia Barragan; Aisha Finch; Nancy Raquel Mirabal; Melina Pappademos; and Sandy Placido. On the final day, Professor Benson offered concluding remarks. Click here to read the essays.
Black October: The Russian Revolution and the African Diaspora
Marking the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, we hosted an online forum, “Black October,” which explored the Revolution and its consequences for the Black diaspora. Organized and moderated by Jennifer Wilson and Jennifer Suchland, the forum featured essays from Hakim Adi; Kate Cowcher; Rossen Djagalov; Raquel Greene; Christina Kiaer; Denise Lynn; and Russell Rickford. Click here to read the essays.
Race, Property, and Economic History
Most recently, we hosted an online forum on race, property and economic history. This week-long forum examined a range of key topics in race and economic history, including gentrification, segregation and economic inequalities. Organized and moderated by Walter D. Greason, the forum featured essays from C.N.E. Corbin; Kasturi “Rumu” DasGupta; Devin Fergus; Paige Glotzer; Tomas Gonzalez, and Zebulon Vance Miletsky. Click here to read the essays.
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