Black Power, Black Theology to After Black Lives Matter

Catalog description

This course examines compelling and complementary philosophies, pieties, and consequences of the Black Power era to the present. With an eye to the history that precedes this era, we chart the liberatory visions, evolving out of the persistent struggles and massive organizing of African Americans in the 1950s and 60s, and trace their far-reaching impact throughout the last half of the 20th century. We examine what is arguably the most significant social movement of the first quarter of the 21st century, #BlackLivesMatter Movement—particularly its aim, development, and effects, as well as its complex relationship to previous Black freedom movements and Black radicalism in general. After taking stocking, we will ask: What’s after Black Lives Matter? We also explore how the idiom of Black Power takes on spiritual meaning and translates into a Black Liberation Theology and into new Black religions like the Nation of Islam. Our aim is to keep in view the significance of the Black Power era for understanding social change and why “freedom is a constant struggle.” We will give special attention to relevant contemporary movements, debates, and issues (e.g., Cooperation Jackson, pan-Africanism, intersectionality, nationalism, the role of Black churches, politics of representation, racial capitalism, electoral politics).