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Cedric Robinson - political theorist, historian, and activist - was one of the greatest black radical thinkers of the twentieth century. In this powerful work, the first major book to tell his story, Joshua Myers shows how Robinson's work interrogated the foundations of western political thought, modern capitalism, and changing meanings of race.
Tracing the course of Robinson's journey from his early days as an agitator in the 1960s to his publication of such seminal works as Black Marxism, Myers frames Robinson's mission as aiming to understand and practice opposition to "the terms of order." In so doing, Robinson excavated the Black Radical tradition as a form of resistance that imagined that life on wholly different terms was possible. In the era of Black Lives Matter, that resistance is as necessary as ever, and Robinson's contribution only gains in importance. This book is essential reading for anyone wanting to learn more about it.
List of contents
Acknowledgments
Preface: Cedric's Time
Chapter 1: All Around Him
Chapter 2: The Town and Gown
Chapter 3: Authority and Order
Chapter 4: Beyond Racial Capitalism
Chapter 5: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition
Chapter 6: Culture and War
Conclusion: I Am You
Notes
About the author
Joshua Myers is Assistant Professor in the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University.
Summary
Cedric Robinson - political theorist, historian, and activist - was one of the greatest black radical thinkers of the twentieth century. In this powerful work, the first major book to tell his story, Joshua Myers shows how Robinson's work interrogated the foundations of western political thought, modern capitalism, and changing meanings of race.
Tracing the course of Robinson's journey from his early days as an agitator in the 1960s to his publication of such seminal works as Black Marxism, Myers frames Robinson's mission as aiming to understand and practice opposition to "the terms of order." In so doing, Robinson excavated the Black Radical tradition as a form of resistance that imagined that life on wholly different terms was possible. In the era of Black Lives Matter, that resistance is as necessary as ever, and Robinson's contribution only gains in importance. This book is essential reading for anyone wanting to learn more about it.
Report
"Joshua Myers... does an excellent job in contextualizing Robinson in this very readable biography."
The Progressive
"Cedric J. Robinson finally has found a worthy biographer in Joshua Myers. This book will remind you why we must urgently read and re-read Robinson's work. A tour de force."
Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
"Joshua Myers has written a necessary and much needed text to broaden and deepen our understanding of the life, thought, and practice of Cedric Robinson."
Corey D. B. Walker, Wake Forest University
"[A] clear and concise biography... valuable in developing an understanding of Robinson's thought and life."
Ken Olende, Ethnic and Racial Studies
