Read more
Discussions of racism and antiracism are a central part of today's national conversation. The political environment is filled with challenging questions around race and politics. This introductory textbook combines intellectual history, political biography, and philosophy in a manner that incorporates the contributions and ideas of African American political thinkers into a comprehensive, engaging narrative. Acting as a companion to primary source documents, the text frames these figures and their ideologies within their historical and political contexts. African American political thinkers throughout history have been at the forefront of considering how to counteract racism and achieve racial justice. By examining the evolution of the core figures, concepts, and movements of African American political thought over time, students will be able to apply theory to both historical and current contexts. This text provides a multicultural lens to challenge commonly held understandings of traditional western thought as future leaders tackle challenging questions.
About the author
Alex Zamalin is Professor of Africana Studies and Political Science at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. An experienced scholar of African American political thought, race and American politics, and American culture, Zamalin is the author of several books, including African American Political Thought and American Culture: The Nation's Struggle for Racial Justice (Palgrave, 2015), Struggle on Their Minds: The Political Thought of African American Resistance (Columbia University Press, 2017), Antiracism: An Introduction (NYU Press, 2019) and Black Utopia: The History of an Idea from Black Nationalism to Afrofuturism (Columbia University Press, 2019). His work has been featured in the Guardian, Christian Science Monitor, Literary Hub, Religion Dispatches, ESPN's Andscape and YES! magazine. His scholarly essays have appeared in various edited book collections and in journals like New Political Science, Contemporary Political Theory, and Political Theory. He has been a regular guest on NPR as well as an invited lecturer at various institutions on issues relating to antiracism, diversity, and culture, including the Boston Public Library, the University of Toronto, Wright State University, the University of Vienna, the Humanities Institute at the State University of New York at Buffalo, an NEH-sponsored workshop at Seminole State College, the University of Connecticut, and Emory University.
