AAS/HSTA 345: The Black Radical Tradition
Week 1: Introduction, Definitions of Radicalism, Social Movement Theory
Day 1 –
Readings
None
Day 1 Objectives: Students will Discuss definitions of radicalism;
Introduce themselves to the class and instructor;
Review the syllabi and the required texts;
Examine the main individuals and movements of the black radical tradition.
Opening question. What do the Black Panthers and destitute Bangladeshi women
participating in micro-economic loans have in common? [Show single slide with
picture of both Panthers and Bangladeshi women.]
- Black panthers description: describe Black Panthers as a socialist inspired group
of African-Americans founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966 in
Oakland, CA, for the protection the African American community from policy
brutality and economic oppression through armed self-defense;
- micro-economic loan programs: small loans – many under $100 – taken out by
impoverished families – many in the two-thirds world – and paid back in weekly
installments from assets earned through new sustainable, capitalistic investments
like family-run weaving businesses or a small-scale communications company
(simply by buying a cell phone and providing phone access to neighbors).
Write and respond. Write for five minutes. Discuss your answer with a partner.
Discuss. Examine the following themes:
- within the system: degree in which both operate within the framework of a
system. For all their talk, Black Panthers were not ultimately about the total
overthrow of the US government;
- collectivity: both grounded in the idea of collectivity. Not individual enterprises
but embrace a group of people working toward a common goal;
- focused on economics: both groups cared deeply about the economic conditions
that they and their neighbors were working in;
- approach to capitalism: different in that microeconomic programs embrace
capitalism and Black Panthers critiqued capitalism;
- both challenge idea of radicalism: Panthers at the time were radical in calling
for major changes to the racial dynamics of capitalism but at the same time –
unlike another African American-led organization for social change the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or SNCC – actively cooperated with and
advocated working with white people. Challenged the separatist ideology of the
time. Bangladeshi women appear to be cooperating with the capitalist system but
at the same time by succeeding at the their small businesses they challenge the
idea of who a capitalist is and what a successful business person looks like;
Definition of radicalism. Where does this exercise leave us in terms of a defining
radicalism? Ask students to reflect on what the definition of radicalism is. Do not
define the term. Note that we will return time and again to this question. It is one
that the students will have to ultimately decide for themselves [Remember that
you as the instructor hold that radicalism is any movement that cuts to the roots of
the problem – but don’t offer this to the students.]
Introductions. Write down your name, year in school, major, preferred method
of email contact, and one thing you hope to learn by taking this course. Once
written, invite students to read their name and what they hope to learn by taking
this course.
Syllabus review. Put a dictionary, shovel, laptop with spreadsheet, glasses, stack
of the course books, a blank sheet of paper and a pen,
- discuss dictionary (definition) – we will be examining the definition of
radicalism in this class. What does it mean? Who is defining? You will be
responsible for making that identification;
- discuss shovel (sources) – we will be examining the sources of black radicalism
in this country. Digging into the past. Looking at where these radical initiatives
came from; who inspired the Revolutionary Action Movement? How did a group
of mothers on Welfare end up taking over Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas?
-– laptop with spread sheet (results) - we will be analyzing a variety of
movements to examine their results. Explain that a spreadsheet is used to analyze
results. What actually came about in a business. What was the bottom line?
Examine whether they did what they set out to do. What came about as a result of
the early nineteenth century slave revolts of Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vessey,
and Nat Turner? Did twentieth Century filmmakers – the Third World Newsreel –
really make a difference in Watts?
- discuss glasses (theory/influence) – will be peering into movements to examine
their influence using the glasses of social movement theory. Examine why some
movements succeeded and others failed. Was it entirely a matter of circumstance?
Is it possible to predict whether a movement will succeed based on past
evaluations? What do we gain through a social movement theory lens? Could the
garbage wars in Chicago have turned out differently if different tactics would
have been used?
- Review objectives. Note that we have just reviewed the objectives of this course.
These are the themes we will be examining – definition, sources, results,
theory/influence through social movement theory.
- Books. Show class books and read each title. Discuss that this is a course that
centers on these books. All available on course reserve at the library. Need to
read.
- Quizzes. Quizzes each Tuesday (or Thursday if no class on Tuesday) on that
week’s readings. You can use your notes to take the quizzes. They are graded and
constitute a significant portion of your participation grade. First quiz a week from
today on the first 208 pages of Apetheker.