Afro-pessimism: A Grassroots View

In Search of Black Power

Few concepts have been more mischaracterized and caricatured than the academic theory of Afro-pessimism.
Born of material struggle against Mandela aligned neoliberal wing of the ANC, the work of Frank Wilderson, Jared Sexton and other theorists has been framed in many way. Many have described it as fatalist, hetero-patriarchal, too Black nationalist, not Black nationalist enough, and now - with the publishing of a widely panned piece in the social magazine Jacobin - pro-zionist.
Dayvon Love and Lawrence Grandpre from Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS), a grassroots think tank in Baltimore, are folks with years of experience reading, teaching, and applying lessons from Afro-pessimism to concrete political work. In this conversation, they explore the value of the theory from the perspective of grassroots activism. They correct mischaracterizations of Afro-pessimism as a prescriptive call for academic nihilism. They explain it as a political lens to understand how Blackness functionally historically as fuel for people's fears and fantasies, and how this knowledge has helped LBS navigate the political terrain and achieve on the ground victories.

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).
The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)