Hannah Arendt and the Negro Question

194 Pages·2014·1.14 MB·English

by  Arendt

HannaH arendt
and the negro Question

Han naH ar endt
and the negro Question
Kathryn t. gines
indiana university Press
Bloomington and indianapolis
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© 2014 by Kathryn t. gines
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isBn 978-0-253-01167-1 (cloth)
isBn 978-0-253-01171-8 (paperback)
isBn 978-0-253-01175-6 (ebook)
1 2 3 4 5 19 18 17 16 15 14
To my mother, Kathleen Smallwood Johnson,
whom I watched go to law school while caring for
six children and four adults. You taught me about
the implications of Supreme Court decisions and
their impact on constructions of race and systems
of racism.
To my partner, Jason, and our children,
Jason II, Kyra, Jaden, and Kalia, for your patience
and support through it all.
And to my dearest “sisters in writing”
for our weekly writing retreats and for the precious
gifts of encouragement and enthusiasm.

What is important for me is to understand. For me, writing is
a matter of seeking this understanding, part of the process of
understanding. . . . Men always want to be terribly influential,
but i see that as somewhat external. . . . i want to understand.
and if others understand—in the sense that i have understood—
that gives me a sense of satisfaction, like feeling at home.
—Hannah arendt,
interview with günter gaus (oc to ber 28, 1964)
The very process of opinion formation is determined by those
in whose places somebody thinks and uses his own mind,
and the only condition for this exertion of the imagination
is disinterestedness, the liberation from one’s own private
interests. . . . i remain in this world of universal interdependence,
where i can make myself the representative of everybody else.
—Hannah arendt,
Between Past and Future

Contents
Preface xi
acknowledgments xiii
abbreviations xv
introduction 1
1 “The girl, obviously, Was asked to Be a Hero” 14
2 “The Most outrageous Law of south ern states—the Law Which
Makes Mixed Marriage a Criminal offense” 30
3 “The Three realms of Human Life: The Po liti cal, the social, and
the Private” 43
4 “The end of revolution is the Foundation of Freedom” 59
5 “a Preparatory stage for the Coming Catastrophes” 77
6 “only Violence and rule over others Could Make some Men Free” 93
7 “a Much greater Threat to our institutions of Higher Learning
than the student riots” 112
Conclusion: The role of Judgment in arendt’s approach to the
negro Question 123
notes 131
index 167