Moving Against the System: The 1968 Congress of Black Writers and the Shaping of Global Black Consciousness

305 Pages·2018·8.81 MB·English

by  David Austin

“The Congress of Black Writers marks one of the most important gatherings of
radical intellectuals in the twentieth century . . . Where else can you find the likes
of C. L. R. James, Walter Rodney, Richard B. Moore, James Forman, Stokely
Carmichael, Robert Hill and others, talking revolution to an engaged and some-
times combative crowd? I couldn’t put the book down.
—robin d. g. kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
“Moving Against the System is a carefully constructed montage of the leadership,
dynamics, and substance of what became an international ‘Movement.’ It is a
revelatory portrait of the past that is no less revealing of the political dynamics
and potential of today’s Black Live Matter, #MeToo, and other activist efforts. A
must read.”
—harry edwards, Ph.D., Prof. Emeritus, Univ. of California, Berkeley;
Consultant: NFL, NBA

“Austin provides a wonderful contextual and critical Introduction making the
contributions of C. L. R. James, Robert Hill, Walter Rodney, James Forman,
Stokely Carmichael and many others not only relevant to but also very much
alive for contemporary movement theory and practice. A must read for all those
concerned with anti-racist revolutionary social transformation today.”
—gary kinsman, gay liberation and anti-capitalist activist, co-author of The
Canadian War on Queers: National Security as Sexual Regulation
“Moving Against the System powerfully reminds us of the depth and breadth of the
Black radical tradition and its profound, enduring contributions to anti-imperi-
alist thought and action. But more than this, at a time when such acute insights
are badly needed, Austin suggests critical ways to engage with these ideas and
histories, to educate and inform today’s struggles to change the system.”
—aziz choudry, Canada Research Chair in Social Movement Learning and
Knowledge Production, McGill University
“Like Stokely Carmichael and so many others who participated in the 1968
Congress of Black Writers in Montreal, David Austin seeks to transform the
paradigm . . . With this book, Austin further establishes himself as a leading light
within that tradition.”
—steven high, Department of History, Concordia University
“It is simply extraordinary to read, 50 years later, this collection from the
Congress of Black Writers in Montreal in 1968. Not only has David Austin
gathered and expertly introduced the interventions of some of the twentieth cen-
tury’s most important intellectuals and militants, these texts remind us of a time
when the struggles against racism, capitalism, and imperialism converged on a
global scale and advanced a project for liberation . . . a project which remains
central and necessary today.”
—asad haider, author of Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump
“This remarkable collection gathers electric essays from a critical site of the
making of a ‘global 1968.’ Masterfully introduced, it includes the work of leading
pan-African thinkers and freedom fighters gathered at the most important North
American intellectual event of that critical year. The histories and dilemmas that
they dissect are ones with which we still very much live.”
—david roediger, author of Class, Race, and Marxism
“This collection is a treasure chest of Canadian, Caribbean, and African diasporic
history. And David Austin is a remarkable archivist, curator, detective and analyst
of this decisive moment.”
—karen dubinsky, Professor, Global Development Studies and History
Queen’s University

“David Austin has done a tremendous service by bringing together this bril-
liant and inspiring collection from the Congress of Black Writers . . . With white
supremacy on the rise once again, the insights contained here provide a vital
guide to the waging of revolutionary anti-racist praxis on a global scale.”
—sunera thobani, Department of Asian Studies, University of British
Columbia; author of Exalted Subjects: Studies in the Making of Race
and Nation in Canada
“Reading Moving Against the System as an activist and organizer is to experience
time folding in on itself . . . much of our struggles today are informed in part by
some of the men whose speeches and arguments appear here . . . the documenta-
tion of this incredibly important Congress in an accessible book format is sure to
remain relevant and instructive for years to come”
—sandra hudson, co-founder of Black Lives Matter—Toronto
MOVING
AGAINST
THE
SYSTEM

MOVING
AGAINST
THE
SYSTEM
The 1968 Congress
of Black Writers
and the Making of
Global Consciousness
Edited and with
an Introduction by
David Austin
First published in Canada in 2018 by Between the Lines, Toronto, Canada
www.btlbooks.com
First published in the UK 2018 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © David Austin 2018
The right of the individual contributors to be identified as the authors of this work has been
asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 3866 8 Hardback
ISBN 978 0 7453 3865 1 Paperback
ISBN 978 1 7868 0378 8 PDF eBook
ISBN 978 1 7868 0380 1 Kindle eBook
ISBN 978 1 7868 0379 5 EPUB eBook
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained
forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the
environmental standards of the country of origin.
Typeset by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England
Simultaneously printed in the United Kingdom and United States of America
In memory of Franklyn Harvey

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction: The Dialect of Liberation
The Congress of Black Writers at 50—and Beyond
David Austin 1
1. The Psychology of Subjection
Race Relations in the United States of America
Alvin Poussaint 77
2. The Haitian Revolution and the History of Slave Revolt
C. L. R. James 91
3. The Fathers of the Modern Revolt
Marcus Garvey and the Origins of Black Power
Robert Hill 109
4. African History in the Service of the Black Liberation
Walter Rodney 127
5. The Civilizations of Ancient Africa
Richard B. Moore 143