Struggle on Their Minds: The Political Thought of African American Resistance

237 Pages·2017·2.55 MB·English

by  Alex Zamalin

STRUGGLE ON THEIR MIND S

ST R U G G L E
O N   T H E I R M I N D S
T H E P O L I T I C A L T H O U G H T
of
A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N
R E S I S TAN CE
ALEX ZAMALIN

Columbia University Press
New York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
c up.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2017 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A complete CIP record is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0231-18110-5 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0231-54347-7 (e-book)

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design: FaceOut Studio
FOR ALISON, S AM, AND ANIT A
•

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
A cknowledgments xi
INTRODUCTION: THE POLITICAL THOUGHT
OF AFRICAN AMERICAN RESIS TANCE
1
1  DAVID WALKER, FREDERICK DOUGLA SS,
AND THE ABOLITIONIS T DEMOCRATIC VISION
22
2  IDA B. WELLS, THE ANTIL YNCHING MOVEMENT,
AND THE POLITICS OF SEEING
59
3  HUEY NEWTON, THE BLA CK PANTHERS,
AND THE DEC OLONIZATION OF AMERICA
88
VIII(cid:3)CONTENTS
4  ANGELA DAVIS, PRISON ABOLITION, AND THE END
OF THE AMERICAN CARCERAL S TATE
119
CONCLUSION: THE FUTURE OF RESIS TANCE
150
N otes 161
B ibliography 203
I ndex 219
ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig. 1.1. Frontispiece to David Walker’s A ppeal , 1830 27
Fig. 2.1. Duluth lynchings, June 15, 1920 60
Fig. 3.1. Huey Newton sitting in wicker chair, 1967 89