Freedom Dreams [eBook - NC Digital Library] : The Black Radical Imagination

“. . . [a] bold and provocative celebration of the black radical imagination in the 20th century.” —The New York Times Book Review Kelley unearths freedom dreams in this exciting history of renegade intellectuals and artists of the African diaspora in the twentieth century. Focusing on the visions of activists from C. L. R. James to Aime Cesaire and Malcolm X, Kelley writes of the hope that Communism offered, the mindscapes of Surrealism, the transformative potential of radical feminism, and of the four-hundred-year-old dream of reparations for slavery and Jim Crow. From “the preeminent historian of black popular culture” (Cornel West), an inspiring work on the power of imagination to transform society. “Based on Kelley’s belief that to make a better world we must first imagine it, this brilliantly conceived and written book recounts the accomplishments of black activists and thinkers over the past century who have been committed to remaking the world.” —Library Journal Robin D. G.Kelley is professor of history and Africana studies at New York University and author of Hammer and Hoe, Race Rebels, and Yo’ Mama’s Disfunktional! (Beacon / 0941-5 / $14.00 pb). He lives in New York City. This exciting history of renegade intellectuals and artists of the African diaspora throughout the twentieth century begins with the premise that the catalyst for political engagement has rarely been misery, poverty, or oppression. People are drawn to social movement because of hope: their dreams of a new world radically different from the one they inherited.


Our imagination may be the most revolutionary tool available to us, and yet we have failed to understand its political importance and recognize it as a powerful social force.

From Paul Robeson to Aime Cesaire to Jayne Cortez, Kelley unearths freedom dreams in African and Third World liberation movements, in the hope that Communism offered, in the imaginative mindscapes of Surrealism, in the transformative potential of radical feminism, and in the four-hundred-year-old dream of reparations for slavery and Jim Crow.


With Freedom Dreams, Kelley affirms his place as "a major new voice on the intellectual left" (Frances Fox Piven) and shows us that any serious movement toward freedom must begin in the mind. Kelley unearths freedom dreams in this exciting history of renegade intellectuals and artists of the African diaspora in the twentieth century. Focusing on the visions of activists from C. L. R. James to Aime Cesaire and Malcolm X, Kelley writes of the hope that Communism offered, the mindscapes of Surrealism, the transformative potential of radical feminism, and of the four-hundred-year-old dream of reparations for slavery and Jim Crow. From'the preeminent historian of black popular culture' (Cornel West), an inspiring work on the power of imagination to transform society. From the Trade Paperback edition When history sleeps : a beginning Dreams of the new land The Negro question : red dreams of Black liberation Roaring from the east : third world dreaming A day of reckoning : dreams of restitution This battlefield called life : Black feminist dreams Keeping it (sur)real : dreams of the marvelous When history awakes : a new beginning.