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

In 1968, as protests shook France and war raged in Vietnam, the giants of black radical politics descended on Montreal to discuss the unique challenges and struggles facing their black comrades all over the world. Against a backdrop of widespread racism in the West and ongoing colonialism and imperialism in the Global South, this group of activists, writers, and political figures gathered to discuss the history and struggles of people of African descent and the meaning of black power. For the first time since 1968, David Austin brings alive the speeches and debates of the most important international gathering of black radicals of the era. With never-before-seen texts from Stokely Carmichael, Walter Rodney, and C. L. R. James, these documents will prove invaluable to anyone interested in black radical thought and political activism of the 1960s. Cover 1 Contents 10 Acknowledgements 12 Introduction: The Dialect of Liberation - David Austin 16 1. The Psychology of Subjection - Alvin Poussaint 92 2. The Haitian Revolution and the History of Slave Revolt - C. L. R. James 106 3. The Fathers of the Modern Revolt - Robert Hill 124 4. African History in the Service of the Black Liberation - Walter Rodney 142 5. The Civilizations of Ancient Africa - Richard B. Moore 158 6. Black History in the Americas - Richard B. Moore 180 7. Race in Britain and the Way Out - Richard Small 190 8. Moving Against the System - Harry Edwards 212 9. Frantz Fanon and the Third World - James Forman 218 10. Black Power in the USA - Stokely Carmichael 228 11. "A Black Woman Speaks Out" - Barbara Jones 246 12. "You Don't Play with Revolution" - C. L. R. James 252 13. On the Banning of Walter Rodney from Jamaica - C. L. R. James 262 14. Letter to C. L. R. James from Rosie Douglas 266 15. Letter to Rosie Douglas from C. L. R. James 268 Notes 270 Index 290 In 1968, as protests shook France and war raged in Vietnam, the giants of black radical politics descended on Montreal to discuss the unique challenges and struggles facing their black comrades all over the world. Against a backdrop of widespread racism in the West and ongoing colonialism and imperialism in the Global South, this group of activists, writers, and political figures gathered to discuss the history and struggles of people of African descent and the meaning of black power. For the first time since 1968, Austin brings alive the speeches and debates of the most important international gathering of black radicals of the era. Includes never-before-seen texts from Stokely Carmichael, Walter Rodney and C.L.R. James. --From publisher description Fifty years is not a long period in terms of historical time, but a great deal of history has unfolded since the epochal year 1968.