Let’s Talk About South Carolina
Bernie Sanders didn’t lose because of the “black vote,” but winning places like South Carolina is crucial to building a left majority.
11 Articles by: Cedric Johnson
Cedric Johnson is associate professor of African American studies and political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and editor of The Neoliberal Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, Late Capitalism and the Remaking of New Orleans (University of Minnesota Press, 2011).
Don’t Let Blackwashing Save the Investor Class
Corporations have embraced antiracist rhetoric, but they will not eradicate the economic insecurity and inequality the investor class requires — and wants the police to uphold.
Austerity Is Fueling the COVID-19 Pandemic in New Orleans, Not Mardi Gras Culture
Mainstream outlets are claiming the mounting coronavirus crisis in New Orleans is the result of cultural practices like Mardi Gras. That’s nonsense — it’s a consequence of deep class divides and decimated public health infrastructure.
What Black Life Actually Looks Like
For too long, the Left has organized based on caricatures of black political life. If it wants to win, it needs to start recognizing the role of class in black America.
Black Political Life and the Blue Lives Matter Presidency
To meaningfully confront mass incarceration and police violence, the Left must move past race reductionism by recognizing the complexities of black political life.
The Coming Storm
After Hurricane Harvey, Trump and one of the most right-wing state governments in history get to “rebuild” an area of more than 7 million people.
Black Judges, Black Politicians, Black Prisoners
Political elites built the carceral state — and not just white ones.
Ending the Violence
Genuine public safety and social justice will come from projects that build popular consensus and organize for real power.
Reparations Isn’t a Political Demand
The reparations demand resides largely in the realm of the political imaginary. There are more effective means of fighting oppression.
Fear and Pandering in the Palmetto State
Why did Bernie Sanders lose in South Carolina, and what does it mean going forward?
An Open Letter to Ta-Nehisi Coates and the Liberals Who Love Him
The reparations demand survives as a parlor debate — it cannot address the real needs and interests of black workers.