Race, Class, and Economics

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the quest for African-American civil rights as a movement for economic justice and opportunity as well. Several African-American philosophers' ideas are illustrated to show different outlooks on economic opportunity and prosperity in the US. Some leaders saw communism as a way to achieve economic parity with whites, while others felt it was necessary to work within the system through gaining a higher education. The role of African-American women in supporting households is also discussed.

From the Paper:

"Early, on, advocates such as Cyril Brigg expressed the philosophy that Black nationalism must not be an ideology of territorial or race liberation alone, as advocated in the 'Back to Africa' movement of Marcus Garvey. Instead it must be an international working class movement of liberation founded upon Marxism and workers' rights--after all, American Black oppression was founded upon the capitalist needs of the slave trade. The American legislative system had proved a failure in winning Blacks their rights, thus a new system was required, and like Marx's workers, Blacks had nothing to lose but their chains, even less to lose than White workers (hence the greater attraction of more moderate trade unionism for Whites). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Marable, Manning & Leith Mullings. Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance. Reform, and Renewal: an African American Anthology. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

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