Courses

As Abdul Alkalimat concludes his lecture series, he answers the question “Why rethink the Black Liberation Movement?” There are still contradictions and crises today which are pushing hard. It seems as though a new upsurge is coming. This offers the possibility of a new upsurge, but new theory is needed. Read more

The capitalist democratic system in America has been stacked against black people from the start. But this system is changing rapidly. Information technology is increasingly making labor obsolete, and one question raised is whether this means the end of the “box” of racist, capitalist society. Is it really possible to Read more

In the 1960s, outright insurrection in urban areas changed the political landscape of the US. Non-violence gave way to a more militant approach inspired by third world Communist movements. Instead of a black community located in the black belt south, cities became the new focal points for the black community. Read more

The theory and practice of capitalism are both very different things. In theory, capitalism distributes labor and wealth rationally. In practice, racism and capitalism intersect and produce unemployment and inequity. 20th century civil rights organizations fought against issues of racism, but did not address issues raised by capitalism. The issues Read more

Abdul Alkalimat continues his discussion on escaping racism and intolerance. Malcolm X was an important figure in African American studies because he was outside of the box in many ways. Malcolm’s life had many phases and many names- Malcolm Little, Detroit Red, Malcolm X, and Omowale were all different names Read more

In previous lectures, Abdul Alkalimat talked about the box of segregation and discrimination. Now Alkalimat talks about three dynamics which enabled black americans to attempt to get out of the box. Alkalimat discusses migration, political culture, and agency as three dimensions of change used to escape discrimination and segregation. View Read more

In the first lecture, Abdul Alkalimat looked at Civil Rights organizations which mobilized people from every part of black society. Women, lawyers, social workers, militants and priests all took part. Now Alkalimat looks at the activities of activists, and the backlash they faced. The 1960s was a war against racist Read more

There are many types of boxes- some, like prison, are made of concrete. Others are built around illusions and preconceptions. American history has been a dialectic between exclusion of blacks from American society, and their attempts to get in. The civil rights movement was and is part of that struggle Read more

Abdul Alkalimat continues his lecture “The Box.” Critical reading is an important method of understanding the meaning of important essays and thinkers. W.E.B. DuBois was one of the most important thinkers in African American studies. Here, Alkalimat guides listeners through a close reading of W.E.B. DuBois, and talks about DuBois’ Read more

Henry “Box” Brown was a former slave who escaped slavery by shipping himself in a box from a slave state to a free state. But in some sense, he remained in a box- the fugitive slave act threatened his freedom. In this lecture, “The Box” is used as a metaphor Read more