Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

On class in Black politics.
Cedric Johnson, This Is Hell
06 Jun 2019
🖨️ Print Article

"As the state has been hollowed out as a result of neoliberalization - who is going to suffer the most? Blacks who work for the postal service, Blacks who had public sector jobs and HAVE seen their pensions raided along with everybody else, Blacks who are public school teachers... It's easy to see how the condition of Black people is connected to the resurgent power of the capitalist class. It's not separate, it's deeply connected.

Political scientist Cedric Johnson examines the realities of class in Black political life - from the limits of electoralism and a solely race-driven analysis in challenging the slow decline of a people (and nation) under de-industrialization and neoliberal austerity, to the power of a Marxist, materialist lens in understanding the power dynamics in capitalist society.

Cedric wrote the article Coming to Terms with Actually-Existing Black Life for New Politics, reposted as What Black Life Actually Looks Like for Jacobin.


More Stories


  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    President Petro Speaks to President Trump
    11 Feb 2026
    Colombian President Gustavo Petro negotiated with President Trump to avoid armed conflict.
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    A whistle and honk for our cities under siege
    11 Feb 2026
    "A whistle and honk for our cities under siege" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    Trump’s De Jure Racism Provides Convenient Cover for Liberals and Democrats to Mask Their De Facto Racism
    11 Feb 2026
    The political theater of condemning Trump's racism serves the function of diverting attention from the more dangerous, policy-based racism that operates with bipartisan support.
  • Iker Suarez
    Anti-ICE, Anti-Imperialism. A Primer on the Role of ICE and How to Fight It
    11 Feb 2026
    To dismantle ICE, we must first understand its purpose in a global system. The struggle against this agency is a struggle against the machinery of imperialism itself.
  • Black Alliance for Peace NYC/NJ Citywide Alliance
    The U.S. War on Cuba is a War Against Us All
    11 Feb 2026
    True solidarity means recognizing an attack on Cuba as an attack on all who resist empire.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us