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


  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    Theme From the Bottom: Post COP 30 Reflections and the Case for a Global Bottom/Up Collective Intervention of Oppressed and Colonized People
    26 Nov 2025
    The path to climate liberation requires a radical break from failed leadership and a serious commitment to class analysis.
  • Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    The Lima Group and “Peaceful Transition”: the Neocolonial Role in US/Canadian Sanctions and Militarism Against Venezuelan Sovereignty
    26 Nov 2025
    While the U.S. justifies its new war on Venezuela as a counter-narcotics operation, the real target remains the Bolivarian Revolution and the alternative model of sovereignty it represents to the…
  • Bruce A. Dixon , BAR managing editor
    On The Left Side of History: Political Prisoner Imam Jamil Al Amin
    26 Nov 2025
    Imam Jamil Al-Amin was a revolutionary targeted by the state from the 1960s until he was unjustly convicted of murder in 2002. He died on November 23, 2025, an elder political prisoner who had been…
  • Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    The End of American Thanksgivings: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing
    26 Nov 2025
    Glen Ford wrote many powerful essays, but his unflinching analysis of the history of the holiday we call Thanksgiving remains relevant over 20 years after it was published.
  • Hanna Eid
    Pan-Americanism and Internationalism
    26 Nov 2025
    The official rationale for a new U.S. military operation against Venezuela is narcotics, but the true objective remains regime change. This escalating conflict demands a robust anti-imperialist…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us