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Tommie
Shelby. 2005. We Who Are Dark: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Pp. 320. Cloth, $27.95. ISBN:0-674-01936-9. Pragmatic
Solidarity
Persuasive But Not Convincing
A Book Review Floyd
W. Hayes, III
Over
the last three decades, the reawakening of philosophical
pragmatism has provoked tremendous interest and controversy in
the intellectual community (see Dickstein 1998; Diggins 1994;
Rorty 1979; West 1989; Westbrook 2005, 1991).
As America’s unique contribution to the field of
philosophy, pragmatism developed as a critique of abstractions
and absolutes and as a philosophy oriented toward practice and
action.
In
We Who Are Dark, Tommie Shelby attempts to situate his
discussion within the framework of philosophical pragmatism.
For
he proclaims the necessity of a pragmatic black nationalism—a
conception of black political philosophy that encourages black
solidarity—which is conscious of the current forces of
fragmentation within America’s black population.
He reviews the political philosophy of nineteenth-century
radical abolitionist and black nationalist Martin R. Delany,
distinguishing variants of “classical” black nationalism and
“pragmatic” black nationalism.
On the one hand, Delany argued that even with the
abolition of enslavement black people would never be free of
white oppression or racial antagonism in America; therefore, he
concluded that black people should leave America to seek
democratic citizenship, self-government, and equal protection
under the law.
On
the other, Shelby points out that Delany also called for blacks
to cultivate solidarity with Native American and Latin American
peoples as a practical necessity in the struggle against
imperialism. It is
this latter conception of collective black identity, multiracial
national polity, and racial justice that Shelby terms pragmatic
solidarity.
Shelby
examines the problem of black American class divisions by
focusing on the philosophical thought of W. E. B. Du Bois with
respect to the relationship among black ideals, political
solidarity, self-reliance strategies, and elite leadership.
He argues that although Du Bois never completely refuted
the charge of elitism, he did put forward a conception of black
solidarity that fused moral principle, racial identification,
and self-interest into a framework for collective action across
class differences.
After
interrogating the perspective of black nationalism advocated by
Malcolm X and Black Power activists of the 1960s and 1970s,
Shelby rejects this conception of black unity, suggesting that
it calls for black institutional autonomy and black uniformity.
Moreover, Shelby criticizes this perspective because, he
maintains, it indicts white supremacy and anti-black racism as
the fundamental causes of black disadvantages.
Instead
Shelby argues for a conception of black solidarity that
functions across multiracial political coalitions, that refuses
to hold white supremacy as the source of all black
disadvantages, and that embraces a network of black leadership
and interest advocacy that is non-elitist. In the last analysis, Shelby asserts that pragmatic black
nationalism is a form of black unity and group
self-organization, which constitute a strategy for demanding
racial justice and the ideal of racial equality.
Although
Shelby’s call for pragmatic black solidarity seems to be
persuasive, his argument is unconvincing, especially in view of
the growing segment of young and affluent African Americans who
are joining the ranks of the ultra-right wing Republican Party.
Chief among those shifting to the right is a significant
segment of the black church, which is being effectively co-opted
by the Bush regime’s faith-based initiatives.
This trend toward increasing religious, political, and
class differentiation and fragmentation within the black
population shows every sign of rendering impossible any form of
mass black political unity—pragmatic solidarity or otherwise.
Eschewing progressive forms of black nationalism,
Shelby’s liberal conception of pragmatic nationalism scarcely
possesses the strategic power necessary for channeling the
forces needed for a unified struggle to overturn white supremacy
and racial injustice.
Notes
Dickstein, Morris. 1998. Ed.
The Revival of Pragmatism: New Essays on Social Thought, Law,
and Culture. . Durham: Duke University Press.
Diggins, John P. 1994.
The Promise of Pragmatism: Modernism and the Crisis of Knowledge and
Authority. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Rorty, Richard. 1979.
Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature. Princeton: Princeton University
Press.
West, Cornel. 1989.
The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism. Madison:
The University of Wisconsin Press.
Westbrook, Robert B. 2005.
Democratic Hope: Pragmatism and the Politics of Truth. Ithaca: Cornell
University Press.
_____. 1991.
John Dewey and American Democracy. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
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posted 16 November 2005 / updated 16 October
2007 / updated 20 February 2008
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