The Intellectual Roots of Contemporary Black Thought

The Intellectual Roots of Contemporary Black Thought examines the ways in which the intellectual production of notable historical figures of Africa Diasporan Thought has shaped, and continues to shape, social and political discourses in relation to peoples of African descent.

With an internationalist approach, this volume places the philosophies of intellectuals and activists from different regions in cross-generational dialogues. The work studies seminal publications from the 1700s to the late 1800s, including monographs, manifestos, speeches, and letters, analyzing the subsequent influence of such publications on the works of later thinkers and scholars of the 1900s. Hinged in qualitative and critical analysis, it investigates the extent to which the intellectual works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have influenced education and institutions over time, scrutinizing the multifaceted contemporary outcomes of historical practices through the theories of historical knowledge. The excerpts and translations in the text engage readers in informed and meaningful interactions, with the philosophies of liberation, reparation, and rehabilitation.

This book contributes to the fields of intellectual historiography, human rights, political philosophy, social thought, and critical race theory and will be of interest to students and scholars of history, politics, and philosophy.

Kersuze Simeon-Jones is Associate Professor at the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, University of South Florida, USA.