The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought

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A powerful new account of what a group of nineteenth- and twentieth-century African American activists, intellectuals, and artists can teach us about democracy

Could the African American political tradition save American democracy African Americans have had every reason to reject America's democratic experiment. Yet African American activists, intellectuals, and artists who have sought to transform the United States into a racially just society have put forward some of the most original and powerful ideas about how to make America live up to its democratic ideals. In The Darkened Light of Faith, Melvin Rogers provides a bold new account of African American political thought through the works and lives of individuals who built this vital tradition-a tradition that is urgently needed today.

The book reexamines how figures as diverse as David Walker, Frederick Douglass, Anna Julia Cooper, Ida B. Wells, W.E.B. Du Bois, Billie Holiday, and James Baldwin thought about the politics, people, character, and culture of a society that so often dominated them. Sharing a light of faith darkened but not extinguished by the tragic legacy of slavery, they resisted the conclusion that America would always be committed to white supremacy. They believed that democracy is always in the process of becoming and that they could use it to reimagine society. But they also saw that achieving racial justice wouldn't absolve us of the darkest features of our shared past, and that democracy must be measured by how skillfully we confront a history that will forever remain with us.

An ambitious account of the profound ways African Americans have reimagined democracy, The Darkened Light of Faith offers invaluable lessons about how to grapple with racial injustice and make democracy work.

Reviews

"Winner of the Ralph J. Bunche Award, American Political Science Association"
"Winner of the David Easton Award, Foundations of Political Theory Section of the American Political Science Association"
"Winner of the Best Book Award, American Political Thought Section of the American Political Science Association"
"Important. . . . For Rogers, indicting the United States for not achieving Baldwin and Kings vision does not mean that racial equality is impossible. Rather, it remains a future to be fought for, albeit by drawing on elements of the past."---William P. Jones, Dissent
"Provocative. . . . This illuminating work helps build a foundation of scholarship for understanding core ideas, ideological development, and necessary engagement in African American politics. . . . Highly recommended." * Choice *
"By bringing African American political thought to the forefront of the American tradition, Rogers advances a hopeful but realistic view of American democracy that rejects the narrative that the country is fundamentally white supremacist while, at the same time, acknowledges the United States sins of slavery, segregation, and discrimination. . . . At a time when ridiculous and dangerous views about race are voiced in the public square, we need a sensible and hopeful one. The Darkened Light of Faith is such a voice."---Lee Trepanier, University Bookman
"In an age when the canons of political thought are being critically reexamined and made more inclusive, this book is an essential resource to learn about what makes African American reflections on democracy and freedom rather distinctiveand how they could fruitfully reshape mainstream conversations." * Review of Democracy *

Author Bio

Melvin L. Rogers is the Edna and Richard Salomon Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Brown University. He is the author of The Undiscovered Dewey: Religion, Morality, and the Ethos of Democracy, coeditor of African American Political Thought: A Collected History, and editor of John Dewey's The Public and Its Problems.