Critical Reflections on Black History
Dr. Wright presents this collection of six essays on aspects of black
history. Each essay is based upon a critical historical methodology
that is comprised of, among other things, a racial analysis, an
intersectional analysis, rigorous logic, conceptual integrity, and a
critical analysis of ideas, words, and images.
Critical of the romantic
approach to the subject, Wright seeks to uncover a deeper analysis,
knowledge, and truth regarding aspects of black history, even when it
involves the presentation of material and viewpoints that some might
find objectionable. He predicates these pieces on the idea that history
is still a valuable subject, firmly rejecting the postmodern view that
it has lost its validity.
Wright demonstrates that black history is a
vital and necessary subject, not only for black people, but for all
Americans. A critical black history is itself, Wright contends, a
device to evaluate American history in a critical manner, to get into
the subject more deeply, and to adduce deeper knowledge and truths
about it.
These essays show the author's interest in strengthening that critical capacity of black historical writing and his belief that this is a primary and necessary means to maintain the viability and productivity of the academic discipline and to ward off its detractors.
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Contact:
Wendy Smith
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Black Intellectuals and Black Cognition
Neither American history nor American society anticipated, sanctioned, or encouraged the development of either Black intellectuals or a Black middle class. Both emerged and developed against horrendous obstacles and both are great achievements.
Both were sanctioned and given moral direction by the American Negro Academy, an organization founded in 1897 by Alexander Crummell, W.E.B. Du Bois, Francis Grimke, and others for the purpose of organizing Black intellectuals to defend and redeem Blacks, through intellectual, artistic, and scientific achievements in the face of racist detractors, and to help the Black middle class develop as the leadership class of Black America.
Black intellectuals have had a difficult time fulfilling a leadership role, partly because they have failed to remember the three cultural heritages of Black people: Black, African, and Euro-American.
The times demand that Black intellectuals approach themselves and their world from all three cultural perspectives, for the sake of Black people and for the sake of America, both of which desperately need their leadership.
