Podcast for Social Research, Episode 42: Racial Capitalism
On June 25th and 26th, 2020, in response to the protests convulsing the nation in the wake of the racist killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, among countless others, BISR conducted a two-day teach-in, free and open to the public, in which faculty explored issues and concepts that contextualize the crisis of American racism, criminal justice, and dispossession. This episode is a recording of the inaugural session: “What is Racial Capitalism?” Drawing on Cedric Robinson’s Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition, BISR’s Nara Roberta Silva, assisted by Ajay Singh Chaudhary and Mark DeLucas, explores the meaning and implications of Robinson’s central claim: that “the development, organization, and expansion of capitalist society pursued essentially racial directions.” Why are racism and capitalism interlinked? Are they, in theory or practice, separable? What does a Racial Capitalist understanding mean for contemporary struggles against both racism and economic dispossession? Please note, the readings for “What is Racial Capitalism”, as well as every other teach-in session, can be accessed here.
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This episode of the podcast was edited by Cora Walters. If you enjoyed the podcast, please consider supporting our Patreon page.