Black Existential Freedom (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781538173060)

The history of slavery, colonization, subjugation, gratuitous violence, and the denial of basic human rights to people of African descent has led Afro-Pessimists to look at black existence through the lens of white supremacy and anti-blackness. Against this trend, Black Existential Freedom argues that Blackness is not inherently synonymous with victimhood. Rather, it is inextricable from existential freedom and the struggle for political liberation.

This book presents an existential analysis of continental and diasporic African experiences through critical interpretations of music, film, and fiction that portray what it means to be human-- to persevere in the tension between life and physical, psychological, and social death--for the sake of freedom. With its transdisciplinary perspective and convergence of Africana existential philosophy, African-American Studies, Afro-French Studies, Diaspora Studies, and African studies, this book is not concerned with disciplinary boundaries or certain appropriations of European metaphysics that are committed to a reading of black "non-being." Black Existential Freedom explores the continuities and discontinuities of black existence and the manifestations and the meanings of blackness within different countries, time periods, and social and political contexts.

Etoke's book empowers the reader to understand and process the complexities of racialized identity in a globalized contemporary society. Ultimately, it is an ode to human survival and freedom.

Author: Nathalie Etoke
ISBN-10: 1538173069
ISBN-13: 9781538173060
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Language: English
Published: 11/04/2022
Pages: 170
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.57lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.40d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 09/01/2023