In Hope Draped in Black Joseph R. Winters responds to the enduring belief that America follows a constant trajectory of racial progress. Such notions—like those that suggested the passage into a postracial era following Barack Obama's election—gloss over the history of racial violence and oppression to create an imaginary and self-congratulatory world where painful memories are conveniently forgotten. In place of these narratives; Winters advocates for an idea of hope that is predicated on a continuous engagement with loss and melancholy. Signaling a heightened sensitivity to the suffering of others; melancholy disconcerts us and allows us to cut against dominant narratives and identities. Winters identifies a black literary and aesthetic tradition in the work of intellectuals; writers; and artists such as W. E. B. Du Bois; Ralph Ellison; Toni Morrison; and Charles Burnett that often underscores melancholy; remembrance; loss; and tragedy in ways that gesture toward such a conception of hope. Winters also draws on Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno to highlight how remembering and mourning the uncomfortable dimensions of American social life can provide alternate sources for hope and imagination that might lead to building a better world.
#2079588 in Books Duke University Press Books 2004-02-03Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.60 x 1.07 x 6.62l; 1.17 #File Name: 0822332477456 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Very difficult readingBy Ashtar Command"Brothers and strangers" is a scholarly book about the often tricky relations between African-Americans and Liberia; a West African republic founded by freed Black American slaves.The subject is interesting; but unfortunately this book is too detailed and super-scholarly; attempts to deal with a dozen different subjects all at once; and often looses the red thread.If you want to write a dissertation on Marcus Garvey's or W.E.B. Du Bois' contacts with Liberia; you probably would have to sift through brother Sundiata's magnum opus. Personally; I consider this to be one of the most difficult scholarly books I've ever attempted to read. And I have an MA; for crying out loud!Hopefully; more accessible books on Liberia and Liberia's impact on Black America exist. Still; I give the book three stars; since I'm in general agreement with much of the contents.
