Black radical political traditions were narrowed out of view by liberal respectability

Evidence

Part of the problem has been a narrowing of what is politically possible. Over the years, the broad sweep of black political life has been winnowed down to what some take to be the only acceptable form of black politics: black liberalism. This has involved an all-out assault on our radical political imaginations; all we are left to do is “tinker” with the current system. Other forms of black politics become seen as not just unacceptable, but damaging. The Black Power movement gets reduced to an orgy of violence or a simple demand for black cultural recognition. Blotted from view are the complexities of Malcolm X, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Black Panther Party. — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 408

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to how mainstream retellings (The Butler, Selma films) domesticate radical histories — echoes the film-adaptation critique thread one could pull toward other sources. — connects to: Respectability politics served as a foundation for overt black political action — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 1031; Respectability reform clashed with and disavowed poor black folk culture — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 96