Resistance to racial domination has powered democratic politics for five centuries

Evidence

For the past half-millennium, refusal of slavery, resistance to colonialism, noncompliance with racial domination, fidelity to oppositional cultural traditions and alternative concepts of group and individual identity, and belief in racial solidarity have been some of the most crucial sources of insurgency, some of the central passions underlying emancipatory and democratic politics, both in the United States and around the world. … Trajectories of Racial Politics What happens in racial politics when huge crises and racial “breaks”— matters of global and not just national significance for the most part— are not on the horizon? — Michael Omi, Howard Winant, Racial Formation in the United States, 149

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the concept of racial ‘breaks’ as global-scale crisis moments that punctuate ordinary racial politics.