Seeking equal recognition of US citizens has been the universal agenda for many groups in the US. Although the efforts and struggles of each group have been essential and notable, different groups of African Americans had to bear the brunt of the longest, greatest, and most violent struggles. The saddest part of the struggles of the Black people was the time when they experienced inferior legal status that found its place in the Constitution too. Amid the long struggle for equality against racist oppression that primarily paints the picture of a dystopian world silently emerges a concealed tradition that depicts a transfigured world of black utopia. The thinkers, writers, and artists dared to think about a future beyond white supremacy. They envisaged powerful visions of ways of living with equal rights and freedom embedded in human values.
What is black utopia?
Utopia is a term and concept introduced by Thomas Moore, a British, during the sixteenth century that describes a perfect imaginary world. In Utopia, more imagine a self-contained, complex community living on an island while sharing a common way of life and culture. The African Americans who were at odds with the white supremacy had always dreamt of a world of equal opportunities where they could lead a life of their own without being bullied or hurt by the colonial mindset of the Whites that trampled upon the rights and liberty of the black people unabashedly. The Black Lives Matter movement has given further impetus to Black Utopia. It is evident from the massive movement of the Black population from America to Tulum, Mexico, in recent years while seeking refuge with like-minded people and escaping racism.
Building on the radical concepts of freedom and justice, the book Alex Zamalin Black Utopia became a source of inspiration for the Black people. They kept searching for a world of equals in America or elsewhere.
About the book
Racial discrimination is rampant in the US and epitomized by the recent intentional killings of Black people like the cold-blooded murder of George Floyd in public and the burning down the Wendy’s. Alex Zamalin’s Black Utopia book is about an in-depth examination of the visions of African Americans’ intense desire for social transformation and their counterparts who oppose the views. The author goes on to establish the fact that the black utopian tradition keeps challenging the American culture and thought. The author concludes from the figures associated with Pan-Africanism, separatism, anti-colonialism, and post-racialism. The book covers an extensive area by considering pro and contra views about black utopia. The book is an intellectual and inspiring history that takes a crucial idea of the present power relations and suggests that with democracy under siege globally, our best hope for combating injustice could be the Black Utopian tradition.
That Black Utopia gives hope to people is evident from the mass movement of black people from the US to Mexico, where the culture of freedom and justice ensures tranquility and peace, leaving behind the nightmares of Black oppression in America.
