Black Political Participation as White Emotional Palette in the Work of W.E.B. DuBois

• In Event: 1284 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 16. Theories of Race/Ethnicity

Abstract

Black political participation has often evoked fear among the white population of the U.S. This emotional response offers us an opportunity to gain an understanding the emotional bases of antiblack racism and understanding of the flaws of social movements that attempt to address this problem. W.E.B. DuBois’ Black Reconstruction is a study of white emotional reactions to black political power, and it addresses this issue from an existentialist point of view. Existentialism is a study of possibility, and it frames emotional reactions as signs of desired possibility. Studying the emotional reactions found in Black Reconstruction shows us that white emotional reactions to black political power reflect a desire to negate the incremental nature of change.

Author

• H. Alexander Welcome, City University of New York-LaGuardia Community College