Afropessimism
Frank B. Wilderson III
Liveright Publishing Corp/W. W. Norton & Company
Drawing on works of philosophy, literature, film, and critical theory, Wilderson shows that the social construct of slavery, as seen through pervasive anti-Black subjugation and violence, is hardly a relic of the past but the very engine that powers our civilization, and that without the "master-slave" dynamic, the calculus bolstering world civilization would collapse. Afropessimism delivers a formidable philosphical account of being Black and provides no restorative solution to the hatred that abounds. Wilderson posits that acknowledging these historical and social conditions results in personal enlightenment about the reality of our inherently racialized existence, offering wisdom and painful clarity in the fractured world we inhabit.