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This has been a helluva crazy year. I was 15 and 16 in 1968 and 1969. While I was not as political aware then as now, upon reflection, I always thought those years were the craziest.

Until now…

COVID-19…virus-related economic calamity…police murders…the Black Lives Matter Uprising…Large-scale fires throughout California…Four hurricanes hitting Louisiana. Any one of these things alone would be major story. We got all of them.

…and I haven’t got started on Trump, yet.

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I retired from the UC Berkeley Labor Center on July 1…but “retired” doesn’t mean “disappeared”. Looking forward to exploring new directions and this website and the associated podcast – Black Work Talk – is part of my shift to new things. For a long time, I have wanted to host a podcast on Black workers. The voices of Black workers have been basically absent from siloed discussions of racial justice and economic justice. There has been a slow shift toward greater conversations about Black workers as many of the Fight for $15 participants publicly marched against police brutality after the murder of Michael Brown. That shift has sped up some with the confluence of protests after the murder of George Floyd and spotlight on the risks by frontline workers and racialized impact of the needed freezing of the economy due to COVID. Still too many times, the default is to ignore (for instance) the class perspective embodied in pushes for Black economic and community development (e.g. emphasis on homeownership in addressing housing issues; emphasis on Black entrepreneurship in addressing job issues) and ignore the unique needs of Black workers in conversations about working class issues and concerns.

On Black Work Talk, we will have penetrating conversations with a range of participants and observers of the Black freedom struggle to explore the immediate issues facing Black workers; the campaigns to address these issues; the challenges and opportunities facing Blacks who lead unions, worker centers, and other key community-based organizations; and finally, the big picture discussions over how to we move beyond the daily fights and build the power to forge a new political economy where anti-racism and economic democracy are core values.

So I hope folks will subscribe to Black Work Talk, support the podcast at Patreon, and get others to subscribe and support. Equally important, I hope you will join me in building this endeavor into a vibrant community.

Photo credit: Annette Bernhardt 

Someday, this presidential election will be over…okay, not by Wednesday, November 4…but for sure, by January 20, 2021 (please!!!!!).  There are still a lot of unknowns out there, e.g. who will be President? If Biden wins, how will Trump respond? Will the Dems win a majority in the Senate?

But there are some knowns out there as well.  There is a three-way battle in US politics – with the lines not clearly drawn.  You have the right-wing authoritarians/white nationalists; you have the forces led by economic elites with some decency around democracy and race; and you have progressives (defined broadly) who want to push the country left on race and economics.  The Bushes and Romneys straddle Groups 1 and 2; a large number of liberals (of all races) straddle Groups 2 and 3.

Also, there is a subtle but very real battle for the political soul of the Black community.  Given the nature of white supremacy, there is not a social base in the Black community for a strong set of Black political forces to land in Group 1.  However, the real action takes place between Black political forces in Groups 2 and 3 with many individuals and groups straddling the two groups.  This struggle has real implications for Black wellbeing because having “some decency around democracy and race” is a necessary but woefully insufficient condition for Black freedom.  Structural racism in the 21^st century cannot be successfully fought without challenging racial capitalism. Substantive victories in the arenas of policing, housing, jobs, health care, education, and global warming cannot be won without an understanding of the role of our current political economy in creating and perpetuating these social ills. Just as fights against “white-only” water fountains were seen as part of the larger battle of systemic segregation, today’s fights for better jobs, etc. must be seen as a larger fight for a better political economy.

Engaging in immediate fights for racial justice with a view toward the bigger battle is made more difficult by the set of Black electeds (Black liberals) waffle between Groups 2 and 3.  Some of these officials have world views that don’t see the need for deeper structural change in our political economy. Others matured politically under the auspices of political and economic elites and because of these deep relationships are tied to accepting inadequate social change.  In the era of Trump, it is easy to “look good” by opposing his (and others) attempts to reassert of backward-looking vision of white supremacy. However, locally, some of these same officials support various measures to weaken public education; oppose efforts to rein in the gig economy; and support developers’ views of how cities should grow and be managed.

During World War II, Blacks waged the “Double V” Campaign: fighting fascism overseas and racism at home.  Today, we face a similar dual battle: a fighting against all that Trump represents AND a fight against racial capitalism.

Photo credit: CUNY Academic Commons