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4: Fugitivity as an Abolitionist Praxis

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    181559

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    "The history of blackness is testament to the fact that objects can and do resist. Blackness— the extended movement of a specific upheaval, an ongoing irruption that arranges every line— is a strain that pressures the assumption of the equivalence of personhood and subjectivity."[1] -Fred Moten, from In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition.

    Learning Objectives
    • Students will expand their conceptualization of abolitionist work beyond normative understandings of abolition.
    • Students will identify various positions of abolition considered withing the Africana Studies discipline.
    • Students will identify and explore the opportunities and possibilities of abolitionist work within the discipline of Africana Studies.

    Introduction Edit section

    To appropriately provide the context and foundation for how this chapter seeks to engage modes of abolitionist praxis, it is imperative we think through modes of being and how Black modes of being produce inherent forms of fugitivity.

    Moten highlights a specific tension at play in the above quote: attempts to reduce humans to objects faces their endemic capacity and will to resist. Understanding abolitionist praxis requires us to not only account for this tension, but to pressure the concepts of personhood and subjectivity when thinking through Black modes of being. At stake for engaging, understanding, challenging, and overthrowing anti-Black practices and creating true liberation is dismantling and erasing notions and ideologies that attempt to reduce humans to objects. Moten’s notion that, “blackness is a testament to the fact that objects can and do resist,” highlights a counter understanding about personhood and subjectivity: Blackness operates as an inherent antagonism to objectification, serving as an “upheaval, an ongoing irruption” to possession.

    The upheaval and ongoing irruption against possession demands acts of fugitivity and abolition to systems that seek to capture, enslave, and relegate the body to modes of being that steal, objectify, and possess. This chapter engages in a critical analysis of these various modes of fugitivity and abolition, offering otherwise ways of engaging with the world using these modes of fugitivity and abolition to open pathways to alternative modes of knowing and being.

    • 4.1: Context and Foundation
      This page examines abolitionist praxis through historical figures like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, expanding the discussion to include dispossession and fugitivity. It critiques traditional abolition concepts and highlights Saidiya Hartman's work on the complexities of Black identity in systemic oppression.
    • 4.2: Key Theorists, Movements, and Principles
      This page examines abolition methodologies through the perspectives of Africana Studies scholars like Frantz Fanon, Saidiya Hartman, and Fred Moten, emphasizing themes of fugitivity and dispossession. Fanon advocates for a new humanism, while Hartman addresses archival silences in Black social life. Moten uses the concept of a "party" to discuss the experiences of the dispossessed, illustrated through Harriet A.
    • 4.3: Positions in the Field
      This page examines the interplay between abolition, liberation, and oppressive systems affecting Black communities. It advocates for Black Geography to understand historical movements like Garveyism and the Black Panther Party, emphasizing sovereignty and community autonomy. The text introduces "abolition geography" to connect freedom with physical space and critiques hierarchical structures causing harm.
    • 4.4: Opportunities and Possibilities
      This page explores the Black literary tradition as a form of resistance and identity, grounded in Browne’s dark sousveillance theory, which critiques systemic oppression. Scholars like Gilmore and Kelley address both historical injustices and acts of resistance within Black communities. The text also examines Signifying(g), a rhetorical practice that redefines meanings, calling for inclusive interpretations, especially for marginalized voices.
    • 4.5: Futurity
      This page discusses the Afrofuturistic imagination as a framework for Afrikan worldmaking, emphasizing its resilience against oppression. It highlights the power of focused imagination to enact change and the necessity of directing thoughts toward abolitionist practices.
    • 4.6: Key Terms
      This page explores social power, control, and racial surveillance, defining epistemology as knowledge study. It critiques discriminatory norms through sousveillance and dark sousveillance as counterpractices. The text highlights the significance of spatiality, normativity, negation, and humanism in understanding these issues and advocating for alternative ways of being.
    • 4.7: Instructor Resources

    Thumbnail: Frantz Fanon. (Fair Use; author unknown via Wikipedia)

    [1] Moten, Fred. In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 2003. 1

    This page titled 4: Fugitivity as an Abolitionist Praxis is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Amiri Mahnzili and Kiandra Jimenez (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .