Rootedness and the Black Commune with Austin Cole

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Dec 29, 2025

Austin Cole, an organizer and community planning practitioner focused on environmental justice, sheds light on Toni Morrison's concept of rootedness and its implications for urban planning. He critiques liberal planning methods, emphasizing Black self-determination and the legacy of plantation economies. Cole introduces the idea of counter-war against structural oppression, explores the concept of the Black commune, and discusses strategies to avoid elite capture. He stresses the importance of grassroots consciousness-building and community defense against systemic injustices.

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INSIGHT

Rootedness Connects Spirit And Material

Toni Morrison's rootedness links ancestral history and spiritual life to everyday material survival for Black/African peoples.
Austin Cole argues planning and development must be rooted in that whole lived reality, not colonial foundations.

INSIGHT

Planning Is A Political Tool

Urban planning mediates state power, markets, people, space and resources in technocratic ways that appear neutral but are political.
Austin Cole links planning's origin to managing and extending capitalist and colonial exploitation rather than liberatory ends.

INSIGHT

Development Must Prioritize Self-Determination

Development under capitalism is tied to slavery, colonialism, and underdevelopment, per Walter Rodney and Austin Cole.
Cole insists development must prioritize Black self-determination, culture, and political control.

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In this episode, we're joined by Austin Cole to discuss the three-part series Black/African Liberation & Grassroots Economies, beginning with part one: "Rootedness for our people, our economies, our liberation." We start with Toni Morrison's concept of rootedness and how it informs urban planning and economic development. From there, we'll dig into Strategies of Counter-war—how fascists are shaping local policy, and how BAP-Baltimore is building alternatives from the ground up. We examine the threat of elite capture and the strategic use of municipal power: how can engagement with the state enable collective self-determination rather than dilute it? Can it do such a thing? We also explore expanded notions of self-defense, the Black commune as theorized by George Jackson and Orisanmi Burton, and the four principles guiding grassroots efforts toward that vision. Finally, we'll sit with the question of mass consciousness—what it demands of us now, and how we might cultivate it together. Austin Cole was raised in Springfield, Ohio, and his people come from the Mississippi Delta and Birmingham, Alabama. He is an organizer, writer, and community development planning practitioner. His professional work focuses on environmental/climate justice, transforming economic systems, and Black/African liberation. He is a member of and currently serves as National Co-Coordinator for the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) and co-coordinates of BAP's Haiti/Americas Team. Support our work via patreon! Black/African Liberation & Grassroots Economies PT. I: "Rootedness" for Our People, Our Economies, Our Liberation Black/African Liberation & Grassroots Economies PT. II: Situating 'Economy' and Ourselves in the Struggle from the Internal (Neo)Colony

Additional writings (not yet released as of the recording of this episode in late 2024)

Black/African Liberation & Grassroots Economies PT. III: Constructing the Counter-War That Our Liberation Demands

Black/African Liberation & Grassroots Economies PT. IV: Collective Struggle Is Our past and Future