History of Philosophy: India, Africana, China HAP 46 - Melvin Rogers on 19th Century Political Thought
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Feb 16, 2020 Melvin Rogers, an expert in 19th-century political thought, discusses David Walker's 'Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World' addressing racial domination. The podcast explores citizenship, humanity, and freedom in relation to legal judgment. It also analyzes black women's plight, racial prejudice, and the ideological clash between abolitionists and colonizationists in the 19th century.
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Walker Redefines Citizenship
- David Walker redefines citizenship as a natural authority, not dependent on state recognition.
- He appeals to colored people as citizens worldwide by virtue of their capacity to judge their conditions.
Freedom as a God-Given Capacity
- Walker’s text is religious, with God central in endowing humans with freedom.
- Freedom requires a performance to be realized, activating the capacity God planted in us.
Freedom Defines Full Humanity
- For Walker, humanity means being free; both the slave and the tyrant fail to live fully human lives.
- Tyrants deny others’ freedom and fail themselves, while slaves must actively resist to actualize freedom.