History of Philosophy: India, Africana, China

Sun Ra and Parliament-Funkadelic return to claim the pyramids, and Octavia Butler uses science fiction to confront the brutal past of slavery.

In this engaging discussion, Abdias do Nascimento, a prominent figure in Brazilian theater and politics, introduces his powerful concept of Quilombismo, rooted in the legacy of escaped slaves. He highlights the historical significance of settlements like Palmaris in fostering early Black political organization. Nascimento delves into the harsh realities of systemic racism in Brazil, advocating for cultural unity and the importance of community in overcoming oppression. His insights on race and political identity invite listeners to rethink their understanding of Afro-Brazilian empowerment.

The career and ideas of Nelson Mandela up to the time of his imprisonment, in the context of the founding of the African National Congress.

Two scholars of the same name join us to shed further light on Amílcar Cabral.

Amílcar Cabral, leader of a revolution against colonialism in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, rethinks culture and Marxist theory as bases for his struggle.

The first leader of independent Tanzania grounds his socialist ideas in traditional African values.

After Albert Cleage and James Cone propose a liberatory interpretation of Christianity, William R. Jones wonders whether God is a white racist. We also follow Black Theology among “Womanist” authors and in South Africa.

African American literature of the late 1960s reflects the Black Power movement, in the works of such authors as Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni, Haki Madhubuti, Larry Neal, and Sonia Sanchez.

The controversial career of the Pan-Africanist philosopher Maulana Karenga, inventor of the holiday Kwanzaa.

The philosophical underpinnings of a “vanguard of revolution” led by Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver: the Black Panther Party.