Black Cultural Production After Civil Rights

Robert J. Patterson is a professor of African American Studies and served as the inaugural chair of the Department of African American Studies at Georgetown University. He is the author of Destructive Desires: Rhythm and Blues Culture and the Politics of Racial Equality.

Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2020"A deeply persentist examination of a rich, dynamic 1970s." --Journal of American History "A deeply presentist examination of a rich, dynamic 1970s." --Journal of American History "Deeply informed and persuasively argued, this wide-ranging yet cohesive collection of original essays illuminates the inter-workings of black activism and expressive culture in and beyond the 1970s. With its rigorous historical contextualization and compelling commentary on how the 1970s anticipated and influenced our own moment, Black Cultural Production After Civil Rights is sure to become an invaluable resource for contemporary scholars working in the fields of African American literature and print culture; film studies; popular culture; feminist history and theory; and trauma and memory studies."--Aida Levy-Hussen, author of How to Read African American Literature: Post-Civil Rights Fiction and the Task of Interpretation "The essays gathered here speak to one another in remarkable ways, both because of the authors' commitment to the material and the editor's guidance. This volume is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the complexities and influences of African American culture in the 1970s." --Choice "A harmoniously blended symphony in the interests of Black folks, culture, and justice." --Ethnic and Racial Studies "This wide-ranging collection of essays on literature, feminism, performance, publishing, Black Power, and the afterlife of slavery brings depth and texture to our studies of the post-civil rights era. As Black artists and activists mounted calls to liberation in the 1970s, they also faced a mushrooming carceral industry, white supremacist violence, and the rise of neoliberalism. This urgent and refreshing text returns our attention to that volatile decade and to the ways cultural production provided the vital means for engaging with and reimagining the world."--Erica R. Edwards, author of Charisma and the Fictions of Black Leadership