Navigating Loss in American Politics: "Black Grief/White Grievance" Debuts

Brown University Professor Juliet Hooker's book sheds light on two pivotal forces driving racial politics in the U.S. today.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, October 2, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Juliet Hooker²'s insightful and thought-provoking book, "Black Grief/White Grievance: The Politics of Loss¹," will be released on October 3, 2023 by Princeton University Press.

Juliet Hooker, distinguished political theorist and the Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Political Science at Brown University presents a groundbreaking examination of the profound forces driving racial politics in contemporary America. In "Black Grief/White Grievance: The Politics of Loss," Hooker argues that two central dynamics — Black grief and white grievance — play pivotal roles in shaping the political landscape of the United States.

Jelani Cobb, Dean of the Columbia Journalism School, called it, "every bit as stark and urgent as the moment of racial reckoning that inspired it. Juliet Hooker has brilliantly dissected a fundamental dichotomy of American life ― the inequality of loss ― and pointed to its damning implications for our democracy. By all indicators, these insights will only grow more relevant with time."

In a democracy, the acceptance of political loss is a fundamental civic capacity. However, Hooker argues that this capacity is not distributed equally in the United States. Fueled by enduring white supremacy, white Americans have historically been accustomed to political victories without the need to share power, while Black citizens have often been thrust into roles as civic heroes whose suffering is expected to pave the way for progress toward racial justice. The impact of this uneven distribution of political loss continues to impede genuine multiracial democracy today.

In her book, Hooker conducts a meticulous examination of Black grief, exemplified by the ongoing protests against police violence—a contemporary manifestation of a long history of violent deaths and subsequent collective mourning that have galvanized Black political mobilization. Continuing to draw on African-American political thought, Hooker examines key moments in US racial politics that illuminate the problem of loss in democracy.

In parallel, the book delves into the complex landscape of white grievance, a sentiment that envisions America as a nation under siege from demographic and cultural change. Hooker critically dissects the politicization of white victimhood during recent presidencies, shedding light on its profound implications for the nation's political discourse. As part of this exploration, she traces the political weaponization of white victimhood during the Obama and Trump presidencies.

"Black Grief/White Grievance" is a powerful rallying cry, challenging us to confront the deep-seated issues of loss within the framework of American democracy. Professor Hooker emphasizes the importance of expanding our political horizons, transcending racial backgrounds, and recognizing the shared imperative for all Americans to engage with the experience of loss, for different reasons and to different ends. As author Deva Woodly says, "Hooker's contribution in this work is surgical and incisive, with large implications for the field."

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Hooker is a Professor at Brown University. Her work specializes in racial justice, multiculturalism, and the political thought of the Americas. She is also the author of "Race and the Politics of Solidarity" (Oxford, 2009), "Theorizing Race in the Americas: Douglass, Sarmiento, Du Bois, and Vasconcelos" (Oxford, 2017), and editor of "Black and Indigenous Resistance in the Americas: From Multiculturalism to Racist Backlash" (Lexington Books, 2020).

ABOUT THE BOOK
"Black Grief/White Grievance: The Politics of Loss" explores the different forms of political loss, their effect on the political imaginations of citizens, and the civic practices they mobilize in response to them. It will be released by Princeton University Press on October 3, 2023.

MEDIA CONTACT
To request a copy of "Black Grief/White Grievance," contact publicist Nanda Dyssou of Coriolis Company at nanda@corioliscompany.com or 424-226-6148.

Nanda Dyssou
Coriolis Company
+1 424-226-6148
email us here: nanda@corioliscompany.com

Nanda Dyssou
Coriolis
+1 424-226-6148
nanda@corioliscompany.com

¹ https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691243030/black-griefwhite-grievance
² https://polisci.brown.edu/people/juliet-hooker