Lester K. Spence parsed the nature of power in his wide-ranging conversation with Black Work Talk co-hosts Steven Pitts and Toussaint Losier. Spence is perhaps best-known for his work on neoliberalism in the Black community. “Neoliberalism turned cross-class solidarity in the Black community towards upper-class interests,” he said, but that is changing. “As a result of Black Lives Matter, we have a robust Black liberal tendency and a growing Black Left.” The three also touched on the impact that the decline of unions has had on Black political power, and the nuances of recognizing police abuse as a class issue as well as an expression of racism.
Episode Guests
Lester K. Spence teaches political science and Africana studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. He wrote Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics (Punctum Books, 2015) and blogs at The Counterpublic Papers.