Fighting for US : Maulana Karenga, the US organization, and Black cultural nationalism

cover image

Where to find it

Davis Library (5th floor)

Call Number
E185.5 .B95 2003
Status
Available

Stone Center Library

Call Number
E185.5 .B95 2003 c. 2
Status
Available

Authors, etc.

Names:

Summary

The untold story of the Black nationalist group behind the growing popularity of Kwanzaa

In spite of the ever-growing popularity of Kwanzaa, the story of the influential Black nationalist organization behind the holiday has never been told. Fighting for Us explores the fascinating history of the US Organization, a Black nationalist group based in California that played a leading role in Black Power politics and culture during the late 1960s and early '70s whose influence is still felt today. Advocates of Afrocentric renewal, US unleashed creative and intellectual passions that continue to fuel debate and controversy among scholars and students of the Black Power movement.

Founded in 1965 by Maulana Karenga, US established an extensive network of alliances with a diverse body of activists, artists and organizations throughout the United States for the purpose of bringing about an African American cultural revolution. Fighting for US presents the first historical examination of US' philosophy, internal dynamics, political activism and influence on African American art, making an elaborate use of oral history interviews, organizational archives, Federal Bureau of Investigation files, newspaper accounts, and other primary sources of the period.

This book also sheds light on factors contributing to the organization's decline in the early '70s--government repression, authoritarianism, sexism, and elitist vanguard politics. Previous scholarship about US has been shaped by a war of words associated with a feud between US and the Black Panther Party that gave way to a series of violent and deadly clashes in Los Angeles. Venturing beyond the lingering rhetoric of rivalry, this book illuminates the ideological similarities and differences between US's "cultural" nationalism and the Black Panther Party's "revolutionary" nationalism. Today, US's emphasis on culture has endured as evidenced by the popularity of Kwanzaa and the Afrocentrism in Black art and popular media. Engaging and original, Fighting for US will be the definitive work on Maulana Karenga, the US organization, and Black cultural nationalism in America.

Contents

  • Foreword p. vii Clayborne Carson
  • Acknowledgments p. xiii
  • 1 Introduction p. 1
  • 2 From Ron Everett to Maulana Karenga: The Intellectual and Political Bases for the US Organization p. 6
  • 3 Memory and Internal Organizational Life p. 38
  • 4 The Politics of Culture: The US Organization and the Quest for Black Unity p. 74
  • 5 Sectarian Discourses and the Decline of US in the Era of Black Power p. 107
  • 6 In the Face of Funk: US and the Arts of War p. 131
  • 7 Kwanzaa and Afrocentricity p. 159
  • Glossary of Kiswahili and Zulu Terms p. 163
  • Notes p. 165
  • Bibliography p. 203
  • Index p. 217
  • About the Author p. 228

Other details