ABSTRACT

A perennial problem facing Black intellectual discourse is the failure to articulate a comprehensive theory of White supremacy. This is not to say that Africandescent scholars and others have not periodically addressed this problem,1 but the tendency in the broader society is to shift intellectual discourse away from a full and sustained examination of this phenomenon. Discourse is limited to the language of race versus class and debates over their relative strength and value. Shifts from discussions of equity to those of diversity are similarly limiting. White supremacy, as it has been exhibited via Western expansion and domination, is one of the most significant forces shaping human history in the last 500 years. It is foundational to all human-freedom issues created by Westerncapitalist expansion. Moreover, development of a comprehensive theory of White supremacy, which must accompany all theory development regarding Black cultural and institutional development, is a fundamental end (purpose) of Black studies. Without such theoretical work, Black studies as an emancipatory and credible academic enterprise, comes to a functional end.