Joy James on the rise of the Black bourgeoisie – Everything Law and Order Blog

In the 1970s and ‘80s, the image of the Black “welfare queen” was used as a racist scare tactic and a propaganda tool to justify gutting the postwar welfare state, “public good” institutions, and economic programs that benefited the poor and working class. This systemic and systematic assault, which we now attribute to the political project of neoliberalism, was very much a bipartisan effort that extended well into the ‘90s and 2000s. Now, scaremongering about single mothers of color taking advantage of “the system” has increasingly been overtaken by celebrations of “Black girl magic” and the veneration of a growing Black bourgeoisie. How did we get here?

In their latest interview for TRNN, co-hosts of THIS IS REVOLUTION Jason Myles and Pascal Robert speak with Dr. Joy James about the destructive triumph of neoliberalism in the US and about the different institutions, classes, ideological strands, and clashing factions that have developed within the sphere of Black politics in the neoliberal era. Dr. James is a world-renowned scholar and activist, Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Humanities at Williams College, and the author of numerous books, including: Resisting State Violence: Radicalism, Gender, and Race in US Culture; States of Confinement: Policing, Detention, and Prisons; and Seeking the Beloved Community: A Feminist Race Reader.

Read the transcript of this interview:

Pre-Production/Studio: Jason Myles
Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

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28 thoughts on “Joy James on the rise of the Black bourgeoisie”
  1. As an immigrant from Africa i love this talk…We are allowed to immigrate to America to be used as fodder to mask black oppression in America…And i say As blacks worldwide we are very poor.

  2. 54:10 – Yes, this is where I think certain texts like "Righteous Discontent" by Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham becomes useful. It makes me think that the Black church (and other organizations) spent the 20th century separating Black people into a "desirable" class and the "undesirable" class. What I don't like is that whenever this is discussed, people immediately go to Black Elite like politicians or celebrities instead of the intraclass dynamics of the hood where you have the working class (PMC like social workers and teachers, trade jobs, correctional officers, transportation drivers, warehouse workers, etc), the working poor (janitors, service workers, etc), and the nonworking poor. It's mostly the nonworking poor who face police violence the most because they tend to do illicit jobs, if they do work, and are breaking misdemeanor laws or doing morally repugnant actions. The other two groups become impacted if there is a wildcat racist on the force or if a certain officer have beef with an individual — situations that could make the admin remove them if enough pressure is applied.

  3. Jason Myles, you haven’t work under the oppression that these Amazon people have to endure. It’s modern day Slavery. Your respect and health is sacrificed for $$$$$.

  4. I see the system as the problem. Systemic structural inequality in America (specifically) by design is the problem! It is why and how this nation is set up to be. So, yes the system is indeed the problem.

  5. Please keep it simple simply because some black people can become easily confused or turned off by much of the conversation.

  6. Hello, first time viewer here, and my goodness, how eloquent and poignant are all the arguments that come from reading between the lines. I was shook when Dr. Joy James mentioned that it makes sense for racists to bring in some blacks into the big house, as when ignorant of the intent in creating a useful hedge against revolutionary actions by majority that left outside. And shook again, when the Big House is a metaphor for any intuition, including higher education.

  7. Hour in about “upsetting the Apple cart” Sounds like a book about capitalism titled something like the relationship between the owner and the slave.

  8. Facilities management is the key to modern empires. the empire builds stable structures/organizations and fills them with people who can delegate authority and maintain the status quo, while the majority of people pursue bread and circus.

  9. The Only people that see color are the true racist period we bleed red all of us so get over the radish Shit👍

  10. Very genuinely appreciated , thank you very much to share 🙋🏻🙋🏿🙋🏾‍♀️ 💜❤️💚

  11. The constant & continual refinement of White Supremacy…it's always evolving. It's like a snake molting. This piece is very relevant in light of the Tyre Nichols murder.

  12. 🙉🙊🙈CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE🙉🙊🙈100% AGAINST THE USA CONSTITUTION⚒️

    why is BRIBERY legal in USA CORPORATE MILITARY POLICE STATE🙉🙊🙈WE ALL LIVE IN BONDAGE TO 🖕🏼🖕🖕🏾PRIVATE CORPORATE POWER🖕🏾🖕🏼🖕

  13. 1:13:45 "The point is there's not supposed to be an out."

    Until this video, I had not heard of Dr. Joy James, but this one statement, I felt, says it all. She is so right in saying it takes a lot of courage to attempt to escape from it all, as the system does "track and punish."

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