Editor: Melanie E. L. Bush • Foreword: Robin D. G. Kelley
Co-editors: Rose M. Brewer, Daniel Douglas, Loretta Chin, Robert Newby
Series Editor: Mohammad H. Tamdgidi
Roderick Douglas Bush (1945–2013) was a scholar, educator, mentor, activist and a loving human being. In reflecting on his life well-lived, the contributors in Rod Bush: Lessons from a Radical Black Scholar on Liberation, Love, and Justiceshare insightful lessons from his life and works on how to effect liberation and radical social transformation in the everyday practices of scholarship, teaching, activism, and personal interaction through a loving spirit dedicated to social justice. Rod Bush was deeply convinced that “Pan-European racism is the Achilles’ heel of the modern world-system, and the demographic situation of the United States, with its large, strategically located populations of color, is a key locus of struggle for a more just, democratic, and egalitarian world order.” This book shows by the example of Rod Bush how one can “be the change”—through a commitment to everyday practices and personal transformations that embody, enable, embrace, and engage global social change.
This anthology provides deep reflections on the question of how one can live radical principles in contemporary times. What does it mean to be human? How does one embed love and justice in one’s worldview and daily practice? Rod Bush, partner, colleague, teacher, mentor, comrade, and friend, was well known as an activist scholar who incorporated his values into his teaching, mentorship and everyday interactions. Therefore, his theoretical interests and practical involvements in movements are intimately linked and simultaneous.
In his foreword, Robin D. G. Kelley shares his intimate views of Rod Bush’s life and works. In his view, Rod’s “commitment to study and struggle in the service of human liberation knew no boundaries. His vision was planetary. He wrote critically and brilliantly about Black radical movements—here and abroad—and about the destructive power of racism, colonialism, capitalism (the modern world-system), all with the goal of transforming a society based on exploitation, subjugation, and war into a society rooted in mutual benefit, life, and love.”
At a historical moment when the political landscape is fraught with volatility, and the Movement for Black Lives and other struggles for dignity and justice gain increasing momentum, Rod’s life serves as an example, providing many lessons that we can draw from and practice ourselves. Rod consistently asserted that it is critical to recognize the historical leadership of those involved in struggles for Black Liberation and justice writ large. For, a vision for Black Lives is indeed a vision that benefits all humanity.
The anthology is edited by Melanie E. L. Bush and co-edited by Rose M. Brewer, Daniel Douglas, Loretta Chin, and Robert Newby. Contributors include: Robin D. G. Kelley (Foreword), Angelo Taiwo Bush, Chriss Sneed, Daniel Douglas, Godfrey Vincent, Matthew Birkhold, Loretta Chin, Latoya A. Lee, Tatiana Chichester, A. Kia Sinclair, Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome, Natalie P. Byfield, Komozi Woodard, Bob Barber, Rodney D. Coates, Charles “Cappy” Pinderhughes, Jr., James V. Fenelon, Walda Katz-Fishman, Jerome Scott, Rose M. Brewer, Robert Newby, Roderick D. Bush, and Melanie E. L. Bush. The anthology is a volume (XII, 2019) in the Edited Collection Series of Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge, edited by Mohammad H. Tamdgidi.
Cuprins
Contents
Robin D. G. Kelley—Foreword (p.1)
Melanie E. L. Bush, Rose M. Brewer, Daniel Douglas, Loretta Chin, and Robert Newby—Introduction (p. 7)
Acknowledgments
I. Theory in Practice
Angelo Taiwo Bush—Photos of Home: A Letter to Grandpa (p. 27)
Chriss Sneed—Everyday Conversations with Dr. Rod Bush: The Radical Potentials of Mentorship, Intimacy, and Practice (p. 35)
Daniel Douglas—Rod Bush and Radical Pedagogy (p. 53)
Godfrey Vincent—The Professor and the Student: Lessons from My Experiences with Rod Bush (p. 73)
Matthew Birkhold—Rod Bush: A Revolutionary with a Soft Heart (p. 83)
Loretta Chin—Rod Bush: Passing the Torch for Love, Liberation, and Freedom (p. 95)
Latoya A. Lee, Tatiana Chichester, and A. Kia Sinclair—Paying it Forward: Lessons from Dr. Rod Bush (p. 103)
Melanie E. L. Bush—“Mama, Was it Magic or Just Hard Work?”: Being with Rod Bush, Always (p. 111)
II. Practice in Theory
Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome—Rod Bush Fought the Good Fight (p. 131)
Natalie P. Byfield—Fighting in the Core: Questioning the Last Century’s Debates over Race, Class, and Gender in Light of the Life and Works of Rod Bush (p. 135)
Komozi Woodard—Citizen Malcolm X Blueprint for Black Liberation: Coming of Age with Rod Bush on Race, Class and Citizenship in the Bandung Era (p. 171)
Bob Barber—Black Internationalism and the End of White World Supremacy: An Analysis and Application of Rod Bush’s The End of White World Supremacy (p. 185)
Rodney D. Coates—Rod Bush and the Quest for Social Justice: Beyond the Binary Constructs of Race and Class (p. 207)
James V. Fenelon—Black Nationalism and Native American Struggles through the World-System Lens: Engaging with the Legacy of Rod Bush (p. 219)
Charles “Cappy” Pinderhughes, Jr.—My Dialogue with Rod Bush on Internal Colonialism (p. 241)
Walda Katz-Fishman and Jerome Scott—Celebrating Rod Bush: Friend, Comrade, and Revolutionary Warrior (p. 257)
Melanie E. L. Bush—From Tensions in the American Dream to “As the World Turns”: Lessons from Rod Bush’s Last Projects (p. 269)
III. From Rod Bush
Roderick Douglas Bush—Black Internationalism and Transnational Africa (p. 301)
Roderick Douglas Bush—The Internal Colony Hybrid: Reformulating Structure, Culture, and Agency (p. 341)
Melanie E. L. Bush—Closing (p. 385)
Rod Bush in Memoriam (p. 391)
Rod Bush Gallery (p. 401)
Rod Bush Vita (p. 425)
Contributors (p. 453)
Index (p. 467)
Despre autor
Robin D. G. Kelley is the Gary B. Nash Professor of U.S. History at UCLA.