E56: Black Artistic and Academic Labor From the Nixon Era to Critical Race Theory (w/ Dr. Richard Purcell)

On today’s show, Ben and Calvin have the privilege of speaking with Dr. Richard Purcell, Associate Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University. We begin by discussing Rich’s current research on conceptions of work in Black artistic labor, and how that led him back to considering the discursive formations of a Nixon-era economic initiative/slogan known as “Black Capitalism.” We discuss Nixon’s policy efforts to revitalize Black economic citizenship as a way of pacifying radical resistance, as well as the ensuing debates among Black intellectuals over labor and capital in the 1970s and 1980s. Then, Rich connects this historical context to his analysis of contemporary rap artists like Oddisee, helping us to think through how aesthetic production reflects the costs and tolls of neoliberal capitalism.

Finally, we close by addressing “toothless” administrative responses to the conservative movement against Critical Race Theory (CRT). We unpack the legal studies origins of CRT as an academic field and theory, its theoretical utility, and the material connections between the conservative interests that developed “broken windows” policing and the ongoing anti-CRT campaign. We invite Rich to “get on his soapbox”, and he articulates a critique of university policies on issues such as this one that disproportionately affect students and faculty of color, including at Carnegie Mellon University.

Works and concepts cited in this episode

Joint Statement from AAUP, AHA, AACU, and Pen America re: Legislative Attacks on CRT

Ansfield, B. (2020) The Broken Windows of the Bronx: Putting the Theory in Its Place. American Quarterly, (72) 1, 103-127.

Ayo, D. (2005). How to Rent a Negro. Lawrence Hill Books.

Brimmer, A. (1969). The Economic Potential of Black Capitalism. American Economic Association.

Bell, D. (1995) Who’s Afraid of Critical Race Theory? 

Boggs, J. (1970). The Myth and Irrationality of Black Capitalism. The Review of Black Political Economy, 27-35. 

Crenshaw, K., Gotanda, N., Peller, G., Thomas, K. (Eds.). (1996). Critical race theory: The key writings that formed the movement. The New Press.

Cross, T. (1969). Black Capitalism: Strategy for Business in the Ghetto. Atheneum Press. 

Everett, P. (2001) Erasure. Graywolf Press.

England, J. & Purcell, R. (2020). Higher Ed’s toothless response to the killing of George Floyd. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Robinson, C. (1983). Black Marxism: The making of the black radical tradition. Zed Books.

Rufo, C. (2021). Battle Over Critical Race Theory. Wall Street Journal. 

Speri, A. (2019, March 23). The Strange Tale of the FBI's Fictional "Black Identity Extremism" Movement. The Intercept. 

Wacquant, L. J. (2009). Prisons of Poverty. U of Minnesota Press.