What is Afropessimism? A Conversation with Frank Wilderson Artwork

Then & Now

Then & Now connects past to present, using historical analysis and context to help guide us through modern issues and policy decisions. Then & Now is brought to you by the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy. Then & Now is produced by David Myers and Roselyn Campbell, and features original music by Daniel Raijman.

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Then & Now

What is Afropessimism? A Conversation with Frank Wilderson

October 18, 2021 • Season 2 • Episode 4

This episode of Then & Now features a conversation with Frank B. Wilderson III, Chancellor's Professor of African American Studies at UC Irvine and author of the book Afropessimism. The conversation tracks his extraordinary life journey from youthful radical activism in Minnesota to a career as a stockbroker to participation in subversive activity for the African National Congress in South Africa. It also focuses on Wilderson's stark and unsparing philosophical stance of Afropessimism, which rests on the belief in a racism so deep that it divides the world between Humans and Blacks.