Part I: Situating oneself in the political world
My judgment makes me political: David Walker's transformative appeal
Living an antislavery life: Walker on the demandingness of freedom
Being a slave of the community: Race, domination, and republicanism
Part II: A society that never was but may yet be
The people's two bodies
Lynching and the horrific: From Ida B. Wells to Billie Holiday
Propaganda and rhetoric: On W.E.B. Du Bois's "Criteria of Negro Art"
Calling the people to a higher vision: On "The Souls of Black Folk"
James Baldwin's gift.