Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883–1918, Jeffrey B. Perry, New York: Columbia University Press, 2009

Abstract

AbstractJeffrey B. Perry’s biography of Hubert Harrison restores the legacy of a central figure in the history of Black radicalism. Though largely forgotten today, Harrison was acknowledged by his early-twentieth-century peers as ‘the father of Harlem radicalism’. Author of pioneering analyses of white supremacy’s role in American capitalism, proponent of armed self-defence among African-Americans, and anti-colonial intellectual, Harrison played a central role in the development of Black politics in the United States. This review traces Harrison’s journey from socialist organiser to Black nationalist, considering its implications for the history of American radicalism.