The Invention of Race

The philosopher Tommy Lott here provides a critique of the issues that shape our understanding of the role of black culture in the political struggles and self-affirmation of black people.

Lott argues that many forms of African-American cultural expression display resistance through appropriation, and reconstitution, of denigrating representations fostered by the dominant racist culture. Beginning with a tour de force entitled "Racist Discourse and the Negro-ape Metaphor," he goes on in subsequent chapters to discuss slavery, cultural identity, art, music, film, and television, engaging in a wide variety of issues pertaining to the politics of representation.