Political Ethics of the Oppressed: On Freedom, Solidarity, and Self-Respect

Tommie Shelby

Tommie Shelby is Lee Simpkins Family Professor of Arts and Sciences and the Caldwell Titcomb Professor in the Department of African and African American Studies and the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University. He is the author of much-discussed and prize-winning books that are waiting to be discovered by a broad public in Germany. His works combine fundamental philosophical questions about belonging, solidarity and the possibilities of overcoming racist conditions with a precise knowledge of the Black radical tradition. Shelby’s impressive analyses are characterized by their sincerity and systematic approach. They respond to the challenges that radical approaches to the struggle against oppression have faced and continue to face. Shelby focuses on individuals—their ethical obligations and political possibilities—as well as the need to organize together in solidarity. There are no simple solutions to the inherent social tensions, but in dialog with the Black radical tradition, important insights emerge for contemporary debates. Shelby sharpens our view of the present and continuous to unveil surprising perspectives for its transformation.

Tommie Shelby is the author of The Idea of Prison Abolition (Princeton University Press 2022), Dark Ghettos: Injustice, Dissent, and Reform (Harvard University Press 2016), and We Who Are Dark: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity (Harvard University Press 2005). In addition, he co-edited the volume Hip Hop and Philosophy (Open Court, 2005)