Acclaimed scholar Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly, an associate professor of African American Studies at Wayne State University, has unveiled her latest book, “Black Scare/Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States.” In this work, Dr. Burden-Stelly does a deep dive into the intertwined histories of anti-Black racial oppression and anti-communist repression in the U.S., shedding light on their connection.

The early 20th century was dominated by two simultaneous panics in the U.S.– the Black Scare and the Red Scare. The Black Scare was driven by white Americans’ anxieties surrounding Black Nationalism and their fear of the potential consequences of Black people achieving social, economic, and political equality. Simultaneously, the Red Scare was sparked by communist uprisings abroad and subversive activities within the country.

In “Black Scare/Red Scare,” Dr. Burden-Stelly traces the evolution of these interconnected phenomena, beginning her examinatio in 1917, a pivotal year marked by the Bolshevik Revolution, the East St. Louis Race Riot, and the passage of the Espionage Act. She introduces two central pillars underpinning the Black Scare /Red Scare: “U.S. Capitalist Racist Society” – an economy built on exploitative racial hierarchies, and “Wall Street Imperialism,” according to The University of Chicago Press.

Dr. Burden-Stelly also introduces the concept of “Radical Blackness,” which is the embodiment of the government’s fears of Black insurrection and Red instigation. The result was the perception that anything “Black” or “Red” was an interchangeable and undesirable threat to America’s core values.

“Black Scare/Red Scare” is a comprehensive study of anti-communist sentiments in the U.S. as well as an exploration of the often-overlooked struggle for Black liberation.

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She is the coauthor of “W.E.B. Du Bois: A Life in American History” and the co-editor of “Organize, Fight, Win: Black Communist Women’s Political Writing,” and “Reproducing Domination: On the Caribbean Postcolonial State,” a collection of essays by Percy C. Hintzen, a professor of global and sociocultural studies at Florida International University and professor emeritus of African American studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly (Photo: https://www.charisseburdenstelly.com)