I said that I’d start putting my own research here. One of my specialties is black political ideology. How has support for black nationalism changed over time? How might we measure it? I wrote a paper differentiating support for Pan-Africanism from support for black nationalism.
The abstract:
There have been several recent attempts to operationalize and measure empirically attitudinal support for Black nationalism. However, scholars have not yet reached a consensus as to what precisely constitutes Black nationalism and its manifestations. Our work addresses three critical questions. First, is Black nationalism a uni-dimensional or a multi-dimensional construct? Second, is Black nationalism another form of xenophobia? Third, is support for Black nationalism a function of time? Some scholars note that Black nationalism takes on the character of its material context and that it cannot be easily subsumed into a trans-historical ideology (Reed 2002; Robinson 2001). We indirectly test these hypotheses by examining the relationship between two components of Black nationalism—Black separatism and Pan-Africanism. To test these hypotheses, we analyze data from the 1979–1980 National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA). Overall, we establish the determinants of support for Black separatism and Pan-Africanism while distinguishing these ideologies’ similarities and differences.
The paper (in pdf format). (It’s heavy on statistical analysis.)
Spence, Lester, Todd C. Shaw, and Robert Brown. 2005. “True to Our Native Land: Distinguishing Attitudinal Support for Pan-Africanism from Black Separatism.” The Dubois Review 2, no. 1, pp. 91-111.
Prof. Spence,
I think you have read this piece, but there was a comment left by one of the readers below in reaction to my remarks about pan-africanism. I responded with what I thought were the differences. I would like to know what you think of my response when you get some time.
I have been reading this pdf and, while I have yet to finish, I am in general agreement with its conclusions. I especially like the fact that you mentioned the ABB. Cyril Briggs was the motherf-ckin man.
One of the best pieces I’ve read on cultural nationalism was by Linda Harrison of the Black Panther Party. While I tend now to see the League of Revolutionary Black Workers and even the African Blood Brotherhood, which as you know existed long before the BPP, as far more advanced in political content and form, her piece is still very critical and precise.
Anyway, here is the link to the article (which you read already) that contains the pan-africanism dialogue at the bottom.
http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/14384/
The theory is being put into practice at the Front for the Unification and Development of Africa and Arabia (fudaa.blogspot.com). Pan-Africanism is becoming a concrete reality.