Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften Fighting for Our Place in the Sun: Malcolm X and the Radicalization of the Black Student Movement 1960–1973: 40 (Black Studies and Critical Thinking)

In Fighting for Our Place in the Sun, Richard D. Benson II examines the life of Malcolm X as not only a radical political figure, but also as a teacher and mentor. The book illuminates the untold tenets of Malcolm X's educational philosophy, and also traces a historical trajectory of Black activists that sought to create spaces of liberation and learning that are free from cultural and racial oppression. It explains a side of the Black student movement and shift in black power that develops as a result of the student protests in North Carolina and Duke University. From these acts of radicalism, Malcolm X Liberation University (MXLU), the Student Organization for Black Unity (SOBU/YOBU), and African Liberation Day (ALD) were produced to serve as catalysts to extend the tradition of Black activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Scholars, researchers, community organizers, and students of African-American studies, American studies, history of education, political science, Pan-African studies, and more will benefit from this provocative and enlightening text. Review «In this book, author Richard Benson II is able to uncover and offer insight into some of the lesser known aspects of Malcolm X's influence on African American student organizations during the 1960s and mid-1970s.» (Andrew P. Smallwood, Adult Education Quarterly, Jan. 2018) Full review «Each historical moment in the political struggle of African Americans grows, simultaneously, from ongoing racial oppression and the corresponding rise of resistance. [...] The tedious and dangerous work of social activism benefits from the efforts of intergenerational activists nurtur-ing the seeds of radicalism. It is within this historical context that Richard D. Benson's Fighting for Our Place in the Sun provides us an excellent narrative ex-pressing how oppression and resistance converged, leading to the radicaliza-tion of African American students in the 1960s.» (Gayle T. Tate, The Journal of African American History Vol. 103/2018) About the Author Scholar, author, advocate, Richard D. Benson II earned a PhD in educational policy studies from the University of Illinois-at Urbana Champaign. He travels frequently as a guest lecturer speaking on topics such as the black student movement, and school-community advocacy. Benson resides in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is Assistant Professor in the Education Studies Program at Spelman College.