We Who Are Dark: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity

We Who Are Dark is a groundbreaking philosophical defense of black political solidarity, challenging the notion that unity is unnecessary, irrational, or rooted in racial illusions.

Tommie Shelby's comprehensive argument draws on the history of black political thought and urges rethinking traditional conceptions of black unity.

This book provides a new African American political philosophy that rests on anti-essentialist foundations while advocating for the elimination of racial inequality and improvement of opportunities for those racialized as "black." Shelby's aim is to show that one can achieve robust form of black solidarity without commitment to black identity, entailing identification between group members, shared values or goals.

This thought-provoking work makes a significant contribution to the larger effort to re-envision black politics and modernize objectives and strategies of black freedom struggles for the post-civil rights era.