A Division We Don’t Need

In brief

Clifford Thompson argues in Commonweal that several nonfiction books published over the last decade have created unnecessary divisions within the Black community by criticizing interracial relationships.

Thompson notes that while these authors successfully reject patriarchal and white supremacist assumptions, they also marginalize Black individuals who have white spouses or partners. He highlights a contradiction in Brittney Cooper’s 2018 book, Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower, where she supports the right of consenting adults to choose their own partners but simultaneously claims that the choice of white female partners by Black men is a political issue that should concern the community.