This is an introduction written to preface a new book, Afro-Pessimism: An Introduction, put out by Racked & Dispatched. Check out that site for more info and to get a free pdf of the entire book.

Preface

In June 2017, a Black off-duty cop was coming to assist some other officers but as he approached them, the other cops, who were white, just saw a Black man coming toward them and shot him. One of the cops later justified this action by saying that he apparently “feared for his safety.” The Black cop’s lawyer said of the case that his client was “treated as an ordinary black guy on the street.”

Thinking about this incident, it appears that the Black cop seamlessly moves from being a force of structural white supremacy (as a uniformed cop) to being shot just for being Black. To help make sense of this…