360. Juliet Hooker with Megan Ming Francis: The Politics of Loss

Town Hall Seattle Civics Series

Delve into the complex tapestry of American politics with Juliet Hooker, the Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Political Science at Brown University. Hooker, known for her expertise in racial justice, democracy theories, and Black political thought, will unpack the themes of her latest book, Black Grief / White Grievance and offer a critical examination of white supremacy’s impact on the political landscape.

In her book, Hooker argues that white supremacy creates an environment in which a white majority grows accustomed to civic and political wins, while black citizens are expected to act as lone political martyrs on a long path to justice. For Hooker, the two most important forces driving racial politics in the United States today are Black grief and white grievance. Black grief is exemplified in current protests against police violence — the latest in a tradition of violent death and subsequent public mourning, spurring activism, meanwhile the politics of white grievance imagines the United States as a white country under siege.

Hooker will be joined by Megan Ming Francis, an Associate Professor of Political Science and Associate Professor of Law, Societies, and Justice at the University of Washington. She specializes in the study of American politics, expanding into the realm of criminal punishment, Black political activism, and philanthropy. She is the author of the award-winning book, Civil Rights and the Making of the Modern American State.

Join Juliet Hooker with Megan Ming Francis for a conversation surrounding the expansion of the Black and white political imaginations. Hooker argues that both must learn to sit with loss, for different reasons, and to different ends.

Juliet Hooker is the Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Political Science at Brown University, where she teaches courses on racial justice, black political thought, Latin American political thought, democratic theory, and contemporary political theory.

Megan Ming Francis is the G. Alan and Barbara Delsman Associate Professor of Political Science and an Associate Professor of Law, Societies, and Justice at the University of Washington. Francis specializes in the study of American politics, with broad interests in constitutional law, Black political activism, critical philanthropy, and the post-Civil War South.

Buy the Book Black Grief/White Grievance: The Politics of Loss

Third Place Books