[BEST OF] W.E.B. Du Bois: Black Reconstruction in America

Revolutionary Left Radio

Breht O'Shea

Communism, Politics, Liberalism, Society & Culture, Philosophy, News, History, Leftwing, Socialism, Marxism

4.8 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 95 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jul 24, 2023

Dr. Gerald Horne, renowned historian, prolific author, and leading scholar of African American history, joins host Breht O'Shea and guest co-host PM Irvin for the inaugural episode of a compelling new series dedicated to exploring the profound life and influential work of W.E.B. Du Bois. A towering figure in American intellectual history, Du Bois was an innovative sociologist, pioneering Marxist socialist thinker, distinguished historian, and a passionate advocate of Pan-Africanist civil rights and liberation.

In this richly detailed discussion, Dr. Horne provides his deep historical expertise and sharp analytical insight to illuminate Du Bois’s groundbreaking masterpiece, Black Reconstruction in America. This seminal text revolutionized the historiography of the Reconstruction era by highlighting the central role that African Americans played in striving for democracy and liberation following the Civil War, while powerfully dismantling the myths perpetuated by white supremacist narratives of American history.

Listeners will gain a profound appreciation for Du Bois’s rigorous methodology, his penetrating critique of capitalist exploitation and racial oppression, and his visionary perspective on racial solidarity and international struggle. This episode not only marks the beginning of a comprehensive exploration of Du Bois’s prolific intellectual contributions but also serves as a crucial foundation for understanding the historical dynamics that continue to shape racial politics and liberation movements today.

Check out our other interviews with Professor Horne over at Guerrilla History:

Texas and the Roots of US Fascism and The Counter-Revolution of 1776

Also check out Dr. Horne's writings in The Nation

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everybody and welcome back to Rev Left Radio. On today's episode, I have a wonderful
0:11.0	guest for you, Professor Gerald Horn. The one and only Professor Gerald Horn is on to discuss
0:17.6	W.E.B. De Bois, specifically his work, Black Reconstruction in America.
0:23.6	This is a really great episode. I'm really excited for everybody to listen to it. And also,
0:27.3	this is the first episode in a series that we're going to do here on Rev. Left on Du Bois and
0:34.0	different aspects of his work, his life, his ideas, his legacy, etc.
0:39.1	So this is a sort of inaugural episode of an ongoing series. We're not exactly sure how many
0:44.3	episodes the series will be. And there might be some random episodes sprinkled throughout.
0:48.3	But certainly over the next month or so, we're going to try to do four or five, maybe six
0:52.0	episodes covering De Bois from different angles.
0:55.2	And this is in particular because I think that the American left, which is the bulk of this audience,
1:01.6	really needs to understand our own history.
1:04.6	And I think W.E.B. De Bois is one of the best, most principled voices for really wrestling with American history from a
1:14.9	Marxist, a black liberationist perspective.
1:17.8	And so we wanted to dedicate not just one episode to De Bois, but several episodes.
1:22.5	And that's what we're going to do.
1:23.3	And in addition to that, I have a guest co-host with me through this series.
1:28.9	My friend PM, who reached out, asked me about De Bois, was sort of the catalyst to not only an episode on De Bois, but a series on De Bois.
1:38.8	And we figured that it would be awesome instead of having him as a guest for a one-off episode.
1:53.4	If he can just co-host these episodes with me as we have on various scholars to talk about various aspects of DeVoise's life and work.
1:56.9	So, PM, can you introduce yourself for our audience, please?
1:58.6	Yeah, hi, everyone.
	...

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