Abstract
This article argues that love and care, and more specifically, the hope of a new world, were central to the ethos of the US Civil Rights movement of the late 1960s and the decolonial projects inspired by it. Starting from the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other central activists of the era, this article explores how hope guided their visionary work. This article examines what differentiates the forms of hope deployed by civil rights activists and those of more recent US nationalist movements. This piece also traces the work of US third-wave feminists in creating a theory around radical hope, and the creation of what I define as a standpoint of hope: a type of consciousness that rejects the consumption of hope for selfish purposes and promotes a style of life that looks after the most vulnerable beyond one’s own group. As the article explains, hope works multi-dimensionally, as it can help people navigate their everyday struggles, envision a different outcome, and critically analyze their own history and experiences of oppression.
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Notes
But also framed around class, gender, citizenship, and sexual differentiations.
The motto is not Trump’s creation. It was used by Alexander Wiley in 1940 (Wiley 1940). Barry Goldwater used it during his 1964 inspiration to the US presidency. He is considered the father of modern political conservativism within the Republican Party, partly famous for his opposition to the Civil Rights Act 1964. Goldwater helped to bring forward Ronald Regan’s political career, who also used the MAGA in his campaign. See, Margolin (2016).
The film is based on the 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich by writer Wallace D. Wattles.
Hell for many Christians is defined as an absolute place where there is no hope. However, more recent discussions, based on the premise of a merciful God, are rethinking the notion of hell as a “place” where humans (with full consciousness) have chosen to be, but not an imposed/punished place by God. For more discussion about the topic, see Salkeld (2020).
The Poor People’s Campaign, also known as the Poor People’s March, was a political demonstration that took place on June 19, 1968, in Washington, DC. The event was conceived by the Reverend Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), demanding broader economic policies addressing housing and employment inequalities in the USA. This economic undertaking was perceived as an extension of the civil rights victories in the 1960s. It brought together members from wider communities. Ralph David Abernathy led the organization of the march after King was assassinated a few months before.
Other feminists of color have identified this unique epistemic quality of resistance and awareness through the concept of a “Standpoint Theory” (Collins, 1990). They argue that people’s social, economic, and political experiences, including their contact with racism, sexism, and homophobia, as manifested by their systemic marginalization and discrimination because of their immigration status, gender, race, etc., create a unique positionality to the world around them. People’s experiences define how they approach the challenges of every day, but also how they understand and gain information from the world around them.
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Calvo-Quirós, W.A. The Standpoint of Hope and the Decolonial Ethno-Poetics of Radical Love. Soc 61, 18–25 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-023-00937-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-023-00937-7