The Condemnation of Blackness

Throughout his book, Muhammad includes photographs, political cartoons, and other figures to accompany his text. How do these primary sources lend to your understanding of this history? What role do these visual aids play in Muhammad’s effort to prove his text’s thesis?

In the new preface written for his 2019 edition, Muhammad writes: “The Condemnation of Blackness is not an easy book. Nor should it be. It explores a past that like our present is complicated. Simple history lessons are often simple lies” (xiii). Why do you believe Muhammad added these comments to a 2019 edition? What social and political contexts might he have been referencing? How does this quote connect the history of Black criminality to today?

One of the primary themes of The Condemnation of Blackness is the role the color line played in the urban North of the 19th and 20th centuries. Do you see the color line at work in any way in today’s America? If so, how might Muhammad’s research inform our understanding of a contemporary color line?