- Black Marxism, Class Politics, and the Questions We Cannot Avoid with August Nimtz

In this episode, we welcome political scientist and longtime University of Minnesota professor August H. Nimtz to discuss his book, “Black Marxism: A Marxist Critique.” Nimtz revisits Cedric J. Robinson’s influential 1983 “Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition” and explains why he believes Robinson’s account of the Black radical tradition downplays class struggle, revolutionary politics, and the significance of figures such as Malcolm X. Drawing on his own experiences in the Black freedom movement, field research in Tanzania, and decades of study of Marx, Engels, and Lenin, Nimtz makes the case for a Marxism that takes racism, national liberation, and working-class unity seriously.

The conversation ranges from the Grenadian Revolution and anti-colonial struggles in Africa to Malcolm X, Black nationalism, identity politics, and the enduring question of whether the left can build an independent political alternative to the Democratic Party. Nimtz also reflects on Lenin’s approach to elections, the meaning of revolutionary parliamentarianism, and why he sees troubling parallels between today’s global conflicts and the period leading up to World War I. This is a wide-ranging, challenging conversation about race, class, imperialism, and the political choices facing the left today.

About August Nimtz

August H. Nimtz is a political scientist, Marxist scholar, and longtime professor of political science at the University of Minnesota, where he has taught since 1971. Raised in New Orleans in a union-oriented household, Nimtz developed an early interest in the relationship between race, class, labor, and political struggle. His research in Tanzania in 1969–70, including field interviews conducted in Swahili, helped shape his work on African politics, Islam, colonialism, and the class dynamics of postcolonial societies.

A longtime socialist activist and member of the Socialist Workers Party from 1972 to 1995, Nimtz has written extensively on Marx, Engels, Lenin, Black liberation, electoral strategy, and anti-imperialism. Nimtz’s work emphasizes confronting racism while building independent, multiracial working-class political movements.

Resources:

Order the book: https://monthlyreview.org/9781685901752/

Webpage: https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/animtz

Greg’s Substack: https://substack.com/@greggodels929536

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/

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