"Black Perspectives" Features Online Roundtable on Chris Tinson’s Radical Intellect

In Radical Intellect, Christopher M. Tinson writes “a political and cultural history” of Liberator magazine, which he considers “one of the lesser acknowledged, but widely influential, periodicals of the 1960s and early 1970s” (1). By paying close attention to the personalities and politics that defined the magazine, as well as to the community of activists, artists, and intellectuals who supported it, Tinson succeeds in expanding the discussion of radical Black political journals.

Tinson informs us that Liberator played two roles. First, it served as a platform for Black radical thinkers to exchange ideas. “At its height of influence,” he writes, “theLiberator provided an indispensible forum where many of the national and international concerns facing black people could be discussed” (4).  Second, the magazine molded the contours of Black politics. “Liberator’s role shaping black radical thought left an imprint on a range of activist-intellectual activities,” explains Tinson (184).  Throughout Radical Intellect, Tinson explores Liberator’s dual roles, deftly explicating the expressions of Black radicalism captured in its pages and skillfully exploring the impact that it had on those who embraced this political tradition.