From Karl Marx to David Walker: Toward a Black American Critical and Cultural Framework

I am a Black American woman critical/cultural studies scholar. Yet, my primary lens and scope of critical/cultural studies has been mainly established by reading mostly White men. As Langmia (2018) explained in the Introduction to Black/Africana Communication Theory Vol. 1, an over reliance on White, Western dominated communication theories creates confusion for scholars like me engaging in Black communication scholarship. While I have always acknowledged and centered Stuart Hall’s work, it has largely been in response to White European philosophers, mainly Karl Marx. This is problematic. As such, this chapter intervenes at the intersection of critical communication pedagogy and praxis.