Intercommunalism is a theory developed by political philosopher and Black Panther Huey P. Newton. The theory was Newton’s attempt to lay out an analysis of the historical conjuncture in 1970, as well as formulate a political strategy for the Black Panther Party given his read of the moment.

The idea in a nutshell was that global capital has superseded the authority of the nation-state. The world was instead a collection of local communities under the spell of global empire. The role of the revolutionary was not to gain national sovereignty or independence, according to Newton, but to liberate territories within the larger empire. To seize the means of production in the local terrain and build cooperative networks with other liberated zones.

Scholars commented on how Newton anticipated later theories developed by Marxist scholars Michael Hardt and Toni Negri on empire, multitude, and constituent power. Yet, Newton is not acknowledged for the political philosophy he advanced, instead he is depicted as a “thug” in mainstream narratives.

The public panel on intercommunalism scheduled for Wednesday, February 14th 2024 at 1:00 PM PT/3:00 PM CT/4:00 PM ET has the intent of recognizing and honoring Newton’s scholarship, as well as popularizing his ideas and their application for broad audiences in North America.

Panelists:
ERICKA HUGGINS, Black Panther Party member
JAMES TRACY, Author of Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power with Amy Sonnie
KAMAU FRANKLIN, Community Movement Builders

Facilitator:
KAZEMBE BALAGUN, Intercommunalism Research Fellow at Solidarity Research Center

Interpreter:
COMMUNITY LANGUAGE COOPERATIVE will offer Spanish and American Sign Language interpretation.