Race, Capitalism, and Theology
Dr. Vincent Lloyd talks to theologian and social theorist Matt Vega about his doctoral work
Winn-Dixie Boycott. Rev. Joseph Lowery (middle, right), Rev. Randel Osburn (middle, left), and others picket a Winn-Dixie grocery store in Atlanta, Georgia. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s boycott of Winn-Dixie began in the fall of 1985 and lasted four months, ending only when the chain agreed to stop selling products grown or manufactured in South Africa. Courtesy of Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University, Southern Christian Leadership Conference Records, Photograph by Elaine Tomlin. Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia
Dr. Vincent Lloyd, Director of Africana Studies at Villanova University, talks to theologian and social theorist Matt Vega about his doctoral research around racial capital, which Vega examines through personal, theological, and academic lenses. His understanding of the relationship between race and capitalism was greatly influenced by political scientist Dr. Michael C. Dawson, who administered Vega’s “Race and Capitalism” Qualifying Examination at the University of Chicago. (Vega highly recommends watching this breakdown of race and capitalism by Dr. Dawson.)
Vega’s recent essay on racial capitalism is part of the Critical Theory for Political Theology 2.0 series on the Political Theology Network. In this episode of OP Talks, he encourages theologians to think through the relationship between race, capitalism, and theology for three reasons:
"First, there’s the origin reason. So, modern conceptions of race and the origins of capitalism as a distinct mode of production emerged within the context of mission."
"The second reason is the conversation reason. I think studying racial capitalism is important for theologians to foster cross-cultural conversations about how dynamics of race and capitalism might both be at work, rather than thinking about one at the exclusion of the other."
"The last reason it’s important for theologians is because I think it should push us to think about the sources we have within our traditions [with which] to think about or respond to racial capitalism."
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Dawson, Michael C. “Why Race and Capitalism Not Racial Capitalism? (Critical Race Studies): Racial Capitalism(s) I.” Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto, 25 March 2021.
Dawson, Michael C. and Emily A. Katzenstein. “Articulated Darkness: White Supremacy, Patriarchy, and Capitalism in Shelby’s Dark Ghettos.” The Journal of Political Philosophy 27.2, June 2019: 252-268.
Jennings, Willie James. The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race. Yale University Press, 2011.
Lloyd, Vincent. Black Dignity: The Struggle Against Domination. Yale University Press, 2022.
Jones-Rogers, Stephanie E. They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South. Yale University Press, 2020.
Robinson, Cedric James Robinson. Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition. Zed Press, 1983. [PDF]
Vega, Matthew. “ Racial Capitalism.” Critical Theory for Political Theology 2.0 series, Political Theology Network, 3 May 2022.
