Today’s episode is with award-winning writer, scholar and activist Frank B. Wilderson III. Frank is known as the Godfather of Afropessimism: a critical theory that anti-blackness is “necessary for world-making at every level of abstraction.” Did that sound heady? Well, get ready. Frank’s curiosity, appetite for knowledge and nuance, along with his fearlessness to explore what is, in the absence of what isn’t, reminds us of the importance of inquiry and the power of examining the world around us. 

In part one of today’s episode, Frank reminds us to be fearless in the pursuit of knowledge, even if that knowledge reveals unhealthy truths. Strap in, as Frank takes us on a ride exploring Afropessimism and themes of reconciliation, activism, and what it means to be a young Black man living in a state of social consciousness and racial reckoning. Please share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us over on twitter and instagram at @blackimagination. To watch this episode go, visit, and subscribe to our youtube channel The Institute of Black Imagination. You can find this and more content over on IBI Digital at, blackimagination.com. And without further ado, the profound Frank B. Wilderson III.

People and ideas mentioned

More information on what is Afropessimism

Jared Sexton - Professor, African American Studies

Marxism thought of Karl Marx

Professor David Marriott History of Consciousness

Historical and cultural sociologist Orlando Patterson

What to Read

Afropessimism by Frank B. Wilderson

Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile and Apartheid by Frank B. Wilderson III

The Future Is Black: Afropessimism, Fugitivity, and Radical Hope in Education by Michael J. Dumas, Carl A. Grant, Ashley N. Woodson

Whither Fanon?: Studies in the Blackness of Being by David Marriott 

Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study, with a New Preface by Orlando Patterson

The Autobiography of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, and Speeches by Manning Marable, Myrlie Evers-Williams 

What to listen to

Fight the Power – Public Enemy

Hell You Talmbout – Janelle Monae and Wondaland Records

This is America – Childish Gambino

Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) – Marvin Gaye

Who to follow

Follow Frank B. Wilderson III on IG @frank_wilderson

Visit his website here.

This conversation was recorded on August 11th, 2022.

Host Dario Calmese 

Producer: Coniqua Johnson 

Visual Art Direction and Designs: 

River Wildmen, Adam Saleh, Will Dominique, Sablā Stays

Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia

Bookings: K.T. Thompson

Audio Engineer + Composer: Adam Radice

Original music composed by Adam Radice.

Visit us at blackimagination.com