Please expand upon the arguments presented by William R.Jones,in
"The Legitimacy and Necessity of Black Philosophy."In addition,please reference the
Interview on William R. Jonesby George Yancyas a way to further understand the need for an African American philosophy.
APA Newsletter oN Philosophy and the Black Experience John McClendon & George Yancy, Co-Editors Spring 2013 Volume 12, Number 2 From the editors As co-editors, it is with a deep sense of sadness and yet with abiding honor that we dedicate this issue of the APA Newsletter on Philosophy and the Black Experience (spring issue, 2013) to the memory and legacy of the late Dr. William R. Jones. It was actually our intention to devote a special issue to Dr. Jones over two years ago; however, he was intent on revising and reformulating his ideas and the project never came to fruition. In the next issue of the newsletter, we intend to continue our efforts to acknowledge the philosophical heritage that Jones has provided. Our contributors in this issue span the generational spectrum of African American philosophers and students of philosophy and we greatly appreciate their insightful contributions toward honoring the memory and thought of Dr. Jones. In “The Honor Was All Mine: A Conversation with William R. Jones,” Dr. George Yancy briefly reflects on his richly textured 1996 conversation with William R. Jones, which is followed by the interview that has never before been published. Dr. Lewis R. Gordon, in his “Remembering William R. Jones (1933–2012): Philosopher and Freedom Fighter,” provides a personal and moving remembrance of Bill Jones. Gordon’s reflective piece beautifully captures the spirit of love and freedom that Jones embodied and provides a context for understanding the philosophical, humanist, and theological magnitude of Jones’s thought. Dr. Stephen C. Ferguson II, in his essay “On the Occasion of William R. Jones’s Death: Remembering the Feuerbachian Tradition in African-American Social Thought,” astutely situates Jones’s philosophical work within the context of African American philosophical tradition and alerts us to how the Feuerbachian Tradition in German philosophy is apropos in the assessment of Jones’s philosophy of religion. Dr. J. Everet Green’s “William R. Jones: Philosophical Theologian Extraordinaire of the Twentieth Century” introduces us to how Jones was a formidable thinker in the context of twentieth- century philosophical theology and Africana thought. Dr. Greene was a student of Dr. Roy D. Morrison II, who in turn was not only a very close friend of Jones but also a co-worker in the field of philosophical theology. Green shares with us his personal vision of the intellectual landscape that frames Jones’s legacy in philosophical theology. Ms. Brittany L. O’Neal’s “William R. Jones’s Humanocentric Theism: Reconceptualizing the Black Religious Experience” continues the discussion on the import of Jones’s magnum opus, Is God a White Racist? by locating its significance for reconceptualizing Black religion in non- theistic terms in contrast to classical theism. Ms. Kimberly A. Harris, in her “The Legitimacy of Black Philosophy,” provides a critical assessment of Jones’s seminal contributions to the affirmation of Black philosophy as an academic pursuit and its metaphilosophical implications. Dr. John H. McClendon III, in his “Dr. William Ronald Jones (July 17, 1933–July 13, 2012) On the Legacy of the Late ‘Dean’ of Contemporary African American Philosophers,” offers a personal and historical account of Dr. Jones’s legacy. McClendon argues that Jones stands at the apex of the African American philosophical tradition both as a scholar and activist, and thus deserves the honor of “Dean.” In this issue, we are also delighted to include six book reviews. Tim Golden reviews James Cone’s The Cross and the Lynching Tree; Jessica Patella Konig reviews George Yancy’s Christology and Whiteness: What Would Jesus Do?; Floyd Hayes reviews John H. McClendon and Stephen C. Ferguson’s Beyond the White Shadow: Philosophy, Sports, and the African American Experience; Chike Jeffers reviews Robert Birt’s The Liberatory Thought of Martin Luther King Jr.: Critical Essays on the Philosopher King; Michelle V. Rowley reviews George Yancy and Janine Jones’s Pursuing Trayvon Martin: Historical Contexts and Contemporary Manifestations of Racial Dynamics; and, Chris Mountenay reviews Jacqueline Scott and Todd Franklin’s Critical Affinities: Nietzsche and African American Thought. Articles The Honor Was All Mine: A Conversation with William R. Jones George Yancy Duquesne University The following is part of a larger conversation that took place in 1996 with Dr. William R. Jones (1933–2012). The conversation was synoptic in scope, covering fragments from his childhood, his interest in philosophy, Blacks in the field of philosophy, the Committee on Blacks in Philosophy, racism, theodicy and Christian theism, Black theology, and oppression, the last of which shaped the driving theme to which Jones dedicated his life to understand and eradicate. Like his Black heroine Harriet Tubman (1820–1913), Jones was compelled to continue in his liberation efforts. For Jones, there was no justification to discontinue. Liberation struggle, for him, took place within the context of history, on the plane, as it were, of existential suffering and social praxis. No matter the truth or falsity of the vertical theistic/metaphysical claims made by theologians regarding the existence of God, Jones was clear that it was our responsibility to wage struggle against the multiple forms of oppression experienced by human beings. In short, then, his “theism” did not mitigate his humanist drive to change the world for the better. His “humanocentric theism” is conceptually consistent with the need and responsibility — APA Newsletter, Spring 2013, Volume 12, Number 2 — — 2 — for human beings to transform destructive forms of historical repetition, to dismantle structures of oppression, and to attack manifestations of social evil wherever they are found. When talking with Jones, one got the impression that there is so much more to be done, so much more social evil that needed to be eradicated. One also got the sense that the effort to fight for a better world is one’s personal responsibility, a responsibility that one bears despite the fact that one is always already born in medias res, in the very middle of the drama of human existence. Indeed, we participate (both directly and indirectly) in the interdependent matrix of social, political, economic, and psychological forces that oppress so many. And while it would be false to say that we all engage in acts of oppression in the same ways or that we all experience oppression in the same ways, it is true, nevertheless, that our duty is to locate where and how we oppress others and to seek out ways of challenging and undoing those forms of oppression. This was partly what was so profound and didactic when talking with Jones. He forced me to confront my own bad faith, something he did with passion and sometimes tears. Out of all the interviews that I have done, it was with Jones that I was, for the very first time, personally moved by a profound sense of passion, a form of passion that was deeply infectious and abiding. As he talked about Harriet Tubman and her headaches, caused by the trauma of being hit on the head with a blunt object by her white “owner,” his voice began to crack. His cracking voice gave way to a process of gentle sobbing. In silence, I listened to Jones complete the powerful moral story of Tubman’s liberationist indefatigability. Tears welled up in my eyes. From what I recall, I turned off the recorder. And with a somewhat strained composure, though one not easy to maintain, I simply said, “we should end there.” He agreed. That moment of shared tears, of shared tarrying over Tubman’s ethical and spiritual journey, left me in silence long after the conversation was over. The sheer joy of journeying through that emotional moment with Jones was itself a burden and yet liberating. I was reminded of the pain and angst suffered by Tubman. Yet, I was reminded of her sacrifice, her duty, and her love for others. I was also deeply stirred by Jones’s humanity, his vulnerability, and his intense passion. Most of all, I was reminded—as he spoke of finding absolutely no justification for why he should discontinue fighting against oppression—of the fact that Jones was a philosopher who wept. GEORGE YANCY: When did you first discover that there was a field called philosophy? WILLIAM R. JONES: As a teenager, I did a great deal of reading. I was a little bitty, tiny kid. And I had very, very bad eyes. In fact, I should have used glasses well before I actually got them. But you know back then if you wore glasses they called you “four-eyes.” And so literally it got to the point, and this was in high school, where I could not see the board from the first row, and the teacher, Mr. Forbes, called my parents and told them he thought that I needed glasses. I’ll never forget the time when they put those glasses on me. The world looked different. I just hadn’t seen anything. But I couldn’t participate in sports. So I did not get into that athletic route that, to me, is really an oppressive structure designed to keep Black people oppressed. So, because of my physical body size and my eye problem, I began to do a lot of reading. I remember reading Plato back then. YANCY: At what point did you apply to Howard University? JONES: Actually, I had not decided to go to college because I didn’t have any money. My father was a postman and he did not have much money, but his argument was that he had to help my sisters. He said that he had to set aside and make sure that my two sisters got an education rather than operating within the framework of “who had the best potential.” So, I had decided to try to get into the armed services and then get some money and go on the GI Bill. But one morning I went to school and I hadn’t studied for a chemistry exam and our homeroom teacher told us that there was a representative from Howard who was there to give this national competitive scholarship exam. The exam was scheduled at the