Critiques of Racism and Empire in José Martí’s Revolutionary Aesthetic

• In Event: Aesthetics, Anti-racism, and Democracy

Abstract

This paper provides a new reading of José Martí, one of Latin America’s most important writers and political actors, to show how a reinterpretation of his rich narrative oeuvre can be instructive for political theorists thinking about anti-racism and democracy today. Martí’s political philosophy of liberation and critiques of Spanish and American imperialism have often been characterized as derivative of Krausist liberalism, which was popular across Latin America through the latter half of the nineteenth century. I argue that Martí’s political thought is irreducible to this brand of liberalism, and that careful attention to his multifarious writings reveals a distinct perspective on race and empire shaped by his experiences in the United States. Martí’s prolonged exile in New York City and his travels throughout the country provided him with vantage points from which to propound novel critiques of racism and domination, finding expression in journalistic non-fiction and poetry that witnessed and denounced racial terror. These writings came to constitute a radical new critique of American democracy and imperialism. They also served as a prelude to a wider program of political action against domination, attesting to the global significance of the cause of Cuban independence for which Martí fought and died. Seen in the light of his visceral condemnations of racism and domination, Martí’s writings serve as a valuable resource for appreciating the ways in which aesthetic expressions reinforce political critique and praxis in different contexts.

Author

• Nojang Khatami, Fordham University