In Memoriam – Charles Mills (1951-2021)

Charles W. Mills, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), has died on September 20, 2021. He was known for his work in social and political philosophy, African-American and Africana philosophy, critical philosophy of race, ethics, and Marxist thought. Professor Mills‘ work includes The Racial Contract, Blackness Visible: Essays on Philosophy and Race, From Class to Race: Essays in White Marxism and Black Radicalism, Contract and Domination (co-authored with Carole Pateman), Radical Theory, Caribbean Reality, and Black Rights/White Wrongs: The Critique of Racial Liberalism.

Charles Mills as always is exceptionally succinct. Here he explains what 'race' is. His work has been exceptionally important to me. He leaves behind him a legacy of brilliance and compassion. The world will miss him. pic.twitter.com/OpBf69yxzI

— Dr Folúkẹ́ Adébísí (@folukeifejola) September 21, 2021

In this lecture below, Mills states “that once we recognize, in full depth and detail, how illiberal actual historical liberalism has been, we will need not merely to remap our conventional periodizations, but to rethink the received account and characterization of liberalism in the social contract tradition, examining in particular racial justice.”