On the Perils of Race Neutrality and Anti‐Blackness: Philosophy as an Irreconcilable Obstacle to (Black) Thought

Race‐neutral philosophies often depend on the illusion of a universal humanist orientation. This philosophical position, while common, often misses what is concretely at stake in the diagnosis and analyses of anti‐Black racism in the United States. This article argues that racism is part of a deliberate strategy of academic philosophy to keep the discipline white. When one considers the demographic underrepresentation of Blacks compared to other groups in the academy, the use of universal pretenses to negate the experiences of racial minorities, and the sociological realities of race and racism in America, academic philosophy emerges as one of many ideological stratagems used to deny the realities of death and dying in our society. The authors argue that race neutrality and colorblindness cloak the societal consequences and disciplinary practices that allow segregation, violence, and anti‐Black death to continue unabated.