Given Khytie’s helpful expansion on the meaning and implications of non-ideal theory, I am even more convinced than before that The Imperative of Integration was the most fitting work to conclude the course discussion. Anderson’s work advocates for social change toward a specific ideal form of a just society while also recognizing the unjust circumstances in which she operates. As students of and advocates for black communities, this seems like only effective method, broadly speaking, to begin addressing the issues of racial inequality that we have discussed throughout our course.

Looking forward, it seems important to continue acknowledging our imperfect circumstances as we work toward equality, because that acknowledgement requires a skepticism of our strides toward racial progress. Beyond Anderson, this skepticism has been central to many of the works we have read in the course. Pattillo analyzes how black middle class communities are still affected by the disadvantages of poverty. Tyson highlights the persistence and consequences of racially charged academic tracking in “racially integrated” schools. The persistent questioning of social advances toward racial equality, inherent to Anderson’s non-ideal theoretical approach and critical to many of the core messages of our coursework, is one of my primary take-aways from the course.

To take liberty on analyzing Janelle Monae’s lyrics, it seems that in academic study and policymaking around racial inequality, it is imperative to remember that the racial construct inherently disadvantages those identified as black. Therefore, even as we look toward specific visions of racial equity (afro-futuristic or otherwise), it is important to recognize that with each advance, our racial progress is still “in a bind” of flawed circumstances—circumstances that we must continue to criticize if we should continue to progress.