Cedric Robinson

Cedric James Robinson (November 5, 1940 – June 5, 2016) was an American professor in the Department of Black Studies and the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He headed both departments and served as the director of the Center for Black Studies Research. Robinson's academic interests included classical and modern political philosophy, radical social theory in the African diaspora, comparative politics, racial capitalism, and the relationships between media and politics. Born Cedric James Hill in Oakland, California, he earned his B.A. in social anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in political theory from Stanford University. During his student years, he became a political activist, participating in protests and discussions within the Afro-American Association at Berkeley. His political views were shaped by his grandfather, Winston "Cap" Whiteside, and thinkers like C. L. R. James and Terence Hopkins. Robinson's career included a lectureship at the University of Michigan before joining the faculty at Binghamton University and later UCSB. In 1980, he co-founded *Third World News Review* (TWNR) with student Corey Dubin, a program that examined media bias regarding the Third World and U.S. foreign policy. He authored five books, with his most influential work being *Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition* (1983). His writings also appeared in various academic journals and anthologies, covering diverse topics from political thought in the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean to Western social theory and the press.