Global Movements before "Globalization": Black Movements as World-Historical Movements

Current studies of globalization herald a new age of global social movements. This article argues by contrast that movements, and specifically Black movements, have for at least several centuries operated globally as antisystemic movements. A new wave of historiographical writing is drawn upon to argue that Black international movements not only arose out of the world- scale, shared experiences of slavery, colonialism, and racial oppression, but have served to shape core crises and transitions of the capitalist world- economy. Three examples are provided to suggest a new perspective and research agenda, namely Black movement waves surrounding the Haitian revolution, anticolonial revolts, and the long Black 1960's.