MODULE 1The Origins of Capitalism & White Supremacy
Class 1: Settler Colonialism and the Origins of White Supremacy
Thursday, February 27; 6:30 - 8:30 PM ET
Instructor: Eugene Puryear and Gerald Horne
The sixteenth century marked the beginning of European colonial conquest, as Great Britain and other powers turned their ambitions toward Africa and the Americas. Colonization’s catastrophic impact and the violent restructuring of the global economy fueled Europe’s rise to dominance, reshaping the world through conquest, subjugation, and exploitation.
Class 2: Revolt, Resistance, and the Struggle for Abolition
Saturday, March 1 from 1 - 3 PM ET
Instructor: Rebecca Hall
From the bravery of early uprisings in the U.S. South to the world-changing revolution in Haiti, we’ll explore the strategies, ideologies, and collective resistance that fueled the early abolitionist movement. These rebellions terrified slave owners, spreading what they called a “contagion” of unrest across the Americas, laying the groundwork for the abolitionist movements that would follow.
Class 3: Blood Money: How Slavery Financed Industrial Capitalism
Tuesday, March 4, 6:30 - 8:30 PM ET
Instructor: Sean Blackmon
Enslaved Africans were not only forced to build the empire—they became its currency. Between 1600 and 1700, they made up two-thirds of all migrants to the Americas, their stolen labor driving European wealth and accelerating the rise of industrial capitalism. The violence of human bondage was not a byproduct but the foundation of the power and prosperity that continue to define capitalism’s course.