Betrayal: How Black Intellectuals Have Abandoned the Ideals of the Civil Rights Era

Houston A. Baker Jr. condemns black intellectuals who, he believes, have turned their backs on the tradition of racial activism in America. In their literature, speeches, and academic and public behavior, Baker identifies a “hungry generation” eager for power, respect, and money.

Baker seeks to understand the shaping of these new public figures. He also revisits classical sites of African American literary and historical criticism and devotes chapters to the writing and thought of such black...