Remembering Philosopher Charles Mills; a visionary thinker and pioneer in the field of critical race theory

BY PAUL JUNOR

The untimely death of Toronto-educated philosopher Dr Charles W. Mills on September 20^th, 2021 has left a tremendous void in the field of social, political philosophy, African American and African philosophy, critical philosophy of race, ethics and Marxist thought.

Mills is remembered as a seminal thinker in the development of critical race theory and his intellectual acuity in introducing the philosophy of race and racism into North American philosophical discussions. He was born on January 3^rd, 1951 in London, England to Jamaicans, Winnifred and Glasstone Mills who moved back to Kingston, Jamaica.

He completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies in 1971. His subsequent academic journey took him to the University of Toronto where he completed a Masters of Arts Degree and a Doctorate in Philosophy in 1985. His thesis was titled,” The Concept of Ideology in the Thought of Marx and Engels.”

Dr Mills’ studies of historical materialism may have contributed to his early embrace of Marxism. It was during his time in Toronto that he was fondly remembered for his social activism in the 1980’s, especially in his fight  for the unionization of teaching assistants at the University of Toronto. As a student at the University of Toronto during the 1980s, I have fond memories of him and his involvement with the African and Caribbean Student Association (A.C.S.A).

CBC News paid tribute to the legacy of Dr Mills in an article published on Saturday, September 9^th, 2021. The article quotes Frank Cunningham, former philosophy and political science professor at University of Toronto who was one of Mills’ teachers and became friends afterwards. He recalled, “He was a pioneer of what turned into critical race theory. His work antedated that movement and was a spur to it.”

Dr Mills started his university career at the University of Oklahoma, then the University of Illinois, North-Western University and finally as a distinguished professor at Graduate Centre, CUNY in New York. Dr Mills was the author of over 100 journal articles, book chapters, comments and six books. They are:

1. The Racial Contract (1997)
2. Blackness Visible: Essays on Philosophy and Race (1988)
3. From Class to Race; Essays in White Marxism and Black Radicalism (2003)
4. Contract and Domination (with Carole Poleman, 2007)
5. Radical Theory, Caribbean Reality: Race, Class and Social Domination (2010)
6. Black Rights/ White Wrongs: The Critique of Racial Liberalism (2017)

It was Dr Mills’ first book, “Racial Contract,” that revealed the depth of his intellectual and rich philosophical ideas. Dr Tommy J. Curry, a professor of philosophy at the University of Edinburgh states, “Mills’ scholarship will resonate with those in and beyond philosophy and his various attempts to rehabilitate the American liberal tradition.” He states further, “Charles Mills invested his intellectual energy into the people and projects that gave legitimacy to Black philosophy and race theory.”

A virtual memorial service was held on October 10^th, 2021, that celebrated his life and legacy.