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Throughout African Americans' struggle for liberation, there have been incidents of their engaging in violent revolt—from slave revolts to the urban riots of the 21st century. Images and depictions of violent revolt have also been a recurring element in African American artistic productions—including literature, music, and film. An analysis of these "fantasies" of violent revolt provides insight into how African Americans understand violent revolt, and under what conditions such actions are justified. The analysis reveals that violent revolt is understood by many as both instrumental (a means to a desired end—usually freedom) and cathartic. Furthermore, there are four recurring themes within these fantasies. These include a justification for violence, the need to fight to gain the "respect" of the oppressor, the rage of the oppressed along with their yearning for retribution, and the humanizing or transformative effect of participating in a violent revolt against an oppressor.

In recent years, there have been a number of examples of African Americans mobilizing around morality politics issues. In Maryland, Black churches and church leaders mobilized against legalizing same-sex marriage. This entailed a more extensive mobilization than for any issue in recent memory. Despite this unprecedented mobilization, a majority of Black state legislators supported a measure legalizing same-sex marriage as the vast majority voted on the basis of their personal attitudes on the issue. This suggests Black legislators may serve as a buffer against Black social conservatism. Examination of this issue yields some important insights in terms of how Black churches mobilize in the contemporary context, perceptions of the political power of the Black church, how conceptions of "civil rights" intersects with this particular issue, and the inadequacy of labels like "progressive" or "conservative" to fully describe many Black political actors—especially when it comes to morality politics.