The Absence of Presence: Relating to Black (Non)Humanisms in Popular Culture

Abstract

Scholar of African American religion and culture, Monica R. Miller’s chapter, “The Absence of Presence: Relating to ‘Black’ (Non)Humanisms in Popular Culture,” turns to hip hop culture, the history of African American (humanist) religious expression, and the high culture of visual art galleries, to offer an allegory about why race (and other forms of social difference) are so difficult to see in spaces of humanism. And yet, the ability to see such differences (and difficulties) are vital to updating humanism to more equitably engage the world.