Also known as: Black publics, black public sphere
Last updated: April 23, 2026
Sheller develops the concept comparatively across Haiti and Jamaica, but it is especially useful for Haiti's nineteenth century. The point is not simply that Black people had opinions. It is that they created publics: open-ended fields of political communication through which socially distant actors could recognize one another, circulate demands, and try to influence the state.
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Black Publics
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"Black Publics." Rasin.ai, 2026. https://rasin.ai/connections/concepts/black-publics. Accessed 2026-05-05.