The Economics of Neglect: Racial Capitalism in Colson Whitehead’s Crook Manifesto

Abstract

Colson Whitehead’s Crook Manifesto (2023) presents a textured portrait of 1971 New York City, serving as a literary critique of racial capitalism. By integrating Cedric Robinson’s concept of the Black Radical Tradition, Jodi Melamed’s analysis of postwar liberalism, and Walter Johnson’s history of slavery, the narrative exposes the inextricable link between economic exploitation and racial violence. The novel depicts Harlem’s systemic neglect and militarized policing not as anomalies, but as continuations of imperialist and slave-holding legacies. Ultimately, Whitehead’s work challenges myths of progress, demonstrating how modern urban crises are rooted in the historical structures of a racialized global economy.