Perkinson, James W.

(1951– )

   Professor of philosophy and religious studies at Ecumenical Theological College, Detroit. Perkinson is the author of Shamanism, Racism, and Hip Hop Culture (2005) in which he argues that hip hop culture is shamanic because it continues an indigenous African diasporic shamanic and trickster practice of taking that which oppresses people (i.e., “spirits”) and mastering it to heal the community. Simultaneously, he argues that the dominant white culture of the United States is a form of witchcraft.