Black Political Thought develops a set of critical tools to help explain the distinctiveness of Black Politics. The distinctiveness of Black Political Thought first emerged from spaces of exclusion in Western nations and colonies. The thinking surrounding Black Political Thought originates in a standpoint, or perspective, profoundly different from that of mainstream Political Theory. Out of this encounter comes a deeper understanding of Black intellectual traditions as well as an enhanced understanding of Political Theory’s core concepts. Black Political Thought uses the lens of the African diaspora to investigate the abiding concerns of Political Theory, i.e. the meanings of justice, freedom, and equality; the nature of power, obligation, and “the good life.”