Dawson's most recent book is Blacks In and Out of the Left, published in 2013. The book is a history of African-American involvement in leftist radical movements in the twentieth century, which centers Black nationalism as a motivating force in American leftist politics. Dawson argues that Black nationalism has been omitted from dominant historical narratives about the recent history of the American left, and advocates for its inclusion in future leftist coalitions, citing certain coalitions of black and white radicals that existed before the Civil Rights Movement as a potential model.
