I know a little about Paul Gilroy, who has indeed written some books well-received in academia, and though I don't agree with all of his politics, it would be hard to say that his reputation was for not being involved in struggles. He was as I recall involved in the very radical administration of the Greater London Council under Ken Livingstone in the 1980s and wrote 'Ain't no Black in the Union Jack' - which was pretty popular for a left academic work. Like I say, there's lots I could disagree with Gilroy on, but I wouldn't dare dismiss him as a mere academic.
On the whole, though, I would say that Art's continued fulminations against all black commentators of reputation as sell-outs and liberals tends to prove the point that 'black people' are not a homogenous group that can be characterised by one single point of view, but instead reflect the range of opinions that one finds in the rest of American (and British) society.
-- James Heartfield