Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 1003

From Rotterdam to Amsterdam: An Interview with Gregory Porter (dir. Sacha Vermeulen)

knzpt  What do you do when the brilliant new voice of jazz Gregory Porter is in town? Fix a nice classic car, offer him your assistance and drive him around for a day. Be amazed by the distinctive voice of Mr. Porter and his even warmer personality. NTR host Winfried Baijens escorts Gregory Porter from Rotterdam to Amsterdam, from interview to interview and finally a sold out club show at Bitterzoet. Camera/edit: Pim Hawinkels. Director: Sacha Vermeulen.

DukeEngage in Tanzania: Literacy Through Photography

DUKEENGAGE IN TANZANIA

The Literacy Through Photography (LTP) Arusha DukeEngage program is part of an effort to build a locally sustainable Literacy Through Photography program within Arusha, Tanzania schools. LTP is a teaching tool that combines photography and writing and can be used within any area of the curricula to enhance critical thinking and creativity and improve visual, written and cultural literacy. As we work with teachers and children in Arusha we are learning how LTP can best operate within the context of Tanzanian schools—in light of resources, national curricula, and educational reform, such as the call for more participatory teaching methods.

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Immortal Technique Discusses 'May Day' Protests

RTAmerica 
As the May Day protests continue, New York city is playing host to a wide array of community leaders, activists and artists who will be speaking out and performing for thousands of demonstrators gathering in lower Manhattan. RT's Marina Portnaya spoke with music artist and activist Immortal Technique.

After Trayvon: Black Boys Speak

Bucktown USA Films:

An inspiring and emotionally gripping public conversation amongst nine Black and Latino boys ages 10-17. It was shot in Brooklyn, New York in early April 2012 at the famous House of the Lord Church just days before George Zimmerman was arrested for the fatal shooting. "After Trayvon" brings together these young boys to discuss Trayvon Martin, their own feelings of vulnerability and fear, education, leadership, violence in all forms, history as they understand it, and how they view America, their America. Kevin Powell serves as moderator for the conversation.George

Black Youth Project: Neither Political Party Can Take 'Young Voters' for Granted

For Immediate Release: May 2, 2012
Media Contacts:  Geoffrey Knox: 212-229-0540  Roberta Sklar: 917-704-6358 
In 2012 No Party Can Take “All Young Voters” for Granted
Study Casts Doubt on Idea that All Youth Consistently Support the Democratic Party
New data analysis on Youth, Race, and Partisanship
“Obama’s success in the fall among young voters depends on how well he executes a two-pronged campaign. Black youth must again be mobilized to turn out to vote and Obama must again appeal to the concerns of young Latinos and whites.”--Jon Rogowski, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago
“All candidates in 2012, including President Obama, will need to re-engage and continue to mobilize youth if they want their vote—nothing can be taken for granted.”--Cathy Cohen, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago and Founder/Director of the Black Youth Project

WHAT:  A new analysis shows that while young voters are often believed to be overwhelmingly Democratic, partisanship and vote choice vary considerably across racial groups. These patterns have significant implications for how campaign and community organizations mobilize support and turnout among young voters in upcoming elections.  
Key statistics noted in this fourth report of the series entitled Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics released by the Black Youth Project of the University of Chicago include:
•       While more than 80% of black youth identified themselves as Democrats in 2008, the percentage is much lower for white and Latino youth. Fewer than 50% of white youth call themselves Democrats with Latino youth slightly higher.  
•           Historically white youth have split their votes fairly evenly between Democrat and Republican candidates,a consistent pattern since 1980.
•          Black youth with higher levels of education voted for Obama in 2008 at lower rates than black youth with lower levels of education. Similar results are found for Latino youth. However, the pattern is reversed among white youth, for whom greater education is associated with higher levels of support for Obama.  
•          The size of the gender gap varies considerably by race. The gender gap is smallest among blacks: virtually all young black men and women voted for Obama in 2008. However, there is a 17-point disparity in vote choice among men and women for Latinos and whites. Just over half (54%) of young white women voted for Obama in 2008, compared with 37 percent of young white men. Among Latinos, 84 percent of young women and 67 percent of young men voted for Obama.
•           Obama increased his support in 2008 among Latino youth by about 20 percentage points over Kerry’s level of support from Latino youth in 2004, while white youth increased their Democratic support a bit and black youth continued to grant near-unanimous support for the Democratic presidential candidate
WHY: Partisanship is one of the most stable features of American politics. Indeed, most Americans tend to stick with one party for most of their adult lives.  However, the analysis in this report shows there is considerable variation in partisanship and vote choice across racial groups in young people.  Contrary to conventional wisdom, youth are not a consistent voting bloc per se, with race, education, income, and gender all serving as important sources of variation in youth voting patterns.
In 2008, the Obama campaign benefited primarily from the mobilization of young black voters and from significantly increasing Democratic support from Latino youth. White youth also voted for Obama at higher rates in 2008 than they did for John Kerry in 2004, though this increase was more modest.  Thus, the key for Obama and for Democratic congressional candidates will be to maintain or increase their support among young whites and Latinos, and continue to mobilize black youth.
WHEN:  The study is being released online today, May 2, 2012
WHERE: The full analysis can be found at http://research.blackyouthproject.com/black-youth-and-the-future-of-american-politics

For further information or to interview Jon Rogowski or Cathy Cohen, call Geoffrey Knox at 212-229-0540 or Roberta Sklar at 917-704-6358.

Vijay Prashad on Global Financial Speculation and the Price of Food

TheRealNews:
 
Vijay Prashad: Developed countries fight to stop UNCTAD linking financial speculation to reducing poverty.

Gregory Porter: "On My Way to Harlem" (Live on WNYC's Soundcheck)

Jay Smooth: Some Thoughts on the #Trayvon Martin Case

I Am Voting Against Amendment One #ProtectNCFamilies

Learn how Amendment One will jeopardize domestic violence victims.

For more information, please visit http://www.protectallncfamilies.org/.

TRAILER 'Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story' (dir. Raymond De Felitta, 2012)

Synopsis In 1965, documentary filmmaker Frank DeFelitta traveled to Mississippi to shoot a film on the subject of racism in the American South. As he went about observing life in Mississippi and interviewing the locals, Frank was introduced to an African-American waiter named Booker Wright. With utter candor and a brazen lack of concern for his own well-being, Booker appeared on tape in the documentary and spoke openly and honestly about the realities of living in a racist society. This brief interview forever changed the lives of Booker and his family, and more than 40 years later, Frank's son Raymond DeFelitta (director of City Island) returns to the site of his father's film to examine the repercussions of this fateful interview.

This is an intensely personal film about children seeking to understand their parents, but it is also a heartbreaking portrait of the legacy of intolerance. Presented with a deep sense of compassion and respect, DeFelitta's film is an unforgettable examination of the life of an ordinary man who changed the world around him when he decided to speak out and tell the truth. --William Goldberg