Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 1006

[video] Sweet Honey in the Rock: "The Women Gather"

Live performance with Bernice Johnson Reagon.[image error]

National Symphony Orchestra & Sweet Honey in the Rock Team for 'Affirmations'

Photo: Scott Suchman
National Symphony Orchestra & Sweet Honey in the Rock Team for 'Affirmations'
Terry Ponick | Washington Times


WASHINGTON, April 15, 2012 – Last weekend’s National Symphony Orchestra concert at the Kennedy Center was, as the old Monty Python troupe used to say, something “completely different.” Neither a pop concert nor standard symphonic, Beethoven dominated fare, the entire concert, staged on Friday and Saturday evenings only, was designed to frame the world premiere of William C. Banfield’s “Symphony No. 10: Affirmations for a New World.”
An unusual collaboration of the composer and the popular à cappella ensemble “Sweet Honey in the Rock,” the new symphony has its roots in the rise of Barack Obama and celebrates, in its own way, the successful conclusion of a very long and very troubled journey of a people who have broken through impossible barriers at last.
In addition to featuring the singing (and the poetry) of Sweet Honey in the Rock, Mr. Banfield’s symphony also incorporated work for a large chorus, whose voices were supplied for this world premiere by one of America’s premiere choral ensembles: Maryland’s renowned Morgan State University Choir, currently under the direction of Eric Conway.
The entire evening highlighted classical music with a decidedly African-American flair—a revelation for those who imagine that African-Americans never have or have had much to do with the classical concert stage.
In keeping with the upbeat “Affirmation” theme of the evening, guest conductor Thomas Wilkins—who normally helms the Omaha Symphony—unveiled an eclectic program whose first half highlighted upbeat, positive, “affirmative” music that endorsed the human drive and spirit, deploying the mood this music set as a kind of advance act before the main event.
Bookended by Bernstein’s ever-popular, frantic Overture to “Candide” and the driving, dramatic finale of Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony, the program’s first half consisted of excerpts from black composers whose work clearly needs to be heard in its entirety. Adding to the positive mood, Mr. Wilkins provided expert background narrative on most of these pieces.
After the Bernstein Overture, Mr. Wilkins and the NSO performed an excerpt of the wonderfully-named 19th century British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s rhythmic and very Romantic “Danse Negre.” Half African, Coleridge-Taylor—who tragically died of pneumonia early in the 20th century in his late thirties—was highly regarded by the British and produced a number of major compositions in his short life.
In some ways an answer to Coleridge-Taylor, Mr. Wilkins and the NSO also presented the elegiac “Adagio” movement from Adolphus Hailstork’s “Symphony No. 1.” A lovely, tonal excerpt that eschewed the nervous tics of our recent obsession with atonality, the ensemble’s elegant performance left the audience with two questions: First, where’s the rest of this wonderful piece? And second, why haven’t we heard more from this contemporary composer who’s spent much of his compositional and teaching career in Virginia? (He’s currently teaching at Old Dominion University.)
It’s become reasonably well known that jazz great Duke Ellington also contributed some intriguing compositions to the classical repertoire. For this program, Mr. Wilkins chose to present Ellington’s driving, acidic, intriguing “King of the Magi” movement. This composition, along with the NSO’s enthusiastic performance, makes one wonder why Ellington’s classical compositions don’t appear more often in symphony concerts today.
Also on tap in the program’s first half: the “Aspirations” movement from William Grant Still’s (1875-1978) Symphony No. 1, subtitled “African-American.” It’s a major work from the pen of a man who was arguably the dean of America’s black composers and it’s a shame this moving work doesn’t show up more often on classical programming—a problem at least partially rectified here by the NSO’s fine performance of the excerpt.
Mr. Wilkins seems possessed with a remarkable sense of good humor, and this may have involved itself in his almost antic first-half selections. As we’ve already indicated, they certainly did serve to set the table for the program’s second half. But they also seem to have rather ingeniously been designed to get at least a portion of the audience ask to hear for more from these relatively unknown black composers (except for Ellington) in NSO seasons that are yet to come.
Unfortunately, the program’s second half didn’t quite live up to expectations. Or at least not those of this critic, as the audience, frankly, seemed delighted with Mr. Banfield’s new symphony and thrilled with the performance of Sweet Honey in the Rock in a new and unaccustomed role.
Mr. Banfield’s symphony is constructed in roughly the conventional four movement format—the exception being a two-part movement yoked together by a single, sustained note as its mood begins to change.
Each of the symphony’s four (or five) movements is built, in turn, around jazzy, freeform poems created by each of Sweet Honey’s five singing members. The music is tonal, engaging, and tastefully scored; the poetry—ranging from elegy to gospel and nearly to hip-hop—is rhythmic, passionate, and sincere; and the composition’s overall effect is indeed one of affirmation.
The problem, though, is one that’s not exactly uncommon in 20th and 21st century works of art, whether written, painted, sculpted, or scored. Both the symphony, and the poems upon which it is based, aspire to make a Big Important Statement. In so doing, all of the above tends to verge on the cliché, mistaking a grand pronouncement for a profound one. Indeed, Sweet Honey’s poetry seems to have been substantially revised and/or adapted from the verse that appeared in the printed program. What was actually sung was a considerably more refined, tightened, and shortened version of what appeared to be the original verses.
Taken as a whole, last weekend’s concerts proved an unusual plus for this NSO season. Audiences were treated to something old—including a couple of war horses paired with some new ones that deserve to be heard more often—and to something new—Mr. Banfield’s symphony, created with the assistance of the amazingly talented Sweet Honey in the Rock aided and abetted by the tightly crafted, wonderful harmonies added by the Morgan State University Choir.
Best of all, this unusual program was conducted and emceed by a Maestro who, in many ways, is the model of what a modern maestro should be: an expert conductor who’s capable of directing a fine orchestra in the direction that he wants, but a conductor who’s also capable of guiding and educating new and veteran audience members on a journey through unfamiliar repertoire while making that journey a most enjoyable one.
Capping off the evening, and delighting the audience even further, Sweet Honey reappeared on stage after the symphony and launched into an à cappella encore of “Operator: Information; Get Me Jesus on the Line,” a time honored classic that blew the top off the house. It was a terrific way to end this upbeat evening.

Left of Black S2:E29 | Creating S.T.E.M. Researchers in the “Hood” and Combating Obesity in Black Communities

Left of Black S2:E29 | April 23, 2012
Creating S.T.E.M. Researchers in the “Hood” and Combating Obesity in Black Communities
Host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined via Skype by Professor Christopher Emdin , Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology at Teachers College—Columbia University, where he also serves as Director of Secondary School Initiatives at the Urban Science Education Center.  The author of Urban Science Education for the Hip-Hop Generation , Emdin and Neal discuss pedagogical strategies for making S.T.E.M. Research interesting and attractive for urban students,  and the role of urban environments in inspiring such research.
Later, Neal is joined in the Left of Blackstudios by Professor Gary Bennett , a clinical psychologist and social epidemiologist. Bennett is Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University where he is Director of the Duke Obesity Prevention Program(DOPP) & member of the Duke Global Health Initiative.  Bennett and Neal discuss the obesity epidemic in Black communities and its impact on health disparities.  Also, Bennett and Neal converse about the increased importance of mobile technology in allowing patients to have better outcomes with regards to their health. Finally Bennett addresses the importance of HBCUs in creating a pipeline for the next generation of S.T.E.M. researchers.
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Left of Black is a weekly Webcast hosted by Mark Anthony Neal and produced in collaboration with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University.
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Episodes of Left of Black are also available for free download in HD @ iTunes U

The Elbow Heard Around the Nation: The NBA and the End of ‘Peace’

The Elbow Heard Around the Nation: The NBA and the End of ‘Peace’ by David J. Leonard | NewBlackMan
When Ron Artest announced his intent to change his name to Metta World Peace, I had discussions with several people about potentially changing the name of my book, After Artest (May 2012, SUNY Press) to reflect his metamorphosis. Examining how the Palace Brawl forever changed the NBA, while also highlighting the larger scripts of race and criminalization, After Artestreflects on the processes of demonization and criminalization directed at Artest and his black baller brethren in the aftermath of the 2004 fight between the Pacers-Pistons-Piston fans.  While deciding against changing the book’s title for a myriad of reasons, one principle issue for me in pushing back against a title like “Peace after the Palace” was that in spite of efforts from the NBA, its fans, and the media establishment to police, punish, and control blackness in their efforts to secure peace, neither condemnations and suspensions, dress codes or age restrictions, would bring about peace for the league because of the ways that race and racial narratives operate within the American cultural landscape.  The efforts to recreate the illusion of a racially-colorblind Jordan-esque landscape were futile given persistent anti-black racism and governing stereotypes.  Peace after the palace was not possible because of the ways that blackness and anti-black racism overdetermined its meaning within the national landscape.  Artest and what he embodied in the national imagination guided and served as a lens as the NBA sought to deracialize itself within the national imagination.  This is why I start After Artest as follows:
“The real question, how does it feel to be a problem” – W.E.B. DuBois, 1903 (Quoted in Jackson 2006, p. 9)Ron Artest more than likely will be suspended, but so should Kobe” (Resnick 2009)“Kobe vs. Artest: Proof Artest Will Kill Your Team” (2009)“NBA Bad Boy Ron Artest of L.A. Lakers Admits He Had A Problem: Drinking During Games! ” (Douglas 2009)“Trevor Ariza loses shoe, Ron Artest tosses it into the stands” (2009). Artest, who's trying to put his bad-boy image behind him, said he could simply display his ring in his living room or he could wear it.' But I think it'll be more important to give back to something I believe in, which is providing kids with someone to talk to because it's so expensive. I pay for parenting counseling, marriage counseling and anger management, and it's very expensive. This will be for children of all demographics, rich or poor — preferably the rich can pay for their own psychologists — but it'll be a great way to help kids who don't know where they're going in their life at this point' ("Ron Artest Plans" 2010)***  Artest, who's trying to put his bad-boy image behind him, said he could simply display his ring in his living room or he could wear it.' But I think it'll be more important to give back to something I believe in, which is providing kids with someone to talk to because it's so expensive. I pay for parenting counseling, marriage counseling and anger management, and it's very expensive. This will be for children of all demographics, rich or poor — preferably the rich can pay for their own psychologists — but it'll be a great way to help kids who don't know where they're going in their life at this point' ("Ron Artest Plans" 2010) ***At first glance, the above headlines point to the fact that Ron Artest’s personal history, and especially his association with the Palace Brawl, continues to determine the public narrative assigned to him by the dominant media and broader public discourse. Even those instances of praise and celebratory redemption does so in relationship to his past indiscretions. Despite the banality of his exchange with Kobe and his tossing of another player’s shoe off the court (his sportsmanship was questioned by an announcer), and notwithstanding his efforts to admit to a past drinking problem1 or shed light on the issue of mental health, each in varying degrees have been the read through the lens of the Palace Brawl.
In 2009, Ron Artest admitted to drinking alcohol at halftime while he was a member of the Chicago Bulls. Hoping to teach kids by sharing his past mistakes, Artest’s admission, not surprisingly, prompted much media and public debate. Although some people questioned the truthfulness of his admission, others used this moment as an opportunity to speculate about whether Artest was indeed drunk when he entered the stands in 2004. Likewise, his tossing of Trevor Ariza’s shoe into the stands, along with his physical and verbal altercations with Kobe Bryant, were given amplified meaning and importance considering his role. In all four instances, Artest’s past and his character are used as points of reference.
Often invoking his involvement in the 2004 Palace Brawl, the dominant frame that facilitates his representations is not only constrained by Artest’s personal and professional histories, but by the prism of race and blackness. He is consistently imagined as a problem. The nature of these representations point to the ways in which blackness overdetermines not only the meaning of Artest, but of all black NBA players in a post-Brawl context. Post-Artest, blackness is the hegemonic point of reference for both the commentaries and the policy shifts within the NBA, demonstrating that the Palace Brawl changed the racial meaning of the NBA and thus changed the regulatory practices governing the league. . . . .
The Palace Brawl was the culmination of the recoloring of the NBA. It represented a moment when the blackness of the league was irrefutable and thus needed to be managed, controlled, and, if necessary, destroyed. After Artest argues that the Palace Brawl served as that “aha moment” in which blackness displaced the racially transcendent signifier of Michael Jordan. This blackness, and its representative threat, were undeniable and, as such, necessitated intervention, termed as an assault within this book’s title. Not surprisingly, anti-black racist/white racial frames have anchored the debates and policies that have followed Artest; frames based on racial transcendence or colorblindness remain in the background. In this sense, Artest mandated a reversal wherein race/blackness had to be noticed (and controlled/destroyed), leading to public articulations of the white racial frame instead of denials of racial significance.

With this in mind, it is not surprising that the sports media establishment, and the social media world is all abuzz following a Metta World Peace foul on James Harden on Sunday in a nationally televised game.  A hard foul that was reckless and dangerous; one that warranted an injection (unlike others I have no idea his “intent”) and a suspension; and one that was disappointing to say the least and not worry of defense. I am not here to defend the foul or explain, although those who use the foul as a referendum on Metta, the NBA, or blackness need to check themselves. 
It was unfortunate; yet equally unfortunate and more destructive have been the response.   Hayden Kim, on The Bleacher Report , referenced Metta’s “unstable mental stable” and an inability to maintain control; worse yet, he described his outburst in the following way:  “As he pounded his chest, acting like a gorilla during mating season, he caught James Harden with an ill-advised elbow that could have caused an earthquake” (the original piece no longer has this language but can still be found here and here ).  The hyperbole notwithstanding, the descriptor of Metta as a “gorilla” given its historic meaning is disturbing to say the least – disgraceful, in fact. 
Ken Berger focused more on the typical hyperbole and ‘what ifs” with his discussion of the elbow heard around the world.  “Metta World Peace's vicious, dangerous elbow to the head of James Harden Sunday was no garden variety NBA elbow, and it probably will result in longer than your typical elbowing suspension,” writes Berger. “It should, anyway. This was about as cheap as a cheap shot gets. It'll have nothing to do with the fact that Metta World Peace is really Ron Artest, he of Malice at the Palace fame. World Peace, after all, has come a long way since his 73-game suspension for going into the stands in Auburn Hills, Mich., in 2004, and even won the NBA's citizenship award last season (when his name was still Ron Artest).”  Berger, unlike so many others notes his recent citizenship award, falls into the trap that he cautions against: reading the incident through the Palace Brawl. 
This incident, and the entire NBA are always read through the Palace Brawl and the meaning of blackness.  How else can we explain the reactions, the twitter trends, the web comments, and the statements from the likes of Mike Breen (who called it “disgraceful”), whose initial commentary added fuel to the fire? I don’t think this was first elbow (or even elbow that connected) or flagrant foul in the NBA?  Clearly there is something more at work!  How else can we explain Magic Johnson’s rush to judgment, “It was intentional — and a cheap shot”?    While clearly able to enter Metta’s head (a common place), Johnson gives World Peace zero benefit of the doubt.  Metta’s body, the meaning of blackness, and the signifiers of NBA ballers precludes reading it as just a foul or a bad foul, but instead a commentary on Metta, on the NBA, on blackness.  How else can we explain Jon Barry continually referencing Ron Artest’s reputation at the same time that he calls him “metta weird peace?”  How else can we explain Jason Whitlock who tweeted, “Ron Artest is too unstable to play in the league.  I'd consider a lifetime ban. Seriously. Next guy he hurts should sue the league.”  The reaction isn’t to the foul but to the person and the body who committed the foul.  The endless tweets are telling:

Ron Artest changing his name to Metta World Peace is like Joseph #Kony changing his to Childrens Rights Activist
ICYMI: Here's the clip of Metta World Peace nearly decapitating James Harden
Lynch metta world peace
Enough of this guy. Kick him out of the league. His act is tired> Metta World Peace FLAGRANT FOUL on James Harden!:
Metta World Peace #WTF Dude.....You're now banned from watching Jon Bones Jones on anymore UFC Telecast! U R in the NBA not the UFC #SMH
Metta World War Peace just broke out at Staples Center! Ron Ron is officially IN the building.

Metta World Peace is the dirtiest player in the NBA #disgraceful
The continued references to his mental state; the constant links to the Palace Brawl, the efforts to overstate and dramatize the elbow, and the efforts to pathologize and demonize Metta as person as opposed to the foul are telling.  It was yet another “aha” moment, where the NBA’s efforts to quell fan anxieties about black bodies has been put to the test.  Artest plus elbow to head causes anxiety and anger, which in part is wrapped in the racial scripts of black masculinity.  Kevin Love’s “stomp” or Jason Smith’s decking of Blake Griffin certainly did not evoke panics and calls for lifetime bans, lynchings, or incarceration.  The sight of Love stepping on his opponent’s face or Jason Smith leveling Griffin didn’t elicit panics because their actions and bodies don’t stroke the fear, panics, and stereotype.  This isn’t a justification of the flagrant foul or a call for Metta to get a pass, but rather an effort to help explain the panics and national outrage that extends beyond the basketball court.  It was yet another moment where the NBA’s (and Metta’s) image, the meaning of blackness within the national imagination.  No apology, no explanation, and no amount of contrition will allow for forgiveness in the short term (only punishment serves that capacity) or in the long term, where from this point Metta will known be known for the Palace and Elbow, both overdetermined by narratives and scripts that predominant the cultural landscape.  
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David J. Leonard is Associate Professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. He has written on sport, video games, film, and social movements, appearing in both popular and academic mediums. His work explores the political economy of popular culture, examining the interplay between racism, state violence, and popular representations through contextual, textual, and subtextual analysis. He is the author of Screens Fade to Black: Contemporary African American Cinema and the forthcoming After Artest: Race and the War on Hoop (SUNY Press). Leonard is a regular contributor to NewBlackManand blogs @ No Tsuris.

Creating S.T.E.M. Researchers in the “Hood” and Combating Obesity in Black Communities on the April 23rd ‘Left of Black’

Creating S.T.E.M. Researchers in the “Hood” and Combating Obesity in Black Communities on the April 23rd ‘Left of Black’
Host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined via Skype by Professor Christopher Emdin , Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology at Teachers College—Columbia University, where he also serves as Director of Secondary School Initiatives at the Urban Science Education Center.  The author of Urban Science Education for the Hip-Hop Generation , Emdin and Neal discuss pedagogical strategies for making S.T.E.M. Research interesting and attractive for urban students,  and the role of urban environments in inspiring such research.
Later, Neal is joined in the Left of Blackstudios at the John Hope Franklin Center by Professor Gary Bennett , a clinical psychologist and social epidemiologist. Bennett is Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University where he is Director of the Duke Obesity Prevention Program (DOPP) & member of the Duke Global Health Initiative.  Bennett and Neal discuss the obesity epidemic in Black communities and its impact on health disparities.  Also, Bennett and Neal converse about the increased importance of mobile technology in allowing patients to have better outcomes with regards to their health. Finally Bennett addresses the importance of HBCUs in creating a pipeline for the next generation of S.T.E.M. researchers.

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Left of Black airs at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Mondays on the Ustream channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/left-of-black. Viewers are invited to participate in a Twitter conversation with Neal and featured guests while the show airs using hash tags #LeftofBlack or #dukelive. 
Left of Blackis recorded and produced at the John Hope Franklin Center of International and Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University.
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Follow Left of Black on Twitter: @LeftofBlackFollow Mark Anthony Neal on Twitter: @NewBlackManFollow Christopher Emdin on Twitter: @ChrisEmdinFollow Gary Bennett on Twitter: @Bennettbanter

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MAD Free & HuffPost BlackVoices: Stand for Sybrina Fulton

Standing for Sybrina Fulton on Mother's Day by Michaela angela Davis | HuffPost BlackVoices
Thirteen. That was how many times my mother stood and collapsed at my brother Eddie's funeral. He was so full of mischief, magic, and life, so very full of life. Eddie was seventeen years old, just like Trayvon Martin. Had it not been for her three surviving devastated, disoriented adolescent daughters, my mother would have died too. I know this to be true, as she told me years later. Death would have been preferable to the unimaginable pain that accompanies burying a child. My mother not only didn't die, she recovered and re-imagined a rich, fulfilling life for herself; but it took time and a mighty outpouring of love.
Sybrina Fulton has refreshed the memory of the debilitating pain of my mother, who could barely stand; seeing Sybrina standing at podiums and press conferences, surrounded by men and microphones, has been remarkable. With her eyes so soft, with tears just a blink away, her open heart was the only thing holding her up. So many times I've wanted to reach through the screen and hug Sybrina and say, I feel you, my sister. I'm sure many have. We know Sybrina Fulton. She's the classic American working mother. She is the mother who lost her child. Sybrina represents all mothers who have lost children to guns, through war, gangs, and homicide. The image of Sybrina Fulton recalls all mothers who have lost children, lost them in the system, lost them in prison, lost them in addiction. Mothers who lose children stand outside the natural order of life. It can be a violently lonely place if left alone.
I will not, we will not, leave Sybrina Fulton alone. That is the meaning and the mission behind the #4Sybrina Campaign. We want to send Sybrina a mighty outpouring of love to keep her standing.
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Michaela angela Davis is the creator of The MAD Free a conversation project, a writer, cultural critic, creative consultant, Helen Delaney’s daughter and Elenni Davis-Knights mother.

Jackie Robinson and Magic Johnson: Connecting the Dots

We know Magic has great business sense, but does he have what it takes to get young Black folks excited about Baseball in the digital age? 
Can Earvin Johnson Bring the Magic Back to Baseball? by Mark Anthony Neal | Ebony.com
It was 1987: the 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's historic breaking of the color-line in Major League Baseball. The first Ms. Black Miss America had been crowned (and crowned again) three year earlier; Michael Jackson was the "King of Pop" and Bill Cosby was the pudding pop champ of advertisers and network television. Surely baseball, once at the cutting edge of integration in professional sports, would play a leadership role with regards to integrating the management level in professional sports. And what better candidate to make that point than Al Campanis, then the general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers? This, of course, was the same organization that forty years earlier were brave and financially savvy enough to make Robinson their starting second baseman.
The reality was, that since Frank Robinson (no relation) was hired to manage the Cleveland Indians in 1975, the Chicago White Sox followed suit in 1978 hiring Larry Doby as manager, and Robinson was hired by the San Francisco Giants in 1981, there had been no other Blacks hired as managers in the Major Leagues, notable at a time when the percentage of Black players in the league was more than 20%. When Nightline host Ted Koppel prodded Campanis about the lack of Black managers in the league, the Dodger GM responded with the now infamous words "No, I don't believe it's prejudice. I truly believe that they may not have some of the necessities to be, let's say, a field manager, or perhaps a general manager…So, it just might just be—why are Black men, or Black people, not good swimmers? Because they don't have the buoyancy."
Five year after that notorious interview, Cito Gaston became the first Black manager to win the a World Series championship with the Toronto Blue Jays. Nearly decade later then New York Yankee General manager Bob Watson, also Black, hired Joe Torre to manage the team, beginning their dominant run of the late 1990s, winning four championships in five years. Hell, even as we mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Campanis' statements, Bronx-representative Cullen Jones is the American record holder in the 50 Meter Freestyle. How's that for buoyancy?
Campanis, who died in 1998, may have been surprised when it was announced that Earvin "Magic" Johnson was a leading member of the ownership group that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers for a record $2.15 Billion. Jackie Robinson's breakthrough, which help define the direction of civil rights advancements in the decade that followed seems to have come full circle.
Read the full essay

Olympic Gold Medalist Cullen Jones on 106th & Park

           
106 & Park: Cullen Jones Makes a Splash on 106 Guest Rewind: Olympic Gold Medalist Cullen Jones talks about the Make A Splash Foundation, his near death drowning experience at the age of five and much more. [image error]

The Black Image in the American Mind | #Rapsessions 2012: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee #Recap

99problemsdotOrg
 
@TheLeague99's @AliesaNicole checks in from #Rapsessions held at the University of WIsconsin-Milwaukee. This unique #Rapsessions was called Trayvon Martin: Rebirth of a Nation and focused on the tragedy surrounding Trayvon Martin's murder. 
 Panel participants included Bakari Kitwana, Elizabeth Mendez Berry, Mark Anthony Neal, Biko Baker, John Jennings and Joan Morgan. Afterwards, community leaders, including County Supervisor David Bowen, Homer Blow, Sarah Dollhausen and our DJ Willie Shakes hosted breakout session.
[image error]

Bill Cosby on the Death of Trayvon Martin

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Bill Cosby (and George Washington University Professor Bernard Demczuk) talks Trayvon Martin, President Barack Obama, and the legendary Howard Theater on Press Pass with David Gregory. [image error]