Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 1028

Urban Organic with Bryant Terry | Episode 1: Aquaponics in North Oakland

Bryant Terry visits an aquaponics farm in Oakland, California's Mosswood Park. Urban Organic is a three part series that features cutting-edge chefs, urban farmers and social innovators who are bringing urban agriculture to neighborhoods in America that need them most.

"Somebody Here is Lying and it's not POTUS"--James Braxton Peterson on MSNBC

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
James Braxton Peterson is Director of Africana Studies and Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University and the author of the forthcoming Major Figures: Critical Essays on Hip Hop Music (Mississippi University Press). Follow him at @DrJamesPeterson.

Our Eyes Witnessed: On People of Color in the United States and The Palestinian BDS Movement

Our Eyes Witnessed: On People of Color in the UnitedStates  and The Palestinian BDSMovement by Darnell L. Moore & Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz | special to NewBlackMan
Colorlines recently featured a story entitled"TheIsrael Lobby Finds a New Face: Black College Students," which highlightedthe American Israeli Public Affairs Committee's(AIPAC) recruitment of young black and brown college students to support their Zionistagenda. According to AIPAC's website, they recruit "[o]n campuses acrossAmerica—from Ivy League universities, to small liberal arts colleges, toHistorically Black and Christian schools," as a means to help students, "findtheir voices in support of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship."The success of recruitment and propagandaefforts, like that of AIPAC, might be a result of Israel's efforts to focusattention on its ostensibly progressive track record of human rights whileconveniently overlooking its human rights and international law infringementsas it relates to its treatment of Palestinian people and possession ofPalestinian land. Some critics citeIsrael's attempt to "pinkwash", or wipe away its violations againstPalestinians by illuminating its receptivity of LGBTQI people. In the case of black and brown students, itseems that a similar phenomenon may be occurring. The focus on Israel's seemingstellar record of human rights and progressive practices are again used as aploy of distraction: a means of shifting the public's attention away from theoccupation of Palestine and in the direction of its record of justice.

Classic Material: Happy Birthday Angela Davis

Barry Callaghan Interviews Angela Davis in California Prison, 1970.

Trailer: Barber of Birmingham--Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement

Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
Mr. James Armstrong is a barber, a "foot soldier" and a dreamer whose barbershop in Birmingham, Alabama has been a hub for haircuts and civil rights since 1955. "The dream" of a promised land, where dignity and the right to vote belongs to everyone is documented in photos, headlines and clippings that cram every inch of wall space (and between the mirrors).

GAIL DOLGIN, Director/ProducerROBIN FRYDAY, Director/Producer

Legendary Philly Songwriter & Producer Bobby Eli is in 'The Colored Waiting Room'

Grammy award winner Bobby Eli is waiting with us in  The Colored Waiting Room .

Trailer: Wilmington on Fire (The Wilmington Massacre of 1898)

"Serious damage was done to the soul of the town. That's why folks want to turn it around. Now is the time to make up for the crime. To help our children learn from our mistake. To ensure that there will be no more 1898." - Excerpt from the poem "Wilmington Massacre of 1898" by Larry Reni Thomas ABOUT THE PROJECT:"Wilmington on Fire" is a feature-length documentary that will give a historical and present day look at the Wilmington Massacre of 1898 and how the descendants of the victims of the event are asking for legal action in regards to compensation / reparations. The Wilmington Massacre of 1898 was a bloody attack on the African-American community by a heavily armed white mob on November 10, 1898 in the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina. It is also considered one of the only examples of a violent overthrow of an existing government (coup d'etat) and left countless numbers of African-American citizens dead. This event was the spring board for the white supremacy movement and Jim Crow (segregation) throughout the state of North Carolina, and the American South.
The purpose of the film is to educate and bring awareness to people of all racial, cultural and economic backgrounds on the importance, significance of this event in history and to present the story from an African-American perspective. This incident is barely mentioned and has been omitted from most history books. It was not until 2006, after the North Carolina General Assembly published a report on it, that the tragedy become known to the public. It was supposed to be a secret, and it was for over 100 years. The film features interviews from historians, authors, activists and actual descendants of the victims of the Wilmington Massacre of 1898.  SCHEDULED TO APPEAR IN THE FILM:Larry Reni Thomas - Larry Reni Thomas is an author/radio announcer and activist. He is also the founder of ICROW, Inc. (International Organization for Compensation and Reparations for the Victims of the Wilmington Massacre of 1898).
Lewin Manly - Lewin Manly is the grandson of newspaper editor Alex Manly. Alex Manly was a prominent black figure in Wilmington and was forced to leave Wilmington in 1898 after his office building was burned down by a white mob.
Faye Chaplin - Faye Chaplin is the great-granddaughter of Thomas C. Miller. Thomas C. Miller was a prominent businessman and property owner in Wilmington and was forced to leave Wilmington in 1898.
Mary Alice Jervay Thatch - Mary Alice Jervay Thatch is the owner of The Wilmington Journal, one of the oldest black weeklies in the nation.
William Darity Jr. - William Darity Jr. is a Professor of African-American Studies and Economics at Duke University.
Umar Johnson - Umar Johnson is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist who practices privately throughout Pennsylvania and lectures throughout the country. He is considered an authority on mental health in the Black community.
Al McSurely - Al McSurely is a legal advisor for the North Carolina NAACP. 
MEET   THE TEAM:Christopher Everett (Director + Writer + Producer) - Check out his recent project "The Laurinburg Institute Est. 1904" (preview trailer) at: http://www.vimeo.com/1761543Christopher Everett is an actor, writer, director and producer. He has a degree in Graphic Design from King's College in Charlotte, NC. He recently finished his first documentary short entitled "The Laurinburg Institute Est. 1904" on a historic African-American Boarding & Day School in his hometown of Laurinburg, NC. Christopher has also starred in many commercials throughout the south east and indie films such as the award-winning narrative short "On My Last Breath".
Pete Chatmon (Executive Producer) - Check out his media + marketing collective Double7 Images at: http://double7images.com/Pete Chatmon is an award-winning filmmaker across several platforms. He wrote, produced, and directed "Premium", starring Dorian Missick and Zoe Saldana and "761st", narrated by Andre Braugher, and has directed several short films, original webseries, and branded content for ad agencies. Double7 Images, his media+marketing collective, exists to give businesses, brands, and entrepreneurs a fighting chance in a marketplace crowded with distracting media noise. Donte' Lee (Cinematographer) - Check out his cinematography work at: http://vimeo.com/donteDonte' Lee has experience in film, music videos and commercials. His music video experience includes videos for artists such as Shaggy, Calvin Richardson, Tamer Hosny, and Paper Tongues. His commercial experience includes commercials for Rubbermaid and Saber Grills. His recent feature film work includes indies "Jimmy" and "9 Ball". Matthew Head (Composer) - Check out his film composer work at: http://www.matthewheadproductions.com/With over six years of scoring experience, Matthew has found much success in the realms of film and video. His composition credits include numerous scores for movies, documentaries, and even commercials. Working with The Horne Brother's production company, Matthew served as the Music Supervisor and Composer for their films Kissing Bandit and The Start of Dreams. Matthew has also worked with Dapa Entertainment composing the music for their documentary I am a Dream Chaser. Extending his abilities, he has worked closely with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution marketing team providing music for their commercials.
Ja'Nese Jean (Music Supervisor) - Check out her music at: http://www.facebook.com/janesejeanTalk about a musician that embodies every aspect of music, you're talking about Ja'Nese Jean. Artist, Vocal Producer and Music Supervisor, Ja'Nese Jean is a Triple Threat. Ja'Nese Jean's dream is to inspire the masses through music, and for that reason, it's important for her to be well skilled and knowledgeable in multiple aspect of the musical realm. She's a Songwriter/Composer with ASCAP, a member of NARAS, and AGMA. She's also a classically trained coloratura Opera diva, and humanitarian amongst many other things.
Jesse Kale (Still Photographer) - Check out his IMDB page at: WHAT WE PLAN ON DOING WITH THE PROJECT:Once completed, we plan on entering the film in major + small film festivals around the country. We will also have screenings (with Q&A) throughout the state of North Carolina. After the film makes its run through festivals and screenings, we plan on distributing the film independently through retail + cultural shops and online.  WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP:Our goal is to raise $3,100.00 in 30 days. We are trying to get through production and the money raised will be used for film crew + travel expenses (to finish conducting interviews). You will be rewarded for pledging to this project via film credit, copy of the DVD, movie posters, t-shirts, etc. As we shoot and the deadline draws closer, we will keep you posted on the progress of the film and any other updates. We tried to go for the "GUSTO" (raise the full budget) the last campaign but we were unsuccessful (see the 1st campaign here: http://www.indiegogo.com/wilmingtononfire). We have decided to fundraise in 2 stages with this being the "Production" fundraising stage and after this will be the "Post-Production" fundraising stage.  REWARDS FOR DONATING TOWARDS THE PROJECT:$10.00 - A special thank you + "shout out" on the film's facebook & twitter pages
$25.00 - Teaser Poster (11 x 17) + a special thank you + "shout out" on the film's facebook & twitter pages
$50.00 - Copy of the DVD (once completed) + Teaser Poster (11 x 17) + a special thank you + "shout out" on the film's facebook & twitter pages
$75.00 - Limited Edition "Wilmington on Fire" T-Shirt + Copy of the DVD (once completed) + Teaser Poster (11 x 17) + a special thank you + "shout out" on the film's facebook & twitter pages
$100.00 - Copy of the DVD (once completed) + Limited Edition "Wilmington on Fire" T-Shirt + 2 Teaser Posters (11 x 17) + a special thank you + "shout out" on the film's facebook & twitter pages
$500.00 (5 available) - Associate Producer credit + 1 free pass to the premiere in Wilmington, NC (TBA) (travel + lodging not included) + Copy of the DVD (once completed) + Limited Edition "Wilmington on Fire" T-Shirt + 3 Teaser Posters (11 x 17) + a special thank you + "shout out" on the film's facebook & twitter pages
$1,000.00 (3 available) - Executive Producer credit + 2 free passes to the premiere in Wilmington, NC (TBA) (travel + lodging not included) + Copy of the book "Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit!: A Fictional Account of the Wilmington Ten Incident" + Copy of the DVD (once completed) + Limited Edition "Wilmington on Fire" T-Shirt + 3 Teaser Posters (11 x 17) + a special thank you + "shout out" on the film's facebook & twitter pages
 Join the official facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/wilmingtononfire Follow the official twitter page at: http://twitter.com/wilmington1898
You can view the teaser trailer on Youtube at: http://youtu.be/9toV2-zDWkA You can view the teaser trailer on Vimeo at: http://vimeo.com/33422710
Take ACTION! and sign the petition "Endorse Compensation for the 1898 Wilmington Massacre Victims" at: http://www.change.org/petitions/the-general-public-endorse-compensation-for-1898-wilmington-massacre-victims  Please, help spread the word and share this amazing film project with all your friends + followers.  Thank you!

Sampling Again: Shawn Carter and the Moynihan Report Remix

SamplingAgain: Shawn Carter and the Moynihan Report Remix byDavid J. Leonard | NewBlackMan
Ihave resisted the temptation to write about the media spectacle surrounding therecent birth of Blue Ivy Carter. The obsession has been striking on so many levels: (1) it seems to reflect a desire to represent Shawn Carterand Beyoncé as royalty.  Their cultural visibility and powerreaffirms a narrative about the American Dream and post racialness. Blue IveyCarter becomes evidence of multi-generational wealth; her arrival in the worldaffirms the American Dream as Beyoncé and ShawnCarter now have millions of dollars AND the prescribed family structure (notsure about dog and picket fence).  (2) There also seems an investment in constructing hip-hop as growing upas evident by a politics of respectability and through a patriarchal nuclearfamily. The media discourse has imagined a family (or children) as thenecessary step toward becoming an adult. 
MarkAnthony Neal brilliantly reflects on thisparticular aspect, noting how the media has constructed Carter as ushering in anew era for hip-hop.  "There are of course other examples of rapperswho do take parenting seriously." More importantly, Neal works to disentangle lyrical flow fromparenting: 
To be sure,writing a song about your daughter is the easy part. Fathers are often laudedfor the more celebrated aspects of parenting: playing on the floor, piggybackrides, the warm embraces after a long day at the job. Mothers, on the otherhand, are often faced with the drudgery of parenting, like changing soileddiapers, nursing, giving up their careers to be stay-at-home moms, and thecriticism that comes if they don't live up to societal notions of what "good"mothering is. 
Thecelebration of Shawn Carter's fatherhood and the lack of commentaries regardingBeyoncé as a mother are telling on so many levels.  At one level, it reflects the erasure of mother's labor, asnoted by Neal.  Yet, at anotherlevel it reflects the desire to stage yet another referendum on black fathersand mothers within the public discourse. For example, Joanna Mallory recently penned: "Jay-Zanthem to fatherhood is music to the ears of black leaders and family advocates."  Arguing that, "72% of African-Americankids are raised without a dad," Mallory celebrates the birth of Blue IveyCarter because she inspired her dad to write "Glory:
"But she isalso rich in love, as Jay-Z exults in his song "Glory." The best part? A lot ofother babies are going to benefit. Because Jay-Z's ecstatic reaction to being adad will be the strongest boost yet to a growing movement in the blackcommunity encouraging responsible fatherhood.
Concludingthat the song is a necessary remedy for absent black fathers is emblematic ofthe media discourse here: sensationalistic, simplistic, and wrapped up in anarrative of distortions, misinformation, and stereotypes.  It is yet another reminder thosecritics should not wax sociological. 
Havingalready written about this in regards to Colin Cowherd and Touré, I thought I might just recycle partof the "Blaming Black Families" piece, albeit with a little remix (I swappedout Cowherd's name for Mallory). The fact that critics, politicians, and the public discourse continuallyrecycles the same fallacious and troubling argument mandates that I merelyrecycle my work as well.
Theefforts to recycle the Moynihan report, to define father as naturaldisciplinarian and mother's nurturing, to link cultural values to familystructures, and to otherwise play upon longstanding racial stereotypes, isstriking.
Firstand foremost, the idea that 71% of black children grow up without fathers is atone level the result of a misunderstanding of facts and at another level themere erasure of facts.  It wouldseem that Ms. Mallory is invoking the often-cited statistics that 72% of AfricanAmerican children were born to unwed mothers, which is significantly higherthan the national average of 40 %. Yet, this statistic is misleading and misused as part of a historically definedwhite racial project.  
Firstand foremost, children born into an unmarried family is not the same is growingup without a father.  In fact, onlyhalf of African American children live in single-family homes.  Yet, this again, only tells part of thestory.   The selectiveinvoking of these statistics, while emblematic of the hegemony of heterosexistpatriarchy, says very little about whether or not a child grows up with twoparents involved in their lives.  Accordingto the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a sizable portion ofthose children born to single mothers are born into families that can bedefined as "marriage like."  32% ofunmarried parents are engaged in 'visiting unions" (in a romantic relationshipalthough living apart), with 50% of parents living together without beingmarried.  In other words, the 72%says little about the presence of black fathers (or mothers for that matter).
Likewise,this 72% number says very little about the levels of involvement of fathers(and mothers), but rather how because of the media, popular culture andpolitical discourses, black fatherhood is constructed "as an oxymoron" allwhile black motherhood is defined as "inadequate" and "insufficient."  According to the introduction for The Myth of the Missing Black Father ,edited by Roberta L. Coles and Charles Green,
It would beremiss to argue that there are not many absent black fathers, absence is onlyone slice of the fatherhood pie and a smaller slice than is normally thought.The problem with "absence," as is fairly well established now, isthat it's an ill defined pejorative concept usually denoting nonresidence withthe child, and it is sometimes assumed in cases where there is no legalmarriage to the mother. More importantly, absence connotes invisibility andnoninvolvement, which further investigation has proven to be exaggerated (aswill be discussed below). Furthermore, statistics on children's livingarrangements also indicate that nearly 41 percent of black children live withtheir fathers, either in a married or cohabiting couple household or with asingle dad.
Countlessstudies substantiate the fallacies that guide claims about absentee blackfathers.  For example, while blackfathers are the least likely to be living with or married to the mother, theyare much more likely to be involved and engaged with their children. 
Forinstance, Carlson and McLanahan's (2002) figures indicated that only 37 percentof black nonmarital fathers were cohabiting with the child (compared to 66percent of white fathers and 59 percent of Hispanic), but of those who weren'tcohabiting, 44 percent of unmarried black fathers were visiting the child,compared to only 17 percent of white and 26 percent of Hispanic fathers (in Colesand Green).
Intotal, Mallory misrepresents reality, once again recycling a narrative aboutabsentee black fathers and ineffective black mothers. In other words,"non-residence" is not the same as being absentee; it says nothing aboutinvolvement and the quality of parenting. 
Mallory'sfocus on "bad parents," her efforts to blame parents, her desire to reimagineblack families as places where fathers are not invested in raising children, afact that could change if they listen to "Glory," is both a fallacy based inracial assumptions and one that lets society off-the-hook.  It puts the onus on black fathersrather than a criminal justice system that has systemically broken up blackfamilies.  AsI noted previously:
According toa report entitled "Childrenof Incarcerated Parents," in 2007 America was home to 1.7 million children(under 18) whose parent was being held in state or federal prison – that is 2.3percent of American children will likely be celebrating father's day away fromdad.  Despite hegemonic clamoringabout family values, the prison industrial complex continues to ravage Americanfamilies.  Since 1991, the numberof children with a father in prison has increased from 881,500 to 1.5 millionin 2007.  Over this same timeperiod, children of incarcerated mothers increased from 63,900 to 147,400.  Roughly half of these children areyounger than 9, with 32 percent being between the ages of 10 and 14. 
The problemis even more pronounced when looking at Black and Latino fathers.  The numbers are startling: 1 in 15black children lives away from their parent because of incarceration.  For Latinos that number is 1 in 41,compared to 1 in 110 for white children. . .
Thesystematic efforts to break-apart families, destroy communities, and separatefathers and mothers from their children is a direct result of the incarcerationof drug users.  According toAlexander, as of 2005, 4 in 5 drug arrests were for possession by individualswith no history of violence; in the 1990s alone, a period that saw a massiveexpansion of America's war on drug users, 80 percent of those sent to prisonwere done so for marijuana possession. Yet, again we see how this is not a war on drugs or even illicit druguse, but use within the black community even thoughwhites are far more likely to use illegal drugs.  In a number of states, between 80 and 90 percent of all drugconvictions have been of African Americans.
Inhis "99 problems," Jay gives voice to this new Jim Crow (Michelle Alexander's work),
In my rear view mirror is the mother fuckin' law
I got two choices y'all pull over the car or (hmmm)
Bounce on the devil put the pedal to the floor
Now i ain't tryin' to see no highway chase for Jay
Plus i got a few dollars i can fight the case
So i...pull over to the side of the road
i heard "Son do you know what i'm stoppin' you for?"
Cause i'm young and i'm black and my hats real low
But do i look like a mind reader sir, i don't know
Am i under arrest or should i guess some mo'?
"Well you was doin fifty-five in a fifty-four"
"License and registration and step out of the car"

Ofcourse he is not alone, part of hip-hops efforts to give voice and challengethe racism of America's war on drugs—aka the war on black America, black families, mothers, fathers, andchildren.  It isn't simply aboutsymbolic gestures or "role models," but challenging both the lies and thesystems that produce the new Jim Crow.
***
David J. Leonard is Associate Professor in the Department of CriticalCulture, Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. Hehas written on sport, video games, film, and social movements, appearing inboth popular and academic mediums. His work explores the political economy ofpopular culture, examining the interplay between racism, state violence, andpopular representations through contextual, textual, and subtextualanalysis.  Leonard's latest book After Artest: Race and the Assault on Blackness will bepublished by SUNY Press in May of 2012.[image error]

Left of Black S2:E16 | 'Blackness', Professional Sports and the #Occupy the Academy Movement

Left of Black S2:E16'Blackness', ProfessionalSports and the #Occupy the Academy Movement
w/ Bomani Jones, ProfessorDavid J. Leonard and Professor James Braxton Peterson January 23, 2012
Host and Duke UniversityProfessor Mark Anthony Neal is joined via Skype© by David J. Leonard and in-studioby Bomani Jones.  Leonard is an associate professor in the Department ofCritical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies at Washington State University atPullman and the author of the forthcoming After Artest, Race and the Assaulton Blackness (SUNY Press).  Jones is a journalist, sports commentator, formerhost of The Morning Jones and a well-known contributor to ESPN's Aroundthe Horn and Jim Rome is Burning.  The trio discuss responsesand effects of the recent 2011 NBA lockout and how it relates to race. Leonard and Jones highlight how branding defines basketball's popularity andthe irreplaceable value of the sport's greatest athletes.  Lastly, theconversation touches on the comparison between how fans value the NFLdifferently than the NBA.
Later,Neal is joined via Skype© by James Braxton Peterson, director of AfricanaStudies and associate professor of English at Lehigh University.  A frequentcontributor to MSNBC, Peterson addresses the impact of scholars who reach wellbeyond the Academy.  Neal and Peterson also discuss the scholarly impactof the  #Occupy Movement asexpressed in Peterson's recent HuffPost Black Voices article, "#Occupythe Academy."    ***
Left of Black is a weekly Webcasthosted by Mark Anthony Neal and produced in collaboration with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University.
***
Episodes of Left of Blackare also available for download @ iTunes U [image error]

'Affirmative Action,' 'Black' GPAs and the Discourse(s) of Black Intellectual Inferiority

 
'AffirmativeAction,' 'Black' GPAs and the Discourse(s) of Black Intellectual Inferiorityby David J. Leonard | NewBlackMan
The racial culture wars (i.e. thedemonization of black students) are once again raging on college campuses.  A recent study authored by PeterArcidiacono, Ken Spenner, and Esteban M. Aucejo concludes that African Americanstudents are less qualified and academically prepared to succeed at DukeUniversity.  "What Happens AfterEnrollment? An Analysis of the Time Path of Racial Differences in GPA and MajorChoice" cites evidence of African Americans switching from science (STEM)majors to easier liberal arts majors as evidence for a lack ofpreparation. 
Accordingto a group of Duke Alumni, "The study opens with a bold statement thataffirmative action admissions in higher education allow for the collegeadmission of minority students who have 'weak' preparation for college-levelwork.  This implies that studentsof color are not as intelligent or prepared as their white counterparts."  The study is thus not simply an assaulton affirmative action and the struggle for diversity on college campuses, butan effort to reassert notions of white superiority. "Whatmany people of color discovered upon entering those previously closed corridorswas not white superiority but, for the most part, white mediocrity. Now, topreserve such a system, what is often brought up is the mediocrity of blacksand other groups of color who enter," writes LewisGordon. "What is not brought up, however, isthe group of blacks and brown people who were excluded on the basis of theirexcellence. The prevailing view in predominantly white institutions about suchcandidates is fear of whether such candidates are 'controllable.'"  Leaving readers with the conclusionthat blacks are not controllable (and thus not desirable), the study hasdangerous implications.
In relying on and working from aseries of stereotypes and accepted narratives, the study fails to answer anumber of questions that points to both its deficiencies and its danger:
How does the study define blackness; does it differentiatebetween first generation African immigrants or students whose family have beenin the United States?  Does itaccount for class differences?  Intalking about SAT courses, and preparation, how does it account for educationalinequalities, such as differential resources, access to SAT preparationcourses, and the availability of advanced placement courses and countless otherexamples that point to the ways in which racism produce an uneven playingfield?
How does the study account for extracurricular activities,demands of work, student involvement, and engagement with the community?  Are there differences between differentdisciplines?  How does it accountfor the ways that the demands of life, and the potential involvement of studentsas organizers, community leaders, athletes, artists, and active citizensdiffers between the sciences and the liberal arts, and the potential impact ongrades?  How does it explain highrate of entry for black students in STEM majors and how does it account forhigh exit rates? 
In failing to actually talk withstudents and learn from their experiences, in an effort to understand how theinstitutions and higher education is potentially failing, the authors insteadexplain once again put the onus back on black students.  Offering a narrative that focuses on"qualifications," "work ethic," educational unpreparedness, the authors notonly deploy a dominant white racial frame that consistently images whites as superiorand deserving, and blacks as inferior and therefore undeserving, but erases themeaningful ways that racism and white privilege operate in contemporary society
The study works from a premisethat sciences are harder, demand more study time, and are more demanding; theevidence provided for each of these claims is lower grades amongst studentsdespite greater academic preparation. The authors argue at great lengths – "and perhaps related to thedifferences in grading practices, students are working harder in naturalscience and economics classes and perceive these classes to be more challengingthan classes in the humanities and social sciences"—that African Americanstudents are fleeing from harder classes and majors because they cannot handlethem.  Without any evidence, suchclaims should give pause on a number of levels.  The assumptions here are extensive as the authors providelittle evidence that these classes are harder or more demanding; the authorsmerely recycle the assumptions that Schwarz Reflection Principle and HeisenbergUncertainty Principle are far more challenging to students than understandingthe use of metaphors by Shakespeare and Ellison, analyzing Ferdinand deSaussure's idea of signifier and signified within The Matrix, or applying the theories of Karl Marx, Max Weber andWalter Rodney to globalization. 
At the core, the studydemonstrates no understanding of the ways in which race and racism may operatewithin the classroom and within the broader community.  In fact, it shows an inability tounderstand how race and racism impacts the experiences of students color.  For example, they argue, "Whileresearchers have documented lower grades for black students in college (see,for example, Betts and Morell 1999), this is to be expected given differencesin college preparation."  Evidenceof their failures to look beyond numbers, and the tendency toward reductionistthinking (differential college preparation=low grades), the study erases thelarger context and processes that impacts grades.  Had the researchers actually talked with students they mayhave gotten a better understanding as to how their experiences, as AfricanAmerican in predominantly white classrooms at a predominantly white institutionwith predominantly white male professors, may have figured in their decision toswitch majors. 
A study – "CriticalRace Theory, Racial Microaggressions, and Campus Racial Climate: TheExperiences of African American College Students"by Daniel Solorzano, Miguel Ceja, Tara Yoss – found that black studentsexperience ample discrimination and prejudice (microaggressions) during theiracademic classroom experiences.  Citingexpressed low expectations, negative interactions with white peers, segregationfrom other white students in class, isolation, discrimination from joiningstudy groups, and a culture of diminishment, these authors illustrate theprofound ways that race operates within the college classroom.  I cite two of their examples tohighlight how race and racism might account for the switching of majors
An African American female statedthat racial discrimination in study group formation was obvious: I've had timeswhen a guy in the class ... [said], "Well, I don't want to work with youbecause you're Black." And he told me to my face.... And it was upsetting'cause ... I came here thinking that it wouldn't be like this, and that wasnaive.
Another African American femalerecalled a friend's experience: [A Black male student] thought he was going tobe pre-med. And he was in this chemistry lab, and nobody wanted him to be inthe [work] groups, so his partner [sic]. . . turned out to be this deaf girl.I'm sure everybody's looking at them like, "They're never going topass."
The authors conclude with thisobservation:
Several of the students we interviewed indicated that beyond feeling likea numerical minority, they also felt personally diminished by nonverbalmicroaggressions perpetrated by their White counterparts. Other students agreedthat merely "looking like" a person of color can be cause for Whiteprofessors, students, and college staff persons to draw negative assumptionsabout minorities and lower their expectations of them. They further recognizedthat being stereotyped carries very real consequences beyond feeling bad aboutoneself. Some indicated feeling "drained" by the intense scrutinytheir everyday actions received in the context of negative preconceived notionsabout African Americans. Others acknowledged as racial microaggressions thesubtle and overt daily put-downs they encountered-or attempted to avoid-intheir interactions with some Whites in the academic setting. Such incidents putthese African American college students on the defensive to keep fromsuccumbing to stereotype threat.
Stereotype Threat,an idea popularized by Claude Steele, describes the ways that anxieties andfears that failure will confirm negative stereotypes, dramatically hindersperformance.  Sandy Daritysummarizes the importance of stereotype threat in his critical response to theauthors' study,  citing Steele andAronson (1995), who found that black students under stereotype threat scored 13percent worse than those under no threat at all.  They also found that those under threat answered questionsat a much slower rate than those students not subjected to the threat.  This study fails to consider the waysin which the stereotype threat may impact academic success within the sciencesand how this same stereotype threat impacts test scores as well pointing to itsoverall ignorance about racism and white privilege on and off campus.   
In recycling bell curve,anti-affirmative arguments, that isolate or particularize black movement from STEM majors to humanitiesrather than reflecting on the larger trend; one might instead argue that the  sciences fail to retain students.  Whether reflecting bad pedagogy, anelitist desire to weed students out of particular majors, shifts inprofessional goals (leaving the sciences after deciding against pre-med), orthe curricular banality, the sciences are systematically failing to maintainits students. In "WhyScience Majors Change Their Minds (It's Just So Darn Hard),"Christopher Drew explores the issues here:
Studies have found that roughly 40 percent of studentsplanning engineering and science majors end up switching to other subjects orfailing to get any degree. That increases to as much as 60 percent whenpre-medical students, who typically have the strongest SAT scores and highschool science preparation, are included, according to new data from theUniversity of California at Los Angeles. That is twice the combined attritionrate of all other majors.
The failure of this study toaccount for the reasons why students may choose a field in the humanities oversciences reflects its methodological choices.  Its focus on statistical analysis, and its operating througha series of assumptions, might have been complicated the authors actuallytalked to students.  Within a recentNew York Times article, Mr. Drewchronicles the experiences of one such student:
MATTHEW MONIZ bailed out of engineering at Notre Dame in thefall of his sophomore year. He had been the kind of recruit most engineeringdepartments dream about. He had scored an 800 in math on the SAT and in the700s in both reading and writing. He also had taken Calculus BC and five otherAdvanced Placement courses at a prep school in Washington, D.C., and had longplanned to major in engineering.
But as Mr. Moniz sat in his mechanics class in 2009, herealized he had already had enough. "I was trying to memorize equations, andengineering's all about the application, which they really didn't teach toowell," he says. "It was just like, 'Do these practice problems, then you're onyour own.' " And as he looked ahead at the curriculum, he did not see muchrelief on the horizon.
So Mr. Moniz, a 21-year-old who likes poetry and had enjoyedintroductory psychology, switched to a double major in psychology and English,where the classes are "a lot more discussion based." He will graduate in Mayand plans to be a clinical psychologist. Of his four freshman buddies at NotreDame, one switched to business, another to music. One of the two who is stillin engineering plans to work in finance after graduation.
The above points to the complexreasons why students may chose one major over another, none of which hasanything to do with the ease of humanities compared to sciences, the yearningfor better grades, or an unwillingness to work.  In this instance Mr. Moniz points to the pedagogicaldifferences between the sciences and humanities, an important factor givenresearch on pedagogy and the best practices, much of which points to thelimitations of traditional lectures (studies have shown that students retainbetween 20-40 percent of material presented during a lecture). 
The failure tolook at the sciences themselves, to deploy stereotypes about black students andrehash ideas about the difficult sciences, points to the failures of thisstudy.  Yet, this study isreceiving national attention. Articles have appeared in countless newspapers, which cite its findingsas evidence for a larger narrative about white preparedness and blackeducational deficiencies.  It isdangerous because of its conclusion and because of how it reinforces dominantstereotypes and narratives. 
Lewis Gordonrecently asked, "What's the problem with affirmative action?" The Duke study attempts to answer that with flawedanalysis, and flawed conclusions, all based on a flawed approach.  Sandy Darity, in "Affirmative ActionGrumbles," summarizes Gordon's rhetorical responses: "First, when implemented,'it works.' Second, its very existence forces the society that has adopted itto acknowledge that it continues to be a site where racism and discriminationoperate – not past discrimination but current, ongoing discrimination. Makingsuch an admission may be the source of the biggest grumbles of all."  No matter what the study says, it failsbecause it neither acknowledges the profound ways that affirmative action isworking and the ways in which racism and discrimination remain inoperation.  One has to look nofurther than this study to see how race and stereotypes remain a salient issuein our society. 
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David J. Leonard is Associate Professor in the Department of CriticalCulture, Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. Hehas written on sport, video games, film, and social movements, appearing inboth popular and academic mediums. His work explores the political economy ofpopular culture, examining the interplay between racism, state violence, andpopular representations through contextual, textual, and subtextualanalysis.  Leonard's latest book After Artest: Race and the Assault onBlackness will be published bySUNY Press in May of 2012.

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