Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 1035

Cathy Cohen & Melissa Harris Perry Talk Voter ID Laws

Cathy Cohen is the David and Mary Winton Green Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, co-principal Investigator on the Mobilization, Change and Political & Civic Engagement survey, and author of Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of the American Politics.

The Year in 'Race Matters'

The Year in 'Race Matters'byDavid J. Leonard | NewBlackman
Colorlinesrecently published a 90 second video summarizing the year in race, anamazing feet given what has happened over the year.  Statistical measurements define 2011, in many ways:
·       45 percent ofthe 131,000 homeless veterans in America are African-American·       26 percent ofAfrican American families earn less than $15,000·       1 in 9 AfricanAmericans live in neighborhoods where 40%+ of its residents live in poverty·    Black women earn 68 cents for everydollar earned by men; for Latinas this number is 59 centers·       16.2 percent ofAfrican Americans are unemployed·       17.5 percent ofblack males are unemployed; 41 percent of black teenagers are without a job·      11.4 percent ofLatinos are unemployed; 21.3% of Alaska Natives and 19.3% of members of Midwestindigenous communities are unemployed ·       In2011, blacks and Latino were twice as likely to face home foreclosures·    "BetweenJanuary and June of 2011, the United States carried out more than 46,000deportations of the parents of U.S.-citizen children"
Yet,meaning of this year transcends these numbers.  We have seen ample intrusions of blatant racism into thepublic square.  Irecently wrote about this, arguing:
In Two-Faced Racism, Leslie Picca and JoeFeagin explore the ways in which racial performances are carried in both thefrontstage (integrated and multiracial public spaces) and the backstage (thoseprivate/semi-private all-white spaces where race talk and racist ideas revealthemselves in profound ways). Their research found that the backstage offers whites a place to "perform,practice, learn, reinforce, and maintain racist views of and inclinationstoward people of color.  Theseviews and inclinations play a central role in generating and maintaining theovert and covert racial discrimination that is still commonplace in majorinstitutions of this society" (27-28). 
Increasingly,however, the frontstage is replacing the backstage whereupon whites arepublicly performing, learning, reinforcing and maintaining their racist viewstoward people of color.  Evident incollege students donning blackface and then putting pictures online, evident inGene Marks, Newt Ginrich, Donald Trump and their reactionary pals lamenting thelaziness of black youth, evident in the usage of the N-word, evident inwhite-only movie screenings and white-onlyswimming pools, the lines between the frontstage and the backstage areblurring before our eyes.   Inother words, the frontstage is now the backstage, leaving me to wonder whatsorts of ideologies, stereotypes and racial talk is transpiring inbackstage.  Or maybe, in a "post-racialAmerica," widespread racism has returned (did it ever leave?) to the frontstagethereby illustrating the importance of challenging and resisting in each andevery location.
FromRep. Doug Lamborn referring to PresidentObama as a "tar baby" and Brent Bonzell describing President Obama as "a skinny, ghetto crackhead"to Fox's headline for President Obama's birthday party –"Obama's Hip-Hop BBQ Didn'tCreate Jobs" and Eric Bolling "criticizing" President Obama for "chugging 40's in IRE whiletornadoes ravage MO," there have been ample examples of the ways in which publicexpressions of racism have defined the 2011 political sphere.  The racism and sexism directed at MichelleObama (just one example)and the astounding types of political commercials (just one example)are also evident of the ways in which violent rhetoric has dominated the publicsquare.
TakePat Buchannan, who reminisced for Jim Crow during 2011: "Back then, blackand white lived apart, went to different schools and churches, played ondifferent playgrounds, and went to different restaurants, bars, theaters, andsoda fountains. But we shared a country and a culture. We were one nation. Wewere Americans."  In language andthe vision for America, race defined the past year (and the years before).
Thelast year has also seen quite a bit of recycling.  From the Moynihan Report and culture of poverty, tobootstraps ideology and efforts to blame the poor, 2011 has seen a comeback(not that these racist narratives ever went away) of these troublingideas.  Two of the mostillustrative examples were Newt Gingrich and Gene Marks.  Gingrich, who has made a career of racebaiting (calling President Obama a "food stamp president" and one defined by a "'Kenyan,anti-colonial worldview'"), recently offered policy prescriptions to deal withblack unemployment: teach black youth the value of work.  He stated:
Really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have nohabits of working.  And have nobody around them who works. They have nohabit of 'I do this and you give me cash'-unless it's illegal.  What if you paid them part time in the afternoon, to sit atthe clerical office and greet people when they came in?  What if you paidthem to work as the assistant librarian. What if they were the assistantjanitor, and carried a mop?
Deployinglongstanding stereotypes about black laziness and criminality, all whilecrafting economic policy based on bootstrapism, Ginrich shows how 2011 has beenso much about sampling and redeploying the racist ideologies ofyesteryear.  GeneMarks, whose article prompted widespread condemnation because of itspaternalistic tone and acceptance of widespread stereotypes, is equallyreflective of this trend.
I am not apoor black kid.  I am a middle aged white guy who comes from a middle classwhite background.  So life was easier for me.  But that doesn't meanthat the prospects are impossible for those kids from the inner city.  Itdoesn't mean that there are no opportunities for them. I believe thateveryone in this country has a chance to succeed.  Still.  In 2011. Even a poor black kid in West Philadelphia.  Theracism of 2011 has not been limited to the political sphere, amongst punditryand politicians, but has been visible throughout society.  Evident in a teacher calling black andLatino first graders "futurecriminals," AlexandraWallace's racist diatribe against Asians, Psychology Today's racist article aboutblack women, billboardscharging "abortion-as-black- genocide," and a high school coach referringto a black player as "afuture welfare recipient," racist talk and imagery has been visiblethroughout the year.  We have seenLowes' refusal to run advertisements during All-AmericanMuslim and the Right's demonization of Nightrunner,"DCMuslim Batman of Paris." 
Amidthe denials and the claims that whites face ample discrimination, the level ofracial animus and the level of rhetorical violence during 2011 have beenrevealing.  The lack reflexivityand the hegemony of white privilege, with the use of the N-Wordduring Slut Walk, is telling about this year (seehere for an apology).  In fact,2011has seen ample instances of the N-Word within the public square, from highschool girls chanting it before their game to the recent slur directed at Rihanna.
Ofcourse, 2011 has seen the violence and the injustices of racism in policy.  In the executionof Troy Davis, inthe systemic deportations of undocumented mothers and fathers, inthe judicial assault on ethnic studies, in the anti-immigrant policies ofAlabama, Georgia,SouthCarolina,  and Indiana,in themany instances of police brutality, thepersistence of racial profiling, and the number of hategroups surpassing 1,000, this year has seen ample evidence of the fallacyof a post-racial America.
Theprosecution and sentencing of, and the struggle for justice for, Kelly Williams-Bolaris emblematic of many issues surrounding race in 2011.  From the criminalization of people ofcolor and the demonization of women of color, to educational inequalities andthe generation of kids behind left behind, her case teaches us much about thecontinued struggle for civil rights in 2nd decade of thetwenty-first century.  JamilahKing described the case in the following way:
Just in caseyou haven't seen this story blow up on your social network this week: KelleyWilliams-Bolar is headed to an Ohio jail. The mother of two was sentenced thisweek to 10 days in jail, three years of probation, and 80 hours of communityservice. Her crime? Sending her two daughters to an out-of-district school. . ..               It's an infuriatingcase, especially for anyone who's even remotely familiar with educationalinequity in this country. America still hasn't made good on its half-centurypromise to desegregateits public schools, and academic achievement can almost always be measured byzip code.
Thedemonization of women of color extended into the realm of popular culture aswell.
2011was also the year of The Help, a filmthat recycled the hegemonic Hollywood trope of "white love" (h/t Elon JamesWhite) and racial redemption all while sanitizing the black freedomstruggle.  Yet, it was also a yeardefined by the many powerful responses to this film; these effort resisted andchallenged the film's (mis)representation of black women's work, segregation,social justice, and countless other issues.  From the Associationof Black Woman Historians' powerful statement to the many articles fromblack scholars – DutchessHarris, RebeccaWanzo, MeccaJamilah Sullivan, MarthaSouthgate, MarkAnthony Neal, AishahShahidah Simmons,  MelissaHarris-Perry, and HonoréeFanonne Jeffers – many voices have challenged the narrative andrepresentations offered by The Help,refusing to accept the cultural politics of the mainstream.  Yet, 2011 has also seen the release of Pariah, a film that explores theexperience of a young black lesbian struggling for acceptance within her familyand society at large.  Whereas The Help represents blackness asaccessory, as the help, Pariahreminds audiences of the power and beauty of black identity, highlighting heterogeneity,diversity, and humanity.   
2011has seen ample moments of resistance, a refusal to accept and tolerate racism,sexism, and homophobia.  It hasbeen a year of "speaking truth to power" and refusing the dominant narrative.  Following the airing of ABC's 20/20special entitled "Childrenof the Plains," a group of Native American students from South Dakotaproduced their own video thatrefused the images and messages offered in the show: "I know what youprobably think of us…we saw the special too. Maybe you saw a picture, or readan article. But we want you to know, we're more than that…we have so much morethan poverty."  Then therewere the students from Ohio University, who launched the "We are a culturenot a costume" campaign to protest the racist stereotypes and racist images soprominent during Halloween.  Youthin Californiaand Alabamafought vigorously to change the tide against anti-immigrant racism.  Hotel workers in New Yorkprotested Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the victimization of Nafissatou Diallo. Andso much more.
Thepower of new media as a space of resistance has been on full-display, whetherthe consciousness raising happening on twitter and Facebook, or the ways inwhich Jay Smooth, Jasiri X, Issa Rae, AmieBreeze Harper, Ariana Proehl.Scholars like AlondraNelson, KorithaMitchell, NicoleFleetwood, DanielleMcGwire, KellieJones, EvieShockey, and ManningMarable (who we lost this year) have also published important works thatadvance the study of race, gender, and sexuality in both history and ourcurrent moment.  In the face oferasure, dehumanization, and persistent inequalities, scholars and artists (seeLisaThompson's discussion of black women in theater), activists and organizers,and people from community big and small have met the racism and injustice withforce.  There has been so much tochallenge in 2011 yet the many instances of injustice have not killed our "freedomdreams."  While these dreams willbe deferred until 2012, the struggle will continue.   
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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 on Blackness will bepublished by SUNY Press in May of 2012.

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The Best of 'Left of Black" 2011

Left of Black, the weekly video webcast that Ihost in conjunction with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University, isnow in it's second season.  The showis on holiday hiatus until January 9th, when we will broadcast a newepisode featuring Princeton University Professor Eddie Glaude and UCLASociologist Mingon Moore. Untilthen, here's a collection of some of our best episodes from 2011.
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Left of Black S1:E19 w/Hank Willis Thomas January 31, 2011

In this special episode of Left of Black host MarkAnthony Neal is joined by conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas.Thomas' works include Winter in America (2008), Branded(2008), ReBranded (2008), Black is Beautiful (2009), FairWarning (2010) and UnBranded (2010) and he is the author of PitchBlackness (2008). Neal and Thomas engage in a wide ranging conversationabout Black masculinity, urban violence, the export of Black popular cultureand Michael Jackson as well as a walk-thru of Thomas' Hope Exhibitionat the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University.
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Left of Black S1:E23 w/Shana Tucker
February 21, 2011
 

Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal welcomesindependent artist and cellist Shana Tucker into the Left of Black studio at the John HopeFranklin Center.  Tucker and Neal discuss her new fan-financed CDSHiNE and a style of music that Tucker calls "Chamber Soul."

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Left of Black Episode S1:E24 w/Pierre & JamylaBennu & Rebecca Walker March 7, 2011

Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal is joined via Skype byfilmmaker and conceptual artist Pierre Bennu and his partnerand natural beauty care producer Jamyla Bennu.  Laterwriter Rebecca Walker joins Neal, also via Skype, from herhome in Hawaii.
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Left of Black S1:E28
w/ Rosa Clemente and 9th Wonder
March 21, 2011


Left of Black host and Duke University Professor MarkAnthony Neal is joined by Rosa Clemente (via Skype),the 2008 Green Party Vice-Presidential candidate in a conversation about thehistoric Green Party ticket in 2008, contemporary Black activism andHip-Hop.  Later Neal is joined in-studio by Grammy Award winning producer,label head and educator 9th Wonder (Patrick Douthit).

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Left of Black S1:E31
w/ Karla FC Holloway
April 25, 2011


Left of Black host and Duke UniversityProfessor Mark Anthony Neal is joined by fellow DukeUniversity Professor Karla FC Holloway, author the new book PrivateBodies, Public Texts: Race, Gender, and a Cultural Bioethics (DukeUniversity Press).  Neal and Holloway discuss medical racism, the Tuskegeeexperiments and the late Manning Marable's biography of Malcolm X.

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Left of Black S1:E32 w/Aishah Shahidah Simmons & Zaheer Ali May 2, 2011

Left of Blackhost and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined via Skypeby filmmaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons in a discussion of sexual violencein Black communities, homophobia, and popular culture controversies surroundingAshley Judd, Kobe Bryant and DJ Mister Cee.  Later Neal talks with historian Zaheer Ali, one of thelead researchers on the late Manning Marable's Malcolm X: A Life ofRe-invention.
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Left of Black S2:E4 
w/ Julie Dash & Lizz Wright 
October 3, 2011 


Filmmaker Julie Dash joins host and Duke UniversityProfessor Mark Anthony Neal on Left of Black . This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the release of Dash'sground-breaking film Daughters of the Dust which was the firstfeature by an African-American woman to gain national theatrical release.  The film draws on Dash's South Carolina heritage and focuses on threegenerations of women with roots in the Sea Islands and Gullah culture. Dashdiscusses how she became a filmmaker and the challenges she faced along theway.  Dash also reveals her surprising view of filmmaker TylerPerry. 

In the second segment, musical artist and vocalist Lizz Wrightjoins Neal. The Georgia born singer discusses how her family's traditionin storytelling inspired her career as a vocalist.  Wright, whose music isdifficult to place in one genre, talks about incorporating religion into hermusic as well.  Wright also identifies the musicians who influenced herand the inspiration her album artwork.  Finally Wright explains how she'smaintained control of her music.  Wright has released fourfull-length recordings, including the recent Fellowship. 

Left of Black S2:E6
w/ Dr. Kenneth Montague and Kellie Jones
October 17, 2011


Dr. Kenneth Montague, a Toronto-based dentist and the curatorof Becoming: Photographs from the Wedge Collection ,joins Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal atthe Nasher Museum in Durham, Carolina. The Windsor, Ontario born Montague hascollected contemporary art since the 1990s, and was influenced by AfricanAmerican culture from across the Detroit River. Neal and Montague discuss someof the featured artists in the collection including Jamel Shabazz, Carrie MaeWeems, Malick Sidibé, and James VanDerZee, and the importance of collectingBlack Art.

Later in the episode, Neal is joined via Skype© by Columbia UniversityArt Historian Kellie Jones, author of the new book Eyeminded:Living and Writing Contemporary Art.  Neal and Jones discuss her famous parents, Hettie Jones and AmiriBaraka, and her work as curator of the new exhibit, Now Digthis! Art and Black Los Angeles, 1960-1980 at the HammerMuseum in Los Angeles.
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Left of Black S2:E9
w/ Vijay Prashad and Leyla Farah
November 7, 2011

Host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Nealis joined via Skype© by Vijay Prashad , George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History andProfessor of International Studies at Trinity College and author of the recent award winning book The Darker Nations: A People's History ofthe Third World (The New Press, paperback 2008).  Neal andPrashad, discuss the impact of the #Occupy Movement and what role Leftacademics and intellectuals have to play in the movement.

Later Neal is joined by Leyla Farah, author of BlackGifted and Gay which profiles the lives and accomplishments ofthe lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community's livingicons—who  just happen to be of African descent.  Farah is a FoundingPartner at Cause+Effect, a PR firm focusedexclusively on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. 
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Left of Black S2:E13 "Acting White" in the"Post-Black" Era
w/ Professor KarolynTyson and Ytasha Womack  December 5,2011 
 

Left of Blackhost and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joinedin-studio by Professor Karolyn Tyson, Associate Professor of Sociologyat the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of IntegrationInterrupted: Tracking, Black Students, and Acting White After Brown (Oxford University Press).  Neal and Tyson discuss the prevalence ofthe "Acting White" myth as it relates to Black high school students and how themyth obscures the more insidious practice of  "Racialized Tracking" inPublic Education.
Later Neal is joinedvia Skype© by Ytasha Womack, journalist and author of Post-Black: Howa Generation is Redefining African American Identity (Lawrence HillBooks).  Neal and Womack discuss the concept of "Post-Black" and whatimpact it has had on identity formation among the so-called "Post-Black"generation. 

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The Mountaintop? Black Women in Theatre–2011

Stick Fly playwright Lydia Diamond w/ Kenny Leon & Alicia Keys
The Mountaintop? Black Women in Theatre–2011 by Lisa B. Thompson | special to NewBlackMan
We are living through a remarkable moment in Americantheatre history.  As 2011 draws toa close, three productions by black women playwrights are currently onBroadway.  Katori Hall's Olivier Award-winning Mountaintop,Lydia Diamond's Stick Fly and PulitzerPrize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks's adaptation, TheGershwin's Porgy and Bess, have altered the theatrical landscape in ways Inever imagined.  This is a joyousoccasion for theatre lovers, black feminists and those who simply hunger formore diverse voices on the American stage.  While we are far from achieving parity, black women theatreartists are enjoying remarkable success and it's imperative that we mark thisunprecedented moment. I never thought I would live to see this happen, but thenagain, I never thought I would see a black family living in the White Houseeither. 
A 21st-century revival of Shange's iconic play meantI would finally have my chance to see ForColored Girls on Broadway. The fact that it would be directed by an AfricanAmerican woman whose work and vision I deeply I admire made it all the more special.My hopes were soon dashed. The economy soured and the production has yet tomake it to the stage.
Yet despite such setbacks, Black women theatre artistscontinue to thrive; the success of Hall,Diamond and Parks are not the only theatrical triumphs that deserve recognition.Audiences were dazzled by the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winner LynnNottage's bold and imaginative new play, Bythe Way, Meet Vera Stark at Other notable productions of 2011 include the Fulcrum Theater inaugural production (and world premiere)of Kara Lee Corthron's Julius by Design;KirstenGreenidge's Milk Like Sugar at Playwrights Horizons; Premiere Theatre'sproduction of Dominique Morisseau's Follow Me to Nellie's; Esther Armah's Savior? at the Dwyer Cultural Center; Radha Blank's Seed at the Classic Theatre of Harlemand Elaine Jackson's Puberty Rites producedby Woodie King Jr.'s New Federal Theatre.  In Johannesburg, Shirley Jo Finneydirected the critically acclaimed debut of Winnie: The Opera at the South African StateTheatre.  The rich diversity ofthese shows and the strength of this critically acclaimed work reflect thetremendous talents of black women working in theatre today.
A review of this past year in African Americantheatre must also acknowledge a moment of communal organizing. On June 20, 2011seventeen African American theatresparticipated in a national benefit staged reading of Alice Childress's 1955play, Trouble in Mind. I find it remarkably poignant that the artisticdirectors selected a show by a black woman playwright in order to sound thealarm that black theatrical institutions desperately need support.  Childress'sbackstage drama delivers a scathing critique of the ways racism circumscribesopportunities for African-American theatre artists. 
Trouble in Mind remains such a vital work that in September, the ArenaStage in Washington, D.C. mounted a full production. It is essential foraudiences to support the work of institutions, performers, writers anddirectors that create the kind of plays that reflects not only the struggles ofblack people, but also the diversity, complexity, and beauty within the AfricanAmerican community.  As we ring inthe New Year, let's celebrate the richness of African American theatre both onand off-Broadway.  The theatre is amagical space.  We are all enrichedby the new work by black women theatre artists.
I pray that the For ColoredGirls revival will happen soon, but until that day, we can anticipate otherproductions.  In January 2012 DanaiGurira's The Convert will premiere atthe McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, and as a part of Great PerformancesPBS will broadcast Anna Deavere Smith's latest one-woman show, Let Me Down Easy.  While wechallenge Broadway and other cultural institutions to be more inclusive, wemust also challenge ourselves to support the careers of talented black theatre artists–actors,directors and playwrights—as engaged, enthusiastic audience members and, if wecan afford it, as season ticket holders as well. 
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Lisa B. Thompson is Associate Professor of English at SUNY Albany.She is the author of Beyondthe Black Lady: Sexuality and the New African AmericanMiddle Class & the play Single Black Female, which will soon bepublished by Samuel French, Inc. Follow her on Twitter @playprof.[image error]

Death of the Tragic, Scientifically Less Attractive, Unmarriable, Single Black Woman Narrative

Know This! with Ariana :
Tired of the never-ending stories on Black women's married and unmarried lives, the horrendous Psychology Today article about Black women's looks, and the heightened obsession with making a spectacle of Black women that went down in 2011--with the new year I'm officially declaring the death of the "tragic, scientifically less attractive, unmarriable, single Black woman" narrative. Rest in Peace.[image error]

Alicia Hall Moran: Rethinking 'Motown'

ALICIA HALL MORAN, mezzo-soprano, brings diverse influences and passions together in a rich, quintessentially modern artistic brew. Balancing performances in the realms of musical theater (currently understudying Bess/Audra McDonald in The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess directed by Diane Paulus), opera-cabaret (currently the motown project @ The Kitchen, Le Poisson Rouge, Regattabar, etc.), art performance (currently with visual artists such as Joan Jonas, Adam Pendleton, Simone Leigh, Liz Magic Laser), and jazz (most frequently with husband and pianist Jason Moran), while consistently finding outlets for her other love of dance (music for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company's award-winning Chapel/Chapter) and writing (in her weekly classical music column, Suite Sounds, for the New York Amsterdam News).[image error]

I'm Feminist Enough!

Using video and still imagery, the I'm Feminist Enough …project seeks to visualize the fresh face of feminism and demonstrate to our young sisters (and brothers) the value of feminist thought in our daily lives in a manner that is simple, sexy, modern and easy. 
Featuring: Lyani Powers, Hillary Crosley, Leilani Montes, Venus Okeke, Clover Hope and Shantrelle Lewis.  Shot in New York City, 2011.
www.feministenough.com [image error]

Matana Roberts: "Mississippi Moonchile" [video]

Matana Roberts
"Mississippi Moonchile" | Coin Coin
Directed by Radwan Moumneh
...

Matana Roberts channeling her Coin Coin project through the empty streets of Montreal at 5am, summer 2010.

Images filmed and edited on Super8 by Radwan Moumneh.
Sound recorded and edited by Radwan Moumneh, performed by Matana Roberts.

Read about the Coin Coin project on Robert's blog
Read Kismet Nuñez's essay "Sunday Livin': Matana Roberts' Coin Coin"[image error]

Challenging Voter Identification Laws

Letters: Deciding Who is Eligible to Vote | New York Times
The Justice Department was right to invoke the Voting Rights Act and block South Carolina's new law requiring voters to present photo identification. At least four additional states have put new photo identification requirements in place for the 2012 presidential elections — Kansas, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin — and more than a dozen other states have recently considered such policies. 
Our examination of the distribution of photo identification and voter turnout in recent elections suggests that these new photo identification laws will substantially reduce voter turnout. 
Crucially, however, our analysis indicates that these reductions will be concentrated among racial minority groups. According to a 2011 report by the Brennan Center for Justice, only 75 percent of African-American adults possess state-issued photo identification, compared with 92 percent of white adults. Thus, these laws are likely to dilute the influence of African-Americans at the ballot box, and could reshape the electoral landscape in several key races. 
It is perhaps no coincidence that the five states that enacted photo ID laws in time for the 2012 election are controlled by Republican state legislatures and governors, reflecting a distinct electoral strategy to demobilize minority voters. 
Cathy J. Cohen
Jon C. Rogowski 
Chicago, Dec. 28, 2011  ***  Cathy Cohen is the David and Mary Winton Green Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, co-principal Investigator on the Mobilization, Change and Political & Civic Engagement survey, and author of Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of the American Politics
Jon C. Rogowski is a Ph.D. candidate in the political science department at the University of Chicago. [image error]

Why Black Media Needs to Succeed In Digital to Accelerate Innovation

Why Black Media Needs to Succeed In Digital to Accelerate Innovation by Navarrow Wright | HuffPost BlackVoices
African Americans Are Trendsetters
We have always been trendsetters whether it's fashion, gadgets, music, or businesses African Americans have been pioneers in most cases. As I think about my early days growing up I realize that it was because of black media that I always known how we impacted the world. This in turn gave me the confidence to realize that I to could to one day help set trends as well. In times when it was almost impossible to find black images for us to emulate, we found them on black media outlets. Whether is was the Jet and Ebony on your dining room table, The black radio stations that Cathy Hughes created for us with Radio One or Bob Johnson giving us images on the TV with BET. We always had these outlets to help us understand we were making an impact in the world.
The other things that these companies showed us was that there were opportunities for innovation for African Americans in their respective industries. If there was no Jet or Ebony would there have been a Vibe, Source, Giant or Black Enterprise? If not for Radio One we would not have the powerful black music that motivates us today or the strong syndicated voices like Tom Joyner, or Yolanda Adams. And with TV there are too many examples to begin to mention. The point is that the success of these media businesses created an ecosystem of success for African Americans in those areas.
The Digital Problem
So now we are faced with a new wave of innovation, the digital age, which presents it's own set of challenges for African Americans and it's own set of opportunities for black media. We have not had as strong of a showing in black media on the digital front as we have had in more traditional forms of media. I ask you to name 5 products (Not Sites) that exist for African Americans (Web or Mobile) right now. I believe you will be hard pressed to so do so. In the age of Facebook and Twitter these product platforms create opportunities for content to have life of it's own and for the users to become tastemakers and curators. Even the most active content communities recognize that they need these platforms to create the type of engagement and the viral reach needed to make their digital platforms successful. Even mainstream media companies like Conde Nast have seen the need in a product platform to create growth in this age, which explains their purchase of Reddit.
While there is currently no shortage of content sites for African Americans there are currently few product options that cater to African Americans even though sites like twitter have proven we can and will engage in these products in mass. Our users currently get that engagement in these products but still desire for those products to allow the items and topics that are culturally relevant to be front and center. Something those products will never give them due to their mainstream focus.
Multicultural is Not the Same as Black
Part of the reason why these products do not exist is because certain perceptions have been created that have devalued the focus on the African American audience. People now use catch all phrases like "hip hop demographic" or "urban" to encapsulate the black audience. While books like Steve Stoute's Tanning of America have done a great job showing how these subcultures have influenced mainstream America but I would contend that the "tanning" piece of this is due to the innovations coming from African Americans and those terms don't speak to the breadth and needs of African-American culture. Latino focused media companies are currently much more successful at this in the digital space in their ability to create offerings that are both culturally relevant and engaging while also showing the value of their audience's diversity to mainstream consumers and the advertising community.
Why We Need Black Media To Succeed In Digital
With the lack of digital products catering to our audience and the dilution of our audience's unique value proposition, where should we look for that ecosystem to be created? Where we have always looked, Black media. As black media companies are successful in the digital space creating products for this audience they will once again be able to create iconic examples of what success looks in the digital space so that we can encourage other entrepreneurs to model that behavior as they have on other media platforms. This is not a new problem. I've personally been working on this for over a decade during my time at BET and in co-founding Globalgrind.com. But in both of those experiences I've realized that a media company that has both and strong product and a strong media platform is key to accelerating this growth. This is one of the reason I'm excited to be at Interactive One. We have the ability to reach African Americans across three mediums (Radio, TV and Online). We also understand the value and having products to anchor those experiences are in the process of developing a new version of Blackplanet . I am personally spearheading this project and am excited to help revitalize this brand for a new generation. There also needs to be an effort to create a digital entrepreneurship pipeline within our audience as well. Interactive One was sponsor of the NewME Accelerator program, which was featured on CNN's Black in America but that was just one example of the many things we can do and other media companies can do. I believe it's important for us all to push for Black media to be successful in digital. It's important for their future as well as ours.
Follow Navarrow Wright on Twitter: www.twitter.com/navarrowwright
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Navarrow Wright is the CTO of Interactive One. Interactive One is a digital and print media company focusing on the African-American and urban market. As CTO Wright is responsible for the technical strategy of all the Interactive One online properties which include Hellobeautiful, The UrbanDaily, NewsOne, Elev8 and BlackPlanet. He is also responsible for the technical management of the Radio One Network's radio sites.[image error]