Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 1093

Reading the Language of Rape Culture

WUNC 91.5
The State of Things | Frank Stasio

Reading the Language of Rape Culture
Wednesday, April 06 2011

Most cases of rape and sexual assault never make the news. But in recent weeks, horrific stories about victims of sexual violence have created national headlines. Some language used in the reporting of these cases and public reactions to them has caused controversy. How we articulate ideas about rape sheds light on American perceptions of violence, gender and race. Host Frank Stasio discusses the language and the law surrounding rape with a panel of guests including documentary filmmaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons; Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of African and African-American Studies at Duke University; Melissa Harris-Perry, associate professor of politics and African-American Studies at Princeton University; and Mary R. Block, associate professor of history at Valdosta State University.

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A New Spin on Duke Debunking the 'Uncle Tom' myth

from Slam Magazine

We're pleased to present Prof. James Braxton Peterson's essay on 'Uncle Tom – gate,' which stemmed from ESPN's Fab Five documentary. He is an Associate Professor of English at Bucknell University and a Duke alumnus. Prof. Peterson contacted us out of the blue and we thought his views were well worth running.

A New Spin on Duke: Debunking the 'Uncle Tom' myth.
by James Braxton Peterson / @JBP2

Now that the men's college basketball season has come to an end I can address some issues/concerns regarding 'Uncle Tom – gate,' that have been festering with me a bit – my own consternation being stoked by numerous queries and solicitations of my opinion on these matters from various friends/classmates within the Black Duke alum community. I am a Black Duke alumnus, class of 1993.

In case you missed it, 'Uncle Tom – gate' commenced after the debut of the ESPN documentary, Fab Five. In the film, Jalen Rose states the following: "For me, Duke was personal. I hated Duke and I hated everything I felt Duke stood for. Schools like Duke didn't recruit players like me. I felt like they only recruited players who were Uncle Toms." Note well here that Mr. Rose is narrating his mindset at the age of 17 or 18 years. He's describing his mental approach and preparation for the Fab Five's first encounter with the Duke basketball team and its much valorized programmatic presence in the NCAA's and college athletics more broadly. For an 18-year-old Rose, the thought of battling Duke on the court was a daunting but welcome challenge.

But the off-court contests, of racial stereotypes, institutional history, recruitment preferences and of class and experiential diversity within the Black community proved to be weighty for his young mind. He was honest if not eloquent in his narrative and I have to say – much like Duke's drubbing this year at the hands of Arizona, I was not upset by it. Instead I absorbed it with the kind of quiet, confident knowledge that being a part of the legacy of Black folk at Duke requires. When winning is the norm (in any competitive arena) the hate that winning breeds becomes a natural part of the public discourse. It is the grassroots response to the top down media love affair with Coach K, Duke's elite institutional status, and those consistently copied Cameron Crazies.

Don't get me wrong. I immediately grasped the anachronistic sense with which Rose deployed the 'Uncle Tom' epithet. For points of clarification please note that the conventional meaning of 'Uncle Tom' — a Black person (usually male) who is a sellout; someone who exhibits self-hate via subservience to white folk and white supremacy. Malcolm X coined the term in his excoriation of those Black folk, even Civil Rights leaders, who he felt chose conciliation over confrontation. This was not exactly the meaning that Rose was going for or achieved. Rose used the term as a means to express his frustration with the racialized and stratified nature of college basketball (then and now), our society (then and now). If we really wanted to 'go there,' we should acknowledge the literary figure of 'Uncle Tom,' that famous, cheek-turning, Christian man in bondage, who was actually quite popular before Malcolm and others transformed him into the signifier of Black anti-black identity.

I certainly understood Rose's remarks as offensive from my perspective as a Black Duke alum, but I did not/do not distinguish the depiction of Duke from the perspective of the Fab Five from the depiction of Duke from the perspective of the early '90s UNLV squad in HBO's Runnin' Rebels documentary from the steady vitriol directed at Duke during this time of year from some of my dearest friends. All paint Duke as a white institutional(ly) Evil Empire – kinda like the way all non-Yankee baseball fans see the Yankees. Say what you want about recruitment preferences, character vs stereotype, etc. – perennial excellence breeds perennial hate. So yes, the loss to Arizona this year still smarts a bit – maybe not as much as Fab Five's losses in their appearances in the final rounds of NCAA tournament play – but there's much consolation in the fact that we'll be back next year and the next year, and the next year… In fact, we've been there so much since I graduated in 1993 (after winning back-to-back championships and being in the Final Four ALL FOUR years of my undergraduate experience) that I don't even fill out brackets anymore – sorry Mr. POTUS. I just put Duke in the winner's slot.

Read the Full Essay @ Slam

Panel: Everyone Isn't Obama: Black Men and Social Policy (Video)

From Center for American Progress

Imminent threats to federal and state budgets have the potential to severely harm a broad range of groups, including African-American men who have long faced barriers to accessing adequate social services. Those living in poverty disproportionately experience negative outcomes related to such areas as employment, education, incarceration, and mental and physical health. Despite the economic and social progress by significant numbers of black men and the symbolism of having an African-American male in the White House, far too many continue to face difficult barriers on the road to well-being and success for themselves and their families. Systems and policies that could help often don't account for their varying needs or completely fail to reach the population.

This discussion will be led by well-respected scholars and social workers, including contributors to the book, Social Work with African American Males: Health, Mental Health, and Social Policy (Oxford University Press, 2010). Panelists will highlight quality research on black males and suggest necessary system and policy reforms.

Copies of Social Work with African American Males: Health, Mental Health, and Social Policy will be available for purchase at the event.


Featured remarks:

Congressman Danny Davis (IL-7)
Michael Eric Dyson, Author, Radio Host, and Professor of Sociology, Georgetown University

Featured panelists:

Waldo E. Johnson Jr., Associate Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago
Charles E. Lewis Jr., Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor, Rep. Edolphus Towns
Michael A. Lindsey, Associate Professor, University of Maryland School of Social Work
Joy Moses, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for American Progress

Moderated by:

Erica Williams, Deputy Director for Progress 2050, Center for American Progress

"God Said"--Anthony David 'Speak Truth to Power' (video)

Anthony Davids video for GOD SAID off of his album AS ABOVE, SO BELOW. A satirical strike at religious zealots and extremists.

Obama Carefully Courts Black Votes with Sharpton

Obama Carefully Courts Black Votes with Sharpton
Jesse Washington, AP National Writer

He avoids race, so the story goes. He can't afford to alienate white voters, black people will vote for him again anyway, so he has little to gain by approaching such a volatile subject.

Yet on Wednesday, President Barack Obama is scheduled to make a foray into racial territory by speaking in New York at the Rev. Al Sharpton's national convention — an early step on the tricky path that Obama must navigate in order to engage black voters who are crucial to his re-election.

On the one hand, there's nothing unusual about a president fulfilling a campaign promise made to a staunch political ally whose radio show is broadcast in 40 cities each weekday. Nor is it odd for Obama, who has spoken to other civil rights groups, to connect with Sharpton, a frequent White House visitor whose fame flows from his aggressive brand of black advocacy.

Aside from the timing of Obama's speech — two days after his re-election bid was made official — Wednesday's events at the National Action Network gathering are heavily political. Obama's top campaign aide, David Axelrod, is to address a special plenary, followed by the secretaries of education and housing, the attorney general and the EPA administrator.

Obama remains highly popular among blacks. In 2008, 95 percent of blacks who voted chose Obama. In a Gallup poll last week, 84 percent of blacks approved of Obama's overall performance, about the same percentage as six months ago.

So why all the attention now?

It's actually harder for Obama to reach out to black voters than it would be for a white president, said Mark Anthony Neal, an African-American studies professor at Duke University, "because there's a narrative that he's catering to a black constituency."

"Obama needs Al Sharpton as a certain kind of surrogate for black voters," Neal said. "Symbolically, his willingness to speak at the convention is a subtle message to black voters that he is paying attention to their concerns.

"Because that's the other side of the narrative ... there is a heavy critique of Obama among black voters for not being cognizant and attentive enough to issues affecting the black community."

A factor in this dilemma is the view among some whites that the president gives blacks favorable treatment. Carol Swain, a Vanderbilt University political science professor and Obama critic, called that view a misperception, but said it was fed by cases like the New Black Panther voter intimidation lawsuit and the Justice Department asking Dayton, Ohio, to lower its police exam passing score because too few black applicants passed.

This dynamic may have made Obama "overly defensive" about race, said Bill Anderson, a host on the Philadelphia black talk radio station WURD.

"But think about it," Anderson said. "If the president speaks to an entire room of white people, nobody says he's alienating society. But if you go to an organization that's dealing with (issues) important to society but from an African-American perspective, all of a sudden, you're a separatist."

That's how some view Sharpton.

As his National Action Network celebrates 20 years of fighting for social change and justice, Sharpton's methods and image have evolved. President George W. Bush publicly praised him for leadership on education, and Sharpton joined arch-conservative Newt Gingrich on a 2009 national tour advocating for better schools.

Six Democratic presidential candidates came to Sharpton's convention in 2007, and Sharpton remembers Obama promising that win or lose, he would return. Now Obama will be the first sitting president to attend.

Yet some still consider Sharpton to be the rabble-rousing, pompadoured agitator of the 1980s who spread Tawana Brawley's unproven claim about being sexually assaulted by white men and, in a separate case, exhorted protests that ended with eight dead at a Jewish-owned store in Harlem.

Sharpton is used to the criticism, even when it comes from black people. "It's a burden you bear gladly," he said in an interview. "I'm doing a job people would rather not see done."

The National Action Network website lists 42 chapters nationwide and claims 200,000 members. In addition to his 40-city radio reach, Sharpton is on satellite radio and leads a weekly Harlem rally.

"I'm probably talking to more people than most activists have ever done," Sharpton said. "I know what's on people's minds, and I'm able to mobilize them."

He also has a strong connection to what Obama adviser and Harvard University law professor Charles Ogletree once called "the streets ... the people who are voiceless, faceless and powerless."

These are the people bearing the brunt of the 15.5 percent black unemployment rate reported in March, up from 15.3 percent in February. The overall national rate in March was 8.8 percent, a two-year low.

The president "is going with Sharpton to show us some support some kind of way," Ilsa Lilly Fields, a black woman, said as she left a West Philadelphia drugstore Tuesday.

Fields made a face when Sharpton's name was mentioned: "He's just loud and always in everyone's business. He's not a helpful person."

But she said Obama was doing the best he could to help blacks: "We're a patient people. We know what Obama has to do. We're just waiting for him to do it."

Swain, the political scientist, said even though Obama has not addressed black issues, blacks remain protective of him — "almost like a member of the family."

"Black people are in many ways worse off today than they have been in decades," she said. "They're worse off than if there was a white president, because a white president has to do something for the black community. Obama doesn't have to do anything."

Across the street from the drugstore, inside Yock's Sandwich-Ville USA, out-of-work plumber Benjamin Ryan said many whites in his union complain that Obama is favoring blacks.

"It's just the way they're raised," said Ryan, who is white. "It's far from the truth, but it's what they're exposed to."

Ryan's wife, Sharletta, who is black, said Obama visiting Sharpton's conference is just "playing a typical game of politics." She approves of his performance as president, but called Sharpton a "race pimp."

Ryan predicted Obama would not get as many white votes in 2012 as he did in 2008, "so getting out the black vote is going to be huge."

Anderson, the talk show host, said Obama's visit sends a message: "This is something I need to do, and (critics) are just going to have to deal with it."

___

Jesse Washington covers race and ethnicity for The Associated Press. He is reachable at jwashington(at)ap.org or www.twitter.com/jessewashington.

Manning Marable's 'Reinvention' Of Malcolm X

from NPR|All Things Considered

Manning Marable's newly released biography of Malcolm X introduces new information that could reshape the widely accepted narrative of the Muslim leader's life.

Marable died on Friday, just days before the book's publication. The African-American studies professor was 60 years old and died of complications from pneumonia. His life's work, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, came out Monday.

The new biography asserts that Malcolm X had exaggerated his early criminal career and had engaged in an early homosexual relationship with a white businessman. The book also claims that some of the triggermen responsible for killing Malcolm X are still alive and were never charged.

Melissa Harris-Perry, an associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, spoke with NPR's Michele Norris about how this affects the legacy of Malcolm X and how his life is taught in the classroom.

R&B Artist Marsha Ambrosius Dishes on Controversial Video

R&B Artist Marsha Ambrosius Dishes on Controversial Video
Tuesday, April 05, 2011| by Eddie Robinson

R&B vocalist Marsha Ambrosius is not your typical diva. Her debut album "Late Nights & Early Mornings" — which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's 200 Albums chart and No. 1 on the R&B Albums chart — features music about passionate romance, bitter breakups and gay suicide.

In her latest music video for her current single "Far Away," the singer showcases scenes of gay bashing and homophobia — subjects that are still taboo in the African American community.

Expanding The Boundaries of R&B

Ambrosius spent the early part of her career as half of a neo-soul duo, Floetry. She's also written hits for Alicia Keys and Michael Jackson, so she's chosen to take some risks as a solo artist.

"Far Away" is a song written by Marsha after a close friend of hers attempted suicide because he was gay. The singer said she realized she was getting into untested territory in the world of R&B.

"It would be easy for me to write a song about a relationship I was in with my boyfriend at the time," said the Grammy Award nominee. "We'd be going through it — fighting, back and forth — and I'm standing in the rain with the big hair and the eyelashes — that's standard! That's all been done before. But for me, I wanted to tell the story that wouldn't be told otherwise."

Read the Full Essay @ WNYC.org

Manning Marable's New Biography Investigates Conflicted Reality of the Civil Rights Leader

from Democracy Now

"Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention":
Manning Marable's New Biography Investigates Conflicted Reality of the Civil Rights Leader

Two decades in the making, Manning Marable's nearly 600-page biography, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, is described as a reevaluation of Malcolm X's life, providing new insights into the circumstances of his assassination, as well as raising questions about Malcolm X's autobiography. Manning passed away on Friday, just days before his life's work was published. To discuss his legacy, we're joined by Michael Eric Dyson, sociology professor at Georgetown University and author of Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X, and also by Bill Fletcher, Jr., a friend of Marable and a longtime labor and racial justice activist. "There were three different sources that had an interest in Malcolm's death, and that's where [the book] becomes very, very important," Fletcher says. "It was the police and the FBI, it was the Nation of Islam, but there were also people in his own organization who resented the trajectory that he was moving. And so, there was this confluence of forces that led to a situation where he was permitted to be killed. And I think that when people read this, it's going to be an incredible eye opener."

The Great Wells of Manning Marable

The Great Wells of Manning Marable
Melissa Harris-Perry | April 3, 2011

We have suffered a great loss in the passing of Professor Manning Marable. As my Nation colleague John Nichols wrote yesterday [1], the coming weeks will be filled with tributes to Manning's life and work. He was, as John says, "one of America's truest public intellectuals."

Manning was an unflinching and breathtakingly prolific scholar whose commitments to racial, economic, gender, and international justice were unparalleled. In decades of weekly columns, hundreds of academic journal articles and a dozen books, Manning has already written his own legacy. But despite the fact that we all have "Manning Marable shelves" in our personal libraries, there are two generations of African-American scholars who will remember him as much for the mentor he was to us as for the research legacy he leaves.

It is still a surprisingly lonely endeavor to be an African-American academic pursuing research on black life. Despite the outward appearance of successful careers, many black social scientists, historians and humanists wage a daily battle for relevance and respect in our departments and on our campuses. The fight begins in graduate school and does not seem to abate even after we have published articles, written books, achieved tenure or garnered professional praise.

In our loneliness and struggle many of us reach out for mentors. It is relatively easy to find senior scholars who will offer encouraging words, well-rehearsed advice and general praise. But Manning managed to do so much more than that. To be a student or a junior faculty member in Manning's office was to wait for the smile. He would listen intently and seriously as you told him about the project you envisioned, the finding you made or a conclusion you'd drawn. As you spoke, his face was a mask of stillness covering a never-resting intellect just below the surface. It was more than a little intimidating to present an idea to Manning. But if he liked what you were up to or thought you had uncovered a promising direction then his face would crack into a broad and compelling smile that made the whole nerve-wracking experience worth it. If you got the smile then you knew you could keep going.

This was only the most surface way that Manning mentored us. As a student of politics and history, he understood that young race scholars faced steep structural barriers and entrenched academic practices that no amount of well-intentioned professional cheerleading could erase. Instead of just telling us we could do it, Manning helped make "doing it" possible.

Read the Full Essay @ The Nation

'Left of Black': Episode #28 featuring Rosa Clemente and 9th Wonder

Left of Black #28
w/ Rosa Clemente and 9th Wonder
March 21, 2011

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

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→Rosa Alicia Clemente is a community organizer, journalist Hip Hop activist and the 2008 Vice-Presidential candidate with the Green Party. She has been a featured keynote speaker, panelist, and political commentator all over the United States. In 1995, she developed Know Thy Self Productions, a speaker's bureau for young people of color.. Clemente is currently working on her first book, When A Puerto Rican Woman Ran For Vice-President and Nobody Knew Her Name and will begin pursuing her doctorate degree in Black Studies this upcoming fall.

→Patrick Douthit aka 9th Wonder is a Grammy Award winning music producer, who has worked with artists like Erykah Badu, Jay Z, David Banner, Destiny's Child, Jean Grae, MURs and was a founding member of the group Little Brother. Douthit is currently the head on the Jamla Record label and It's A Wonderful World Music Group (IWWMG). The Wonder Year, a film directed by Kenneth Price, featuring a year in the life of 9th Wonder will debut later this month at the RiverRun International Film Festival in his hometown of Winston-Salem. In the fall, he will co-teach the course "Sampling Soul" with Mark Anthony Neal at Duke University.

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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.