Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 110

Left of Black S12 · E11 | How the Transatlantic Slave Trade Changed Black Age with Dr. Habiba Ibrahim

How are African Americans socialized in this society that redefines age, and by extension childhood, for those of enslaved descent? Black children are brutalized by a criminal justice system that does not see them as "children," while fully-grown mature Black men were historically called "boy" by their Caucasian counterparts. Are the attempts at un-aging, and re-aging, Black bodies yet another means of dehumanization? This week, Left of Black creator and long-time host Mark Anthony Neal is joined by Dr. Habiba Ibrahim, Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Washington and author of Black Age: Oceanic Lifespans and the Time of Black Life, published  by New York University Press.

Kiese Laymon on Radical Revision

“It’s hard not to write whack-ass shit if you’re afraid of looking at the parts of yourself and the people around you that you don’t want to look at.”

'Thresholds host Jordan Kisner talks with Kiese Laymon about fear, loving an enemy, trying not to write wack-ass shit, and what it was like to buy back the rights to his first books in order to have them revised and republished.'

 

The Hollywood Reporter’s Blackfamous Roundtable: Loretta Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lynn Whitfield, Larenz Tate and Wendy Raquel Robinson

'Loretta Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Larenz Tate and Lynn Whitfield open up about the power and privilege of being legends among Black fans and how the new Hollywood landscape is making entertainment both less segmented and less intimate: "I want the whole world".'

Tariq Trotter on 'Black No More'

'Black No More is a new musical based on George S. Schuyler’s 1931 satirical novel, about a machine that allows Black people to become white. In the musical, the machine's nefarious inventor, and the show's de facto narrator, is Dr. Junius Crookman, played by Tariq Trotter, otherwise known as The Roots' emcee Black Thought. In addition to starring, Trotter wrote the show's lyrics and co-wrote its music. He joins All Of It to discuss the show.'

"ACT UP, Fight Back" Charlie Frank on AIDS, Resistance, Health and Monopoly Capitalism

'In this episode of Millennials Are Killing Capitalism a conversation with Charlie Frank, an independent Marxist researcher currently studying the history of AIDS in the United States. He is on the general staff of Cosmonaut magazine, a member of St Louis DSA and a candidate member of the Marxist Unity Group. Frank discusses his article in Cosmonaut Magazine, entitled “ACT UP, Fight Back: A History of AIDS in America.” Frank talks about the history of AIDS and how imperialist capitalism or international monopoly capitalism fueled the spread of the AIDS epidemic in the US.'

Former NFL Player Wade Davis on His Journey to Self-Love

'For this installment of the  series Black.Queer.Rising., The Takeaway talks with former NFL player, and current Vice President of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix, Wade Davis about his journey towards self-love and what he’s learned from talking with young people about the different experiences faced by queer youth today.'

Randall Kennedy's Controversial Book on a Racial Epithet Marks 20-year Anniversary with New Edition

'Harvard professor Randall Kennedy first published his thought-provoking book on the n-word 20 years ago. Now, he's out with an anniversary edition and joins Here & Now host Celeste Headlee to talk about it.'

Catherine Russell: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

'The celebrated jazz singer, Catherine Russell, performs a selection of popular early Jazz standards at the GB Juke Joint Studio. Russell, a Grammy Award-winning vocalist, is one of the most recognized jazz artists performing today. Behind the mic, her satiny voice is robust and relaxed, and it's clear she and the band are having a ton of fun.'

WRITING HOME | American Voices from the Caribbean: “collective” | episode 06 with Tiphanie Yanique

“We are a collection of all the stories that have been passed down to us.” – Tiphanie Yanique

'Award-winning writer and Virgin Islander Tiphanie Yanique joins Kaiama Glover and Tami Navarro on this week’s episode of WRITING HOME. Tiphanie beautifully answers (and evades) our hosts’ questions about the relationship between poetic form and place, balancing beauty and pragmatism, and addressing racial inequality through participation in the publishing industry. Tiphanie hints at the themes that preoccupy her in her upcoming book Monster in the Middle – American colonial identity in the Caribbean, the impact of motherhood on her writing, and the nuns and mermaids she plans to somehow include in a future novel.' 

Conversations in Atlantic Theory • Lindsey Stewart on The Politics of Black Joy: Zora Neale Hurston and Neo-Abolitionism

'A conversation with Lindsey Stewart, who teaches in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Memphis where she writes and publishes on issues of politics, race, sex, and gender in the African American philosophical tradition. She is the author of the book The Politics of Black Joy: Zora Neale Hurston and Neo-Abolitionism, published in late-2021 by Northwestern University Press and which we discuss in this episode. We cover questions of Hurston as philosopher, the place of Black joy in theorizing Black life in an anti-Black world, and how The Politics of Black Joy opens up new horizons of philosophical thinking and the African American intellectual tradition.'