Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 168

City Infrastructure Must Evolve To Protect Residents From Extreme Heat

'Heat is the number on weather-related killer in the U.S., yet our infrastructure was not built with it in mind. As that heat gets more extreme, cities are rethinking how to adapt.' -- All Things Considered

'We Can’t Afford To Keep Going To Funerals': The Lumbee Tribe Works To Combat COVID Surge

'In Robeson County, about a third of residents are fully vaccinated. As of September 16th, 39% of the county has received a single dose. For members of the Lumbee Tribe in the region, that rate is even lower. As COVID continues to inundate Robeson County, health officials and local leaders are working tirelessly to get more tribal members vaccinated.'

Intersectionality Matters!: The Insurgent Origins of Critical Race Theory

'Over the past year, Critical Race Theory has been increasingly misrepresented by the Right in an organized, widespread effort to stifle racial justice and gender equity, and weaken our multiracial democracy. In response to these attacks, African American Policy Forum held a 5-day Critical Race Theory Summer School in mid-August to educate participants about the origins, principles, and insights of Critical Race Theory, and to chart a path forward. On this episode of Intersectionality Matters! we bring you a conversation that took place on the first day of Summer School, which features some of the leading thinkers in the field of Critical Race Theory. Together, the panelists tell the story of CRT came to be, explore what it teaches us about the world, and discuss it can now help us protect the very existence of critical thinking about race.'

New Young Adult Novel By C.J. Farley Illustrates Kids' Eye View Of The Pandemic

'Here & Now host Tonya Mosley speaks with author and music journalist C.J. Farley about Zero O'Clock, his new book for young adults. The book focuses on a high school senior in New Rochelle, New York, whose preoccupation with college admissions, her father's death and the K-pop group BTS becomes overshadowed by the COVID-19 outbreak.'

Jasmine Crowe: What Can We Do To Tackle Food Waste And Hunger?

'Jasmine Crowe is a social entrepreneur and the founder of Goodr, a startup based in Atlanta, Georgia that is leveraging technology to combat hunger and food waste. Goodr collects surplus food from organizations like Turner Broadcasting Systems, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and others, and redirects that food to nonprofits who distribute the food to people experiencing food insecurity. The company also works directly with cities and governments to purchase quality food for certain communities.'

Millennials Are Killing Capitalism: Ben Fletcher –The Life And Times Of A Black Wobbly With Peter Cole

'Ben Fletcher was among the most successful union organizers in the early 20th century, and a Black leader of the Local 8 union - a component of the Industrial Workers of the World - which organized on the docks in South Philadelphia beginning in 1913. Local 8 of the IWW's Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union, was the most powerful interracial union of its era, and the IWW or the Wobblies were the most radical union organizing in the US in the early part of the 20th Century. Millennials Are Killing Capitalism talks to historian Peter Cole about the life and times of Ben Fletcher, about the successes of Local 8, the repression Fletcher faced as a political prisoner, Fletcher’s relationships to other members of the Black left, and what we know about the successes and eventual demise of Local 8 after a decade of radical union work on the docks in Philadelphia.'

Chicago Humanities Festival: Community Gardens as Neighborhood Resources

'In neighborhoods all over Chicago, community gardens bring people together. They offer beauty and respite, preserve foodways, support well-being and social cohesion, and facilitate neighborhood self-sufficiency. As part of our Neighborhood Initiative, Chicago Humanities Festival and community-based partner organizations on the South Side co-create a morning of conversation and exploration in and around the historic Rainbow Beach Victory Garden. A panel of urban agriculture leaders will discuss the importance of community gardening on the South Side.'

'William Evans and Omar Holmon, co-authors of the book, B...

'William Evans and Omar Holmon, co-authors of the book, Black Nerd Problems, and co-founders of the website of the same name, join All Of It to discuss their new book and their favorite items of pop culture to nerd out on.'

The Unwritten Rules of Black TV

'The Atlantic staff writer Hannah Giorgis grew up in the 1990s, watching dozens of Black characters on TV. Living Single, Sister, Sister, Moesha, and Smart Guy were just a few of the shows led by Black casts. But at some point in the 2000s, those story lines and some of the Black writers behind them seemed to disappear. In a cover story for The Atlantic, Giorgis traces the cyclical, uneven history of Black representation on television. One writer whose career encompasses much of that history is Susan Fales-Hill. She got her start as an apprentice on The Cosby Show, wrote for A Different World, and now is an executive producer of BET’s Twenties. This week on The Experiment, Fales-Hill and Giorgis talk about  how power dynamics behind the scenes have shaped what we watch, what we talk about, and how we understand ourselves.'

Colson Whitehead Returns To His Home Turf With 'Harlem Shuffle'

'Colson Whitehead says his latest novel was inspired by his love of heist movies. The story centers on a furniture store owner who has a side hustle trafficking in stolen goods. Whitehead tells Fresh Air "I was just thinking about how much I like heist movies and thinking [about] how much fun the directors and writers must have put it all together," he says. "And asked myself ... can I do that?".'