Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 181

How Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall Is Shaping The NBA’s Future

'Cynt Marshall, the first Black female CEO in the NBA, took the helm at the Dallas Mavericks in 2018 to help transform the team’s toxic culture. She shares with Moira Forbes how she’s “setting the global standard for diversity and inclusion in the NBA” and opens up on her own personal story of resilience and how it’s made her the game-changing leader she is today.'

The Fight To Preserve Rosenwald Schools

'Aware of the crucial economic role education can play for the descendants of slaves, Julius Rosenwald, a Chicago philanthropist and Sears, Roebuck president, along with Booker T. Washington, the principal of Tuskeegee Institute, worked with Black communities across the south to build more than 5,000 schools for Black children. This story has been largely washed from our nation’s collective memory but some of those 5,000 school houses that Black communities built and staffed, still stand in plain sight. Education Week spoke with scholars and national park leaders about the Rosenwald schools’ history and the fight to preserve their legacy.'

Authors in the Tent: Dennis K. Crosby on the Moral Beauty of Urban Fantasy

'Authors in the Tent is a professionally filmed series of interviews with established and emerging authors conducted in a tent Ona Russell purchased during the pandemic. Inspired by Boccaio's Decameron and the 1001 Arabian Nights, the tent—elemental, ancient, and ubiquitous—serves as a magical backdrop for literary conversation. Russell is joined by Dennis K. Crosby, the Amazon Bestselling Author of DEATH'S LEGACY, his debut urban fantasy novel published in November 2020. A self-proclaimed geek and lover of pop culture, Dennis lives and writes in San Diego, CA. He is currently working on his sophomore novel, tentatively titled, DEATH'S DEBT.' -- Literary Hub

Black America | Representation and Perception: A Conversation with Deborah Willis

'Deborah Willis joins Black America with Carol Jenkins to discuss her latest work, The Black Civil War Soldier, in which she retells the stories of soldiers captured in photos that are rarely reproduced. Also joining the conversation is her son, Hank Willis Thomas, whose powerful works of art continues to capture us and and bring awareness to representation and perception.'

Cornelius Eady and Joe Morton: Brutal Imagination

'Brutal Imagination is a National Book Award-nominated poetry collection and an award-winning play about a White woman who fabricated and falsely accused a Black man, Mr. Zero, of murders that she herself committed. Based on real events, the story is an indictment of how the white imagination views Black men. Join the play’s author Cornelius Eady and Joe Morton, who portrays Mr. Zero in the original Off Broadway play and revisited the role for Audible’s audio production, for a conversation about the legacy and continued relevance of Brutal Imagination.' -- Chicago Humanities Festival

JAZZ NIGHT IN AMERICA | Shemekia Copeland live at Exit Zero Jazz Festival

'The Exit Zero Jazz Festival began in 2012 and occurs twice a year in Cape May, the quaint shore town on the most southern tip of New Jersey, with a lineup combining marquee talent with young musicians from around the country. For singer and eight-time Blues Award winner Shemekia Copeland, Exit Zero was only her second gig in front of a crowd in over a year. "I had already told myself we wouldn't go back to work until 2022," Copeland told Jazz Night in America, "so for me, everything I do the second half of [2021] is a bonus, you know, and I really feel grateful for it".'

Soundcheck: The Strength, Resilience, and Joy of Songwriter Allison Russell

'Nashville-based Montreal-born Scottish-Grenadian-Canadian multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, poet, mother, and runner Allison Russell (Birds of Chicago, Our Native Daughters, Po’ Girl) presents her autobiographical record, Outside Child, which sees her breaking the cycles of abuse and violence and celebrating having found her chosen community and chosen family. These cycles of abuse stretch far back to an enslaved ancestor, about whom she wrote in the song "Quasheba, Quasheba" (written with Our Native Daughters) and those she endured at the hands of an abusive stepfather from a sundown town, as in her songs "Part-Time Poppa" and on "Persephone." Yet, Persephone, the character of myth, embodies spring, renewal and stepping into the light. Which might be a lovely metaphor for Allison Russell's re-emergence on Outside Child.'

The Culture Corner: How Outkast Put Atlanta On The Map As Hip-Hop's New Epicenter

'Years before "Hey Ya!" was a household hit, Outkast released their breakthrough album ATLiens. Correspondent John Morrison returns with a new edition of Culture Corner on how ATLiens set Atlanta on its course to become the new epicenter of hip-hop.'

Dr. Paul Farmer Weighs In On Haiti's Earthquake Recovery

'Heavy rains from tropical depression Grace are the latest impediment to ongoing rescue efforts in Haiti, following Saturday's 7.2-magnitude earthquake. The official death count from the quake is now close to 1,400 with up to 7,000 injured and 27,000 homes destroyed. Many Haitians are still missing. Here & Now's Robin Young discusses the situation with Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health, a non-for-profit that has worked in Haiti since the 1980s creating partnerships with local health organizations. The group has more than 2,500 community healthcare workers in Haiti.'

'The State Must Provide' Is A Lesson On Inequality In Higher Ed, Past And Present

'Journalist Adam Harris, the author of The State Must Provide Why America's Colleges Have Always Been Unequal--and How to Set Them Right joins Fresh Air to explain how the higher education system has been built on an uneven foundation from the start — and how slavery, segregation and racism have stymied Black education.'