Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 222

The Daughters of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X on Inheriting a Legacy

'Dr. Bernice King and Ilyasah Shabazz join Into America with Trymaine Lee to talk about carrying on their parents’ activism.'

Busting Myths And Building Resiliency: Esperanza Spalding Talks With Lara Downes

'Esperanza Spalding, the self-described "athletically creative" bassist, vocalist and composer searches for origins and originality while writing an opera with jazz giant Wayne Shorter.'-- Amplify With Lara Downes 

Conversations In Black Freedom Studies – Sounds of Freedom: The Music of Black Liberation with Hanif Abdurraqib, Shana Redmond and Ricky Vincent

'Black music has been a powerful force, expressing joy, pain, and speaking truths to a global audience. In this program, we will look more deeply into the history and politics of Black music through examining the career of singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson, discussing the music of the Black Power movement, and by exploring the trajectory of the iconic 1990's hip hop group, A Tribe Called Quest. The discussion features authors Hanif Abdurraqib (Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest), Shana Redmond (Everything Man: The Form and Function of Paul Robeson), and Ricky Vincent (Party Music: The Inside Story of the Black Panthers' Band and How Black Power Transformed Soul Music).'

Coffee & Books with Marc Lamont Hill: Anthea Butler Discusses 'White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America'

'On this episode of Coffee & Books, host Marc Lamont Hill sits down with Anthea Butler, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, to unpack her book White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America. The two dive into what it means to be an evangelical and the power and clout they have, writing about faith in public.'

Left of Black S11 · E26 | Davarian L. Baldwin and the Damage Universities Are Doing to American Cities

We perceive universities as serving the greater good of providing education to our young people as they prepare to enter the workforce and contribute to society. But according to Professor Davarian Baldwin, the Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, there is a whole insidious network of finances that major universities are using to literally change the face of our modern cities and to contribute to ongoing gentrification. In this episode of Left of Black, host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal discusses with Professor Baldwin his latest book, In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities, published by Bold Type Books.

Glynda C. Carr: Black Women’s Leadership During the First 100 Days

Credit: Laylah Amatullah Barrayn

Black Women’s Leadership During the First 100 Days

by Glynda C. Carr | @glyndacarr | special to NewBlackMan (in Exile)

 

In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched the tradition of assessing the first 100 days of new leadership when during a speech he offered it up as a good point for reflecting on the status of the newly implemented New Deal. The series of laws, which were quickly-passed under his new administration, aimed to end the Great Depression and get the country back on its feet. There is a parallel between the desperate mood of the country 88 years ago when Roosevelt took the reigns and when President Joe Biden took leadership this past January in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, a worsening economy and rising racial tensions. One major difference, however, is that there is now a long-overdue focus on the role of Black women in righting the ship.

 

Black women voters and political activists were on the frontline of the effort to elect President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris--candidates who overcame long-held biases about age, gender and race to win their offices. As we assess the work of this historic leadership team at its 100 days mark, it’s also a good time to take a look at how--in light of their growing political influence and visibility--Black women are faring in our efforts to break glass ceilings, increase their presence among the ranks of political and civic leadership, and effect policy.

 

If recent political history has reminded us of any truth it’s that progress towards equity and justice doesn’t travel in a straight line. Black women’s efforts to diversify elected leadership have encountered significant resistance, and their achievements in one legislative branch have sometimes resulted in giving up ground in another. For example, Stacey Abram’s nearly successful bid for Georgia governor and Black women’s increased representation in Congress during the 2018 election triggered a rash of voter suppression bills. This year--following Black women’s historic gains as mayors, in the U.S. House and on the presidential ticket--legislative bodies in 47 states have introduced 361 bills aimed at curtailing the voter access measures that are frequently used by Black communities to cast their ballot. And while Black women crashed through a glass ceiling when Harris was sworn in as vice president this January, they are consequently now devoid of representation in the U.S. Senate.

 

Despite these challenges, Black women have made unprecedented gains in occupying elected positions and governmental appointments during the first 100 day of the new leadership that their votes helped to usher in. In addition to Harris’ historic breakthrough, Black women have again increased their numbers in the U.S. House of Representatives; eight Black women are currently serving as mayors of large cities, including Atlanta, Boston, St. Louis, San Francisco and Washington, DC; the most Black women ever are serving as cabinet and senior staff members in the presidential/vice presidential administration; and Biden has nominated three Black women to serve on the Federal Court of Appeals.

 

Assessing how Black women have fared in the first 100 days isn’t simply a matter of determining whether they’ve had increased opportunity to step into leadership roles. It’s also about whether they’ve been able to steady the ship during critical moments as well as advance policies and solutions that are reflective of what voters and communities want and need.

 

For years, Black women and their allies have argued that greater diversity in government brings not only representational parity but also more effective solutions.Today, we can see multiple ways that Black women’s increased political power is allowing them to show up in important ways. As vice president, Harris has advanced her quest to end disparities in Black women’s maternal health outcomes. She also has cast more early-term tie-breaking votes in the Senate than any other vice president, facilitating passage of bills to support the country’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and the confirmation of a defense-policy cabinet member. Now, she has been tasked with finding solutions to the nation’s border crisis, an issue that she previously took on as California Attorney General.

 

Black women’s leadership is showing up in other areas of government as well. In the wake of former police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder of another unarmed Black person, Rep. Karen Bass is leading the national effort to end police brutality through her sponsorship of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Bill H.R.7120 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. New York Attorney General Leticia James and Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis are pursuing their investigations into the Trump administration’s likely financial and election abuses despite a waning interest in the difficult work of holding the former president accountable. In New York City, newly appointed School Chancellor Meisha Porter is taking on the challenging job of dismantling intractable desegregation of the city’s public school system.

 

These recent gains are the result of years of work to make space for Black women’s voices and leadership. Still, some areas of leadership have remained elusive. No Black woman has served on the U.S. Supreme Court and their absence in the Senate means Black women and the issues they champion lack deeply informed representation in two of the federal government’s three branches. Additionally, no Black woman has ever served as governor. There are opportunities on the horizon to close these gaps, however, including a gubernatorial race in Virginia in 2021 and a possible run in 2022 by Stacey Abrams for Georgia governor. Black women are also eyeing possible Senate runs in.n Florida, North Carolina and Ohio, and Biden has committed to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court should the opportunity present itself.

 

While the first 100 days have offered a promising hint of how Black women’s increased participation at all levels of government can benefit the country, the push to finally and permanently remove barriers to their leadership in all areas of government must continue far beyond these early days. 

 

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Glynda Carr is President and CEO of Higher Heights is the only national organization providing Black women with a political home exclusively dedicated to harnessing their power to expand Black women’s elected representation and voting participation, and advance progressive policies. For additional information please visit: https://www.higherheightsforamerica.org. 

The Lost Recordings Of Hasaan Ibn Ali Reveal A Legend Just Getting Started

"For decades, most of what jazz scholars have known about the late, Philadelphia-based pianist and composer Hasaan Ibn Ali came from a single 1965 album – The Max Roach Trio Featuring the Legendary Hasaan. That recording didn't exactly establish the idiosyncratic musician as part of jazz's new vanguard, but it did gather enough attention to prompt Atlantic Records to try a follow up – and that second recording, made in the late summer of 1965, has been the stuff of rumor ever since. Long thought to be lost, this album, entitled Metaphysics, was discovered in 2017 and has just, finally, been released." -- All Things Considered

Journalism Professor Allissa Richardson: Stop Showing Violent Police Videos

'Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with University of Southern California journalism professor Allissa Richardson about her essay, "We Have Enough Proof," in which she argues for a moratorium on the public airing of videos showing the deaths of Black people at the hands of police.'

How Systemic Racism Continues To Determine Black Health And Wealth In Chicago

'There is a 30-year gap in the life expectancy of Black and white Chicagoans depending on their zip code. On average, residents of the Streeterville neighborhood, which is 73% white, live to be 90 years old. Nine miles south, the residents of Englewood, which is nearly 95% Black, have a life expectancy of 60. Journalist Linda Villarosa says the disparity of life expectancies has its roots in government-sanctioned policies that systematically extracted wealth from Black neighborhoods — and eroded the health of generations of people. She writes about her family's own story in the New York Times Magazine article, Black Lives Are Shorter in Chicago. My Family's History Shows Why.' -- Fresh Air

Reclaiming Their Roots: CBS News Producer Rodney Hawkins Discovers Ancestor in Slavery Archive

'CBS News producer Rodney Hawkins digs deep into his family's past with the help of the Lone Star Slavery Project at Stephen F. Austin State University.'