Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 339

Left of Black S10:E9: LaKisha Simmons and Black Girls Studies

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Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal (@NewBlackMan) is joined in the studio by Dr. LaKisha Simmons (@ProfLSimmons), an associate professor of history and women’s studies at the University of Michigan. She is the author of Crescent City Girls: The Lives of Young Black Women in Segregated New Orleans (University of North Carolina Press 2015), which won the SAWH Julia Cherry Spruill Prize for best book in southern women’s history and received Honorable Mention for the ABWH Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award for the best book in African American women’s history.  

What Is The Relationship Between Black Comedy & Activism?: Extra Credit with Dr. Mark Anthony Neal

In this #ExtraCredit, Mark Anthony Neal, the James B. Duke Professor of African & African American Studies, discusses the legacy of comedian Dick Gregory and the role that standup comedy played in impacting race relations in the United States. Professor Neal teachers the course "Dick Gregory and the History of Black Humor" at Duke University, which is supported by a generous gift from the Estate of Jenny Lillian Semans Koortbojian.

"Baldwin's Nigger": A Conversation with James Baldwin and Dick Gregory (1968)

'A 1969 conversation with writer James Baldwin and humorist Dick Gregory in London about the Black experience in America and how it relates to the Caribbean and Great Britain. Directed by Horace Ové.'

Art & Design in Chicago: The Wall of Respect

'It had a short and contentious existence, but the Wall of Respect has an outsize influence and importance. In 1967, a group of African American artists formed the Organization for Black American Culture – OBAC, which sounds like the Yoruba word for chieftain. Inspired by ongoing civil rights struggles and the emergent Black Power movement, the Visual Arts Workshop of OBAC decided to collectively paint a mural celebrating African American heroes on the side of a building at 43rd Street and Langley Avenue.' -- WTTW

Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business

'At 93, there’s no stopping when it comes to the legendary artist Betye Saar. A self-proclaimed “recycler,” Ms. Saar has been creating assemblage art for decades. The objects in her work reflect her very personal visions of nature, spirituality and ideas addressing equality and a new kind of African-American representation. By taking a derogatory caricature like Aunt Jemima and outfitting her with weapons, Ms. Saar transforms her into an image of power and certitude. Learn more about her story, in her own words, in the short documentary above.' 

Black Music Honors: Avery Wilson, Tony Terry and Tevin Campbell Tribute to Freddie Jackson

'Avery Wilson, Tony Terry and Tevin Campbell join forces to deliver a medley of throwback hits in honor of Black Music Honors Honoree, Freddie Jackson.' 

Is D'Angelo's 'Voodoo' The Perfect Album? A Conversation with Questlove and Rick Rubin

'On the Broken Record Podcast with Rick Rubin and Malcolm Gladwell, Questlove talks about how he got involved with D’Angelo’s Voodoo record, the process of it, and Rick Rubin shares that it's one of the greatest albums of all time to him.' -- Bringing Down The Band

Looking Back On A 'Decade Of Fire'

'In the 1970s, a string of devastating fires would help make the South Bronx a symbol of urban decay. In her documentary Decade of Fire, co-director Vivian Vázquez Irizarry, who grew up in the South Bronx, tries to dissect and counter that negative image through a personal lens. The documentary analyzes how the city, state, and federal governments abandoned the Bronx in the 1970s, and how despite the fact that black and Latino residents suffered the most, they were also the ones blamed for this catastrophe. Maria Hinojosa talks with Vázquez Irizarry about how that negative image came to be, the residents that rebuilt the neighborhood, and the new challenge of gentrification.' -- Latino USA

On The Frontlines Of Autism Research: North Carolina Professors Study Early Detection, Treatment

'Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill say they can detect autism spectrum disorder before it manifests in some young children, and they’re even developing treatments for some of the conditions that go hand-in-hand with autism. Professors Mark Zylka and Joe Piven work among more than two dozen scientists at UNC focused on autism spectrum disorder, and the National Institutes of Health have given the two more than $15 million combined in the last year alone.' -- Here & Now

'Franchise' Tracks The Rise And Role Of Fast Food In Black America

'History professor Marcia Chatelain's new book, Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, tracks what she calls the hidden history of the relationships between the struggle for civil rights and the expansion of the fast food industry.' -- All Things Considered