Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 35

Director Sacha Jenkins on 'Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues'

'The documentary, Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues, uses archival footage and home recordings to paint a new portrait of the founding father of jazz. Director Sacha Jenkins joins All Of It along with Ricky Riccardi, consulting producer and director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens. The film is now streaming on Apple TV+.'

Uncovered: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

'New York Times-celebrated ensemble Catalyst Quartet commences their trio of performances from their project, UNCOVERED, with a concert dedicated to the compositions of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.  New York Philharmonic principal clarinetist Anthony McGill joins the ensemble. WQXR’s Terrance McKnight hosts.'

"Black Skin, White Masks" at 70: A Public Conversation with Lewis R. Gordon and Corey D. Walker

'A public conversation with distinguished philosopher Lewis R. Gordon, Professor and Department Head, Department of Philosophy, University of Connecticut, on Frantz Fanon's classic text Black Skin, White Masks"published in 1952. The Conversation is moderated by Corey D. Walker, Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities.'

Left of Black S13 · E6 | Abolishing the Child Welfare System with Dorothy E. Roberts

 

When we think of foster care in the U.S., we hope to see it as a system that is in place to protect the safety of at-risk children who are in abusive homes, providing a way out. However, according to  Dr. Dorothy E. Roberts, the George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania,  this is sadly, disturbingly not the case when it comes to Black households. Statistics show that 1 in 10 Black children will be removed from their homes at least once before they reach 18 years of age. Is this the families' fault or is this indicative of a larger imprint of white supremacy inherent in our social services? In this episode of Left of Black with host Mark Anthony Neal, Dr. Roberts discusses her new book, Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families--and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World (Basic Books).

Conversations in Atlantic Theory • Elodie Silberstein on Animality & Humanity in French Late Modern Representations of Black Femininity

'Dr. Elodie Silberstein (she/her), an artist and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Pace University (New York City, United States) joins Conversations in Atlantic Theory.  Her research focuses on the representations of femininity in the visual landscape – from fine art to mass media – as a prism through which to map issues of social justice in a globalized world. She investigates the way these depictions have reflected social, racial, and environmental inequalities at a geopolitical level. Her first monograph examines the evolution of the depictions of black femininity in French visual culture. Drawing on a broad spectrum of archives extending back to the late 18th century – paintings, fashion plates, prints, photographs, and films – Animality and Humanity in French Late Modern Representations of Black Femininity (Routledge) traces the ways a patriarchal imperialism and a global capitalism have paired black women with the realm of nature to justify the exploitation both of people and of ecosystems.'

Thresholds: Saeed Jones on Evergreen Grief

'Poet Saeed Jones joins Thresholds' Jordan Kisner to talk about the long-term experience of grief, the intensity of writing from the point of view of another person, and the unexpected trilogy of his first three books.'

A brush with... John Akomfrah

'Ben Luke talks to John Akomfrah about his influences—including writers, musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Akomfrah was born in Accra, Ghana, in 1957 but has been based in London since he was a child. From his early years with the Black Audio Film Collective to his recent works as a solo artist, he has explored major issues—including racial injustice, colonialist legacies, diasporic identities, migration and climate change—through a distinctive approach to memory and history.'

In Her Shoes: Jurnee Smollett’s Not Waiting for a Seat at the Table

'Jurnee Smollett has been on screen since before she could talk. Her career spans three decades, from sitcoms, to thrillers, to feature film. She’s done it all and she’s only 36. In 2022 she starred in the Netflix film Spiderhead alongside Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller. In her another 2022 film, LOU, she plays a desperate mother on the hunt to find her kidnapped daughter. On this episode, she talks about her journey through Hollywood and breaking through being pigeon-holed in her career.'

Voices in Equity: How COVID-19 Continues to Affect Higher Education with Dr. Adam Hollowell

'LIVE from the Fuqua School of Business, Dr. Adam Hollowell provides inside access to his Global Inequality Research Initiative course, as he discusses Chapter 10 of The Pandemic Divide, "COVID-19, Higher Education, and Social Inequality".'

Santigold: Tiny Desk Concert

'Santigold performs her genre-straddling R&B and electro-pop in a set that returns to her DIY, punk roots. Santi White (Santigold) has been revising and reinventing her sound for two decades now. Everything about this set feels like the culmination of hard work, from the custom arrangements to the singer's hair/hat combo, an architectural marvel that warrants closer inspection.'