Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 379

How Bianca Lawson Tackles Her Most Challenging Character Yet On 'Queen Sugar'

'Now in its fourth season, the contemporary drama Queen Sugar, set in Louisiana, chronicles the lives and loves of the estranged Bordelon siblings. In the show, Bianca Lawson plays Darla, a young woman struggling with addiction who desperately seeks reconnection with 6-year-old Blue, her son, and with his father, Ralph Angel Bordelon.' -- BUILD Series

How Kids’ Book ‘Hair Love’ Busts Stereotypes About Black Dads |

'Director Matthew A Cherry sat down with NowThis News to talk about his children's book Hair Love. The book puts Black dads and their babies in a positive light showing Black dads combing hair, and proving to people that Black dads matter. This family friendly book would be a superb addition to any kid's bookshelf and brings a new type of tale to kids book stories. Children's literature has never seen a book like this. Listen to Hair Love read aloud and you'll know it's one of the more original kids books to read. Cherry raised money for a Hair Love animated short film on Kickstarter.'

On Spatial Mobility and Racial Formation in California's Inland Empire

'Chicana/o studies scholar Genevieve Carpio explains how mobility (and its restriction) influenced the formation of racial identity in 20th century Southern California - from the state's maintenance of White supremacy through policing the movement of people, to the ways the marginalized have built lives and spaces in resistance to the dictates of racial heirarchy. Carpio is author of the book Collisions at the Crossroads: How Place and Mobility Make Race from University of California Press.' -- This is Hell!  

Good Gracious! Words Of Wisdom And Soulful Reflection From 'Sweet Papa' Lou Donaldson

'Host Christian McBride sits down with saxophonist Lou Donaldson to talk about Lou's life as a performer, his thoughts on jazz today and how hip-hop brought new ears to his music. The alto saxophonist fondly known as "Sweet Papa," tends to characterize his colorfully sprawling life in jazz as the pursuit of a fundamental aim. "I always had my music geared to the people," he says. "'Cause when I played, I listened to what they were giving me the applause for".' -- Jazz Night In America

The Score Of 'The Last Black Man In San Francisco' Sounds Like No Other In 2019

'The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a whimsical elegy to a fading San Francisco. It features a score by Emile Mosseri that's exuberant and poetic, positioning music front and center in the film.' -- All Things Considered

What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Rape

'Cultural critic Mithu Sanyal deconstructs the often retrograde values at the center of contemporary discourse around sexual assault and sexual boundaries, and calls for a new way of understanding sex, ourselves and others built on self-knowledge, empathy and communication. Sanyal is author of the book Rape: From Lucretia to #MeToo from Verso.' -- This is Hell! 

Black Icons of Podcasting: Bomani Jones

'Bomani Jones is a TV host, sports journalist and producer — and he’s also an early pioneer of podcasting. Aside from his work on ESPN, he also hosts the podcasts The Evening Jones, an audience-driven show about pop culture, and The Right Time, covering sports, culture and social issues. He sits down with host Rebecca Carroll to talk IRL about his journey into the audio platform as part of Black Icons of Podcasting, a limited series with some of the podcasting world’s most influential Black hosts and producers.' -- The Greene Space at WNYC & WQXR

What the First Native American U.S. Poet Laureate Means to Indigenous People

'Joy Harjo is a musician, poet, and member of the Muscogee Creek Nation; she also became the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate.   Harjo has brought poetry to the people, and put her identity as an Indigenous woman at the forefront of her work since she began writing as a college student in the early 1970s. She is the author of eight books of poetry, as well as a memoir, and fiction for young adults and children. Joining The Takeaway to discuss what Harjo's appointment means to them and for the Indigenous community in the U.S. are Kimberly Blaeser, a poet and professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and  Esther Belin , a Navajo artist and poet. Blaeser is also the former Poet Laureate of Wisconsin and Anishinaabe, an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.'

Black Reparations in the 21st Century: Sandy Darity and Kirsten Mullen on the US House Hearings on Reparations

'House Judiciary Committee heard testimony about government reparations for African Americans. For the first time in more than a decade the House held a hearing related to reparations legislation, which was first introduced 30 years ago. Host Frank Stasio speaks with scholars Sandy Darity and Kirsten Mullen about their analysis of the hearing and their upcoming book on reparations: "From Here to Equality: Black Reparations in the 21st Century" Darity is a professor of public policy, African and African American Studies, and economics at Duke University. He also directs the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity. Co-author Kirsten Mullen is a folklorist and the founder of Artefactual, an arts consulting practice.' -- The State of Things on WUNC

Malcolm X and the Politics of Masculinity: with Treva Lindsey, Mark Anthony Neal & Marc Lamont Hill

'Panelists Treva Lindsey, Mark Anthony Neal, and moderator Marc Lamont Hill y discuss Malcolm X and the Politics of Masculinity.' -- Uncle Bobbie's Coffee & Books