Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 380

'(Some of) The Mechanics of Critique': a Visual Primer on the Hegemony of Enlightenment Era Philosophies and Epistemologies

'“(Some of) The Mechanics of Critique” is an instructional video by Lisi Raskin that unpacks how Enlightenment Era philosophies and epistemologies affect how we engage with the world around us.' -- Hyperallergic

The Race to Save Endangered Foods

'We’re letting foods we’ve eaten for thousands of years disappear from farmers’ fields, and from our plates. Saving them isn’t just a matter of cultural preservation. In the next 30 years, we’re going to need to learn how to feed more people on a hotter planet, and the more genetic varieties we lose, the harder it’ll be to adapt.' --Vox

Meet the Artist: Tomashi Jackson | Whitney Biennial 2019

'In the lead-up to the Whitney Biennial 2019, we visited five artists in their studios to learn more about their work. The second episode of the series features Tomashi Jackson in her studio in Brooklyn, New York, and in Central Park in Manhattan. Her densely layered abstractions feature found materials—paper bags, food wrappers, vinyl insulation strips, and storefront awnings—from a wide range of sources, incorporating art-historical, legal, and social histories. Her works in the 2019 Biennial seek to visualize stories of dispossession and displacement in New York City, particularly of Black and Brown communities. She draws on the stories of Seneca Village, the Black community that was razed in the 1850s to make way for Central Park, and the city's current-day Third Party Transfer Program, which targets paid-for properties in rapidly gentrifying communities across New York, transferring ownership from elderly Black and Brown property owners to developers. Interweaving these narratives visually and challenging the ways in which we see information, Jackson creates dynamic works of clashing complementary hues.' -- Whitney Museum of American Art 

On The Media — Introducing The Scarlet E: Unmasking America's Eviction Crisis

'On the Media's Brooke Gladstone partnered with the Eviction Lab’s Matthew Desmond to investigate the nationwide eviction crisis. Produced in partnership with Pulitzer Prize-winning author and sociologist Matthew Desmond and his groundbreaking national database compiled by The Eviction Lab at Princeton University, “The Scarlet E” tells the story of this largely underreported phenomenon through a blend of data, commentary, and first-person narratives.' -- WNYC

S2.EP7 | Professional Black Girl CHEEKY BLAKK

'Cheeky Blakk. Entrepreneur. Trendsetter. Loud Mouth of the South. Bounce Music Pioneer. Mother of Twerk. Professional Black Girl.'

The Power of Allyship Following Racial Tragedies

'Following the Tree of Life Shooting, leaders from the Pittsburgh community are seeking to find common ground and forge a more just, inclusive future for all Pittsburghers. What does the path forward look like? Rev. De Neice Welch, President, Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network, Betty Cruz, Founder, Change Agency, Emily Pressman, Student, Taylor Allderdice High School, and Alaa Mohamed, Program Manager, The Global Switchboard discuss with Adrienne Green.' -- AtlanticLIVE

With the Juke Joint Festival, a Mississippi city aims to lose its economic blues

'In Mississippi’s Clarksdale, the heart of the rural Delta, a celebration of the blues has been drawing thousands of fans to the area for the past 16 years. The Juke Joint Festival, named for bars and informal music venues scattered throughout the African American South in part as a response to whites-only clubs, has helped revitalize a city whose economy was struggling. Jeffrey Brown reports.' -- PBS NewsHour

Saturday Sessions: Mavis Staples performs "Change"

'Soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples has already won multiple Grammys. But she's not resting on her laurels: she's taking on tribute concerts, a tour, and a brand new album. Staples performs three songs off the new album, We Get By.' --CBS This Morning

Becoming Wise: Ruby Sales on The Inner Life of Social Change

'Public theologian Ruby Sales opens up what it was like to be a teenage participant in the civil rights movement — including the impatience she had with religion and how she circled back, through her experiences of the movement, to a sense of the deep reason for inner life and religious groundings. The question she carries with her, “Where does it hurt?”, models new ways for us to understand one another. Sales is the founder and director of the Spirit House Project. She was recently honored at the opening of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum.' -- On Being Studios 

Farms, Floods and the Disaster Denialism in America's Midwest

'Writer Ted Genoways explores disaster politics, agriculture and austerity in flooded northeastern Nebraska - as the consequences of climate change, neglected infrastructure and Trump's trade war wash over rural America, a new political vision is needed to connect and address the crises leaving lands and lives underwater in the Grain Belt. Genoways wrote the article "River of No Return" for The New Republic .' -- This is Hell!