Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 45

Conversations in Atlantic Theory • Lindsey B. Green-Simms on African Queer Cinemas

'Conversations in Atlantic Theory talks with Dr. Lindsey B. Green-Simms, a Professor of Literature at American University, Washington D.C. where she teaches classes on film and fiction from Africa and the global South. In this conversation, we discuss her most recent book, Queer African Cinemas, published by Duke University Press in March 2022. Our conversation here examines films produced by and about queer Africans in the first two decades of the 21st century.'

P&G | Queen Collective | Game Changer (dir. Tina Charles)

'Game Changer, by Queen Collective director and producer Tina Charles, and produced by Veronique Bernard. (United States). Tanya DePass, a lifelong Chicagoan and African American gamer, is determined to make the gaming industry more inclusive for everyone, including people like her.   The Queen Collective, launched by P&G, Queen Latifah, Flavor Unit Entertainment, and Tribeca Studios in 2018, is a mentoring and talent development program designed to give women filmmakers of color a platform to share important stories from their unique perspective.'

Code Switch: Into the glittering neon universe of 'P-Valley' with Katori Hall

'The Starz hit show P-Valley takes audiences to a strip club in a fictional town in the Mississippi Delta. Part soap opera, part Southern Gothic, the show focuses on the interior lives of the Black women who work at the club — and the complex social dynamics that shape their lives. On this episode of  Code Switch, we spoke to Katori Hall, the Pulitzer prize-winning playwright and creator of P-Valley.'

An American in Paris: Organist Rhoda Scott's Remarkable Career in Jazz

 'Jazz Night shines a light on an American organist who moved to Europe on a whim and became a jazz superstar. Hear the remarkable story of Rhoda Scott.'

The Truth About Your Food's Expiration Date

'The United States has a food waste problem. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, up to 40% of our food supply goes uneaten every year. That’s in a country where more than 38 million people face food insecurity. Unreliable food date labels are one of many reasons behind this. A 2019 survey found that 85% of people throw away their food based on those labels, but as it turns out, there isn't much science behind them. To learn more, The Takeaway speaks with Yvette Cabrera, Director of Food Waste at the Natural Resources Defense Council.'

'A League of Their Own' Gets a Spinoff

'Thirty years ago the movie A League of Their Own, starring Madonna and Tom Hanks, became a hit. Now, the movie has inspired a spinoff tv series with new characters. Joining All Of It to discuss the new series is executive producer Will Graham, and Abbi Jacobson, executive producer who also stars in the show as the character Carson. A League of Their Own premieres on Prime Video.'

Should Air Conditioning be a Human Right?

 

'Sweltering temperatures continue to sweep nearly every continent this summer, with millions of people experiencing temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Billions of people need air conditioning to combat the deadly heat, which raises the question: Should access to it be a human right? One critique of supplying more air conditioning units is the environmental harm it would cause. Dr. Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines, has been searching for cooling technology that’s both efficient and sustainable. “If you look at an issue where you're going to want to increase the energy demand in developing countries, then we have to go back to the fundamentals of how we design energy systems and how we focus,” he says.'

Ebony and Jet Archives Find a New Home

'For the second half of the 20th century, Ebony Magazine and Jet Magazine were the sources of news and entertainment for the African American community. It was in these magazines, put out by the Johnson Publishing Company, where you could find news and images of Black celebrities, writers, artists, and political activists, as well as snapshots of Black life in our own neighborhoods. The Johnson Publishing Company was founded in 1942 by John and Eunice Johnson. Ownership of the Ebony and Jet photo archives was transferred over to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Getty Research Institute. And as a result, millions of images as well as audio and video recordings from the Johnson Publishing archives will be preserved and eventually available to the public. The Takeaway spoke with Dr. Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress and the first African American and the first woman to hold the post. Dr. Hayden led a board of experts who helped determine where and how to preserve these archives.'

"Why Do Rich People Love Quiet?": Xochitl Gonzalez on Wealth and Silence

'For writer -- and Brooklynite -- Xochitl Gonzalez, the sounds of home are noisy: friends yelling on the street, parents calling their kids, garbage trucks, sirens, cars blasting music. But when she returned to her neighborhood after a few years away, she found a lot of the newcomers who had moved in preferred a quieter landscape. She wrote about it in the essay "Why Do Rich People Love Quiet?" in the September issue of The Atlantic.'

Poet and Activist Naomi Ortiz Talks About Ecojustice and Self Care

'The Ford Foundation and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation announced a new cohort of Disability Futures Fellows. The fellows are supported by a grant designed to spotlight a group of visual and performing artists and writers who live with disabilities. The Takeaway spoke with one of the new fellows, Naomi Ortiz, who is a poet, writer, and visual artist whose intersectional work focuses on self-care for activists, disability justice, climate action, and relationship with place. They are also the author of the book, Sustaining Spirit: Self-Care for Social Justice and the forthcoming book, Rituals for Climate Change: A Crip Struggle for Ecojustice.'