Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 53

"Menudo: Forever Young" Cements the Legacy of the Puerto Rican Boy Band

'Formed in the 1970s, the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo were a powerful cultural force across Latin America, and, eventually, for Spanish speaking audiences worldwide. The group’s founder, Edgardo Díaz, employed a strategy of phasing out older members once they entered their later teens, and replacing them with younger ones, so that the group could continue indefinitely. The new HBO Max documentary Menudo: Forever Young, co-directed by Kristofer Ríos and Angel Manuel Soto, traces the rise of the group and also examines the allegations made by several former members that Díaz physically abused them. Díaz has denied those allegations. The Takeaway speaks with Ralphy Rodriguez, former member of Menudo and current singer and bass player for the band Veinte/Ochenta and Ríos.'

The Limits with Jay Williams: Dapper Dan on Hip-hop and Fashion, Harlem History and Constant Reinvention

 

'Host Jay Williams talks to legendary fashion designer, Dapper Dan. For over five decades, "Dap" has revolutionized the way hip-hop and fashion have influenced each other, dressing the likes of Eric B. and Rakim, LL Cool J and Salt-N-Pepa. He also always makes sure everything goes down in his native Harlem, where Williams met up with him. At 77, Dap thinks like a historian, relating everything he has made to the musical and cultural movements of the time. He tells Jay how Harlem has evolved, how he's managed to always look forward, and who he sees as this generation's successor to his vision.'

'The Center for Cultural Innovation’s AmbitioUS initiativ...

'The Center for Cultural Innovation’s AmbitioUS initiative is a national five-year pooled fund that encourages alternative uses of capital to help artists and cultural communities achieve financial freedom. The initiative provides funding to creative and culturally focused enterprises addressing wealth-building and ownership disparities in communities of color. It supports leaders like Memphis’ Asana Troutman, who is working to bring new life to the Historic Clayborn Temple, the organizing site of the Sanitation Workers’ Strike of 1968 that brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis. Dr. King was assassinated the following day. The Temple, rooted in history as a place for labor organizing, is now undergoing renovation with hopes of bringing restoration to a Memphis neighborhood and honoring the people who made it matter. Troutman has created a first-of-its-kind cooperative ecosystem of businesses and services in Memphis to confer ownership and power into the hands of Black community members through a cultural lens.'

My Body Was Screaming at Me: How Depression Saved Omisade Burney-Scott’s Life

'As a Black woman in America, Omisade Burney Scott always relied on her well-curated, bold vibe to keep her appearing successful and feeling accepted in this world. But when menopause hit in her late 40’s, she found herself in a deep depression that had her body screaming at her to get back to her IDGAF 10 year old self, unmasked, unencumbered by the need for external validation, and not yet scarred by the effects of colorism. Now at 54, Omisade is only speaking to herself with kindness and learning to feel valuable and loveable without any facade, even when she feels like a “hot diggity mess.” In her menopausal rebirth, she has taken the courageous step of leaving her more traditional career, gifting herself space to heal, and paying it forward to her community through the launch of her organization, Black Girls Guide to Menopause (@blackgirlsguidetomenopause). Watch Omi’s video and get a dose of how medicinal it is to let your curated vibe crumble and be “sweet to your damn self”.'

How Black NFT Artists are Inheriting the Legacy of Hip-Hop and Jazz

'Every year, people from around the world pilgrimage to a leafy Harlem brownstone on E. 126th Street in hopes of conjuring history. It was there in 1958 that 57 jazz icons, from Thelonious Monk to Dizzy Gillespie, gathered to take a now-iconic photo for Esquire Magazine. Forty years later, hip-hop royalty including Rakim, Grandmaster Flash, and A Tribe Called Quest crowded on the same steps for XXL Magazine, staking their claim as generational inheritors of Black artistic excellence. In June of 2022 a new group ascended the steps in the hopes of inserting themselves into the same legacy: Black NFT artists.'

Running While Black: We Run Brownsville

'Watch episode 2 of Running While Black, VICE TV's 3-part series in partnership with Adidas. This episode features We Run Brownsville, a Black women's running group that is working to revitalize their Brooklyn community.'

 

America ReFramed | Any Given Day: Chicago's Mental Health Court

'In Chicago's Cook County, people living with mental health have an option to participate in a mental health court program over jail time. One of those individuals is Daniel who is hoping to thrive but there is much work to be done. In Any Given Day,Filmmaker Margaret Byrne follows Angela, Dimitar and Daniel, three Chicagoans participating in a specialized court probation program, as they manage their respective mental illnesses while searching for stability in their families, friendships, jobs and housing.'

Recipe For Change: Amplifying Black Women | Tabitha Brown Talks Colorism & Texturism

'In this clip from Youtube's Recipe For Change: Amplifying Black Women, Tabitha Brown talks about her hair journey and how she's overcome colorism and texturism on her way to stardom.' 

Talib Kweli & Karen Bass On Mayoral Race, Jan. 6th, Roe v. Wade, Activism, NRA

'In this episode of People's Party With Talib Kweli, Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with politician, social worker, activist, and 2022 Los Angeles mayoral candidate Karen Bass.'

Welcome to Freedom...Georgia

'In 2020, friends Ashley Scott, Renee Walters and Laura Riley-Cooper pooled their money to buy 502 acres of in a rural area of Georgia. Their goal? To create a haven for Black people in the wake of the upheaval caused by the pandemic and police brutality. They've since recruited 19 families to work together to build a town from scratch. They’re calling it Freedom, Georgia. But before Freedom can become a town, it needs infrastructure, governance and an economy. We speak with Freedom co-founder Ashley Scott about the town's goals and challenges, and Dr. Teruko Mitsuhara, an anthropologist at the University of California Los Angeles, about what Freedom can learn from historic attempts to build utopian communities.'