Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 542

January 24, 2017

Death + Sex + Money: Mahershala Ali on Faith, Love and Success

'Mahershala Ali just earned his first Oscar nomination for his role in Moonlight. Months ago, he and his wife Amatus told Death, Sex and Money how they balance their marriage, faith and careers.'-- WNYC

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Published on January 24, 2017 12:43

Princeton Professor Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. Talks Race and Racism After the Obama Administration

'Princeton University Professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr. joins us to discuss his new book, Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul , which examines race in the United States at the end of the our first black presidency. He discusses the murders of black youth by police, the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act and race-based income inequality, arguing that our country was founded on a “value gap” in which white lives are valued above others.' -- WNYC | Leonard Lopate Show

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Published on January 24, 2017 12:33

Revisiting Duke Ellington on a Turquoise Cloud: Jazz Vocalist Candice Hoyes in Conversation with Mark Anthony Neal

Revisiting Duke Ellington on a Turquoise Cloudby Camille Jackson | @Camille225 | special to NewBlackMan (in Exile)
Jazz vocalist Candice Hoyes will join Professor Mark Anthony Neal for public talk Thursday
 <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">When classically trained jazz vocalist Candice Hoyes sings, she loses herself in the music, giving herself over to the communal experience of connecting with fellow musicians and the audience through storytelling.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">“I’m not listening to myself. What you hear in my voice is what I hear in them playing. I’m thinking about what I’m saying,” says Hoyes, a soprano who recently released her debut album, “On a Turquoise Cloud.” </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This Thursday, <b>Jan. 26</b>, at Duke University, Hoyes will join Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of African and African American Studies and English for a conversation about Ellington’s legacy and its relevance to the Black Lives Matter movement.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">“<b>Revisiting Duke Ellington in the Era of Black Lives Matter</b>” will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Ahmadieh Family Lecture Hall, Room 240, of the John Hope Franklin Center (2204 Erwin Road). It is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the clinic parking lot across the street. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">The independent U.S. release, “On a Turquoise Cloud,” interprets the rare songs of Duke Ellington, which she unearthed through extended research in the Smithsonian’s National Archives. Many of the songs have not been recorded since the originals of the 1920s and 1930s.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">Hoyes has called upon many influences to create her debut album. She studied sociology at Harvard before earning fellowships at both the Boston Conservatory and the Westminster Conservatory of Music. She later toured with the Jazz at Lincoln Center, performing alongside mentor Wynton Marsalis.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">Why Duke Ellington?</span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">“Because I have something highly personal that I can say through his compositions. I can embody it -- heart, mind and voice. His compositions are so rich and fertile. It has a luxury to it, very shimmering and lush. I would also say it’s challenging – for me as a performer, but also for the audience,” Hoyes says. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">The songs Hoyes found in the archive, such as ‘Creole Love Song,’ had been specifically written for a black woman’s voice. Ellington first recorded them with vocalist Adelaide Hall and then again later, for Kay Davis. Hoyes thought the classical style of singing was fascinating, but could not find the sheet music for the recordings because the songs had been out of circulation for so long and no one was singing them. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">“When I found these songs, it was the first time I felt seen and acknowledged this fully in a piece of art. They embraced me,” Hoyes says. “I wanted the songs to live together because I think they make a statement. They are both classical and soulful and they are not contained by any one genre.”</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">Hoyes likes connecting with young people to show them that an artist can draw from all of his or her influences and they should value their individuality. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4b4f56; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">“I really am an educator and I’m enthusiastic about young people asserting their individual perspective,” Hoyes says. “It’s important to create with a sense of responsibility and with great care, but also without limiting yourself before you can stretch and share with the world.”</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></span></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></div>

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Published on January 24, 2017 05:52

Fusion: Why We Don't Call People The 'Blacks' + The 'Whites'

'What's wrong with using "blacks" and "whites"? A lot. This turns these words into nouns, when they should be used as adjectives. Also, adding “the” has a distancing effect that divides and objectifies people by design, and misrepresents and reduces millions of people's lives and experiences. Here's a breakdown of our style guide, and why the words we use matter.' -- +Fusion

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Published on January 24, 2017 05:05

"Where do we go from here?" -- Nina Turner on the Women’s March in D.C.

'The former Ohio state senator and Sanders delegate Nina Turner says her biggest concern is how to sustain the synergy from the grassroots.' -- +The Real News Network

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Published on January 24, 2017 04:51

Gloria Steinem & Harry Belafonte: Still Carrying A Torch for Activism

'Feminist icon Gloria Steinem and Social Activist Harry Belafonte discuss the past, present, and future of activism.' -- +TIME

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Published on January 24, 2017 04:39

January 22, 2017

This Black Gun Club Is All About Open Carry

'The Huey P. Newton Gun Club, named after the co-founder of the Black Panther Party, advocates for armed self-defense against police brutality. It was established in Dallas, Texas, in 2014 Shot by video journalist Katina Parker for +AJ+'

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Published on January 22, 2017 20:22

Martin Luther King, Jr. as an Aging Radical Theologian: The Later King (part two)

Martin Luther King, Jr. as an Aging Radical Theologian: The Later King (part two)by Charles Bane, Jr. | NewBlackMan (in Exile)
"He who has been earnest in the love of knowledge must have thoughts immortal; if he attains truth, and in so far as human nature is capable of sharing in immortality, he must altogether be immortal." -- Plato
Virtually every scientist can explain to a layman the hundreds of thousands of genetic locks that must be opened and their contents set into place before every individual-- rare, unique and never again to be duplicated-- can be born. To this add the uncertain flow and shadows of history that preceded him and the genius of Martin Luther King, Jr. becomes apparent as something akin to the divinity he studied.
No sacred text of Christianity existed until three centuries after the death of Jesus of Nazareth. Until then, early Christianity expressed in Aramaic stories and sayings ( many now lost or discarded) that only later were to gel into a written document and "new covenant" of a faith borne from Judaism. It was written in the language of learning, Greek, but because the world was Rome, the Gospels were translated into Latin. This guaranteed that the illiterate faithful would only know of Christianity what the politically powerful Roman Catholic Church wished them to know.
Today, we scoff at the idea that men and women ( especially women) could be denied access to religious writings in their own native tongues- but the censorship of the Church was almost benign in comparison to the slaveholders of white America who did everything in their power to keep Africans religiously disarmed. It was no use. For Africans, the Christian Gospels fused them to the spirit of enslaved Israelites who were singled out for favor by Providence.
Martin Luther King Jr. was electrifyingly more than the sum of his parts. He was more than the Black Theology studied by the distinguished James H. Cone whose seminal 1969 "Black Theology And Black Power", defined a religious movement that advocated recasting salvation as a direct concern of Christ for the dispossessed, unheard and powerless.
And in 1977 Cone wrote, "I think the time has come for Black theologians and Black church people to move beyond a mere reaction to white racism in America and begin to extend our vision of a new socially constructed humanity in the whole inhabited world... For humanity is whole, and cannot be isolated into racial and national groups." But more than a decade earlier, against all advice, King had publicly called for an end to the Vietnam War.
If he had lived, it is impossible to believe that Martin Luther King, Jr. would not have thrown himself into learning ancient Greek, his heart tasked with a new translation of the Christian Gospels. It is impossible to believe that this work would not ask of the future a single, pointed question: We were enslaved, and Christianity gained our souls. Are we not an Elect?
+++
Charles Bane, Jr. is a poet and activist.

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Published on January 22, 2017 18:33

Inside Black Lives Matter's Inauguration Day Protest

'Take a look inside a Black Lives Matter protest on Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C. — where activists are gearing up for four years of resistance to President Donald J. Trump.' -- .Mic

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Published on January 22, 2017 10:50

Radical Imagination: Jazz and Social Justice

“Our best musicians in the jazz tradition were radical imaginers,” says Samora Pinderhughes. A pianist and composer in his mid-20s, he has asserted his connection to that lineage with The Transformations Suite, an earnest and ambitious new work combining music, words and visuals. The piece, which took five years to chisel into shape, was inspired by African-American resistance and protest movements, and the oppression that many still endure.' -- +Jazz Night in America

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Published on January 22, 2017 05:55

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