Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 556

Norman Lear on The Early Genesis of African-American Sitcoms

'Norman Lear's comedies captured uncensored attitudes at the emerging intersection of race and culture, and early programs like The Jeffersons would go on to inspire new generations of writers.' -- +WNYC  

Rachel Shabi: If Fascism Arrived Tomorrow, Would We Recognise It?

'Rachel Shabi ask, are we complacent? Would we miss the signs if fascism was appearing under our noses? She argues that today’s climate, with the far right resurgent around the world, gives us cause to be more vigilant than ever.' -- +The Guardian 

Dealing With White Fragility on The Internet Fusion with Luvvie Ajayi

'Writer Luvvie Ajayi explains how she responds to white fragility. "Me being very pro-black sometimes is not me being anti-white."' -- +Fusion 

Jay Smooth: Getting Back to Work. But What, Now is the Work?

'What questions are you asking about your work, in this new Trump reality, that you never asked before? What have you figured out so far?' -- Jay Smooth 

It Only Takes One White Man: Why I'm Not Surprised by the Mistrial in the Walter Scott Case

It Only Takes One White Man: Why I'm Not Surprised by the Mistrial in the Walter Scott Caseby Lauren Whiteman | @Lwhiteman_9 | NewBlackMan (in Exile)
Black people all over this country are tired, but after slavery, sharecropping, Jim Crow, Reagan, the New Jim Crow, and Trump…we can’t exactly say we are surprised. Surprise is what white liberals feel when they are reminded that fighting class inequality while ignoring racism is in the service of maintaining white supremacy. This ain’t that.
Michael T. Slager, the police officer charged with killing Walter Scott, was not convicted because one of the twelve jurors on the case didn’t feel he could confidently he could say the officer was guilty (Apparently watching a man murdered on video wasn’t strong enough evidence).
No, we are not surprised. As Ta-Nehisi Coates said on Twitter, “When the DA sounds like the defense, [one] can't really be surprised by a mistrial.” Yet, we are surprised by the fact that the North Charleston police department was not standing by the officer. If all the extrajudicial shootings of unarmed Black men by since 2013 were a movie, that piece of information would be the plot twist we didn't see coming. Yet, despite all this (the video, the police department’s distancing from the officer, the public outrage) the jury was still unable to reach a verdict—and all I can do is shake my damn head.
Many black folks are emotional like Carl Thomas these days. We go from numb to angry and back to numb. Sometimes there is a sadness that feels empty; a sense of heaviness that’s somehow that’s begun to feel hollow. These are all contradictions that don’t seem possible, but, nevertheless, feel real all the same.
We know what’s next: conversations about how he shouldn’t have run away; discussions about how the officer felt fearful. Perhaps CNN will have another town hall, and maybe they can get Jesse Williams to attend so Black folks can feel excited. Black folks love Jesse Williams. I love Jesse Williams. CNN loves ratings.
There might even be a seminar hosted by a local church teaching Black boys and girls how to interact with the police without getting killed--or maybe a police officer will stop by another playground for a photo op with a Black boy that will be racially profiled and arrested a few years later.
At some point, a pastor of a multicultural church will talk about prayer. Indeed, prayer can be helpful, but prayer isn’t everything. If you ain't talking about justice, then you can miss us with the “Just a little talk with Jesus” clichés. I ain’t here for those “just pray about it” comments…at least, not today.
In The Future of The Race, Cornel West said, “the first difficult challenge and demanding discipline is to ward off madness and discredit suicide as a desirable option.” West said that 20 years ago, and not much has changed. Walter Scott had his back to the police officer and was running away with his hands up and was still shot and killed.
We were taught to be respectful of authority. We were told that if we were wronged that the justice system would make things right. However, it is clear that no matter what we do, the color of our skin communicates hostility and precludes the possibility of justice. Even if we are not perfect in our compliance with law enforcement, even if we are engaged in illegal activity, we deserve to be treated with the decency American citizens should expect from those who have taken a vow to serve and protect.
Walter Scott was born in this country, he served in the military, but he was not a full citizen. He was a second-class citizen. And a jury just confirmed that for us.
Fuck.
Shit hurts, fam. But what else is new?
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Lauren Whiteman, M.Ed., is an Assistant Director of Student Life and Coodinator for African American Student Programs and Services at the University of Oklahoma. She serves as the advisor for African American Student Life, the Black Student Association, and the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Lauren’s work focuses on the miseducation of Black and African American students in higher education, advocacy, and student development.

TimesTalks: 'Moonlight'-- An Evening of Music and Conversation

'The groundbreaking film Moonlight has been heralded as a vital portrait of contemporary African American life and an intensely personal meditation on identity, family, friendship and love. Moonlight’s director, Barry Jenkins and cast members, Naomie Harris and Andre Holland discuss the increasingly relevant and timely issues at the intersection of race, sexuality, and masculinity. The film’s composer Nicholas Britell, who also wrote the score for The Big Short, has put together a compilation of music from the film that he will perform, accompanied by violinist Tim Fain.' -- +TimesTalks  

Black Lives Matter Cofounder Opal Tometi on Navigating Trump's America

'In an op-ed for Mic, Opal Tometi, cofounder of Black Lives Matter, shares her thoughts on what to do in the wake of Donald Trump's victory.' -- Mic
 

The Free Press: How a War on Truth Threatens Democracy with Wesley Lowery

'It’s no coincidence, says Wesley Lowery, that freedom of the press was one of the first things that the U.S. founders enshrined in the Constitution. It was people of that time’s ability to report on and openly discuss their situation that sparked the revolution. It became clear then that a free press is the ultimate safeguard for democracy. “We love, as a culture, to attack messengers when the message is something that makes us feel uncomfortable,” says journalist  Lowery, whose latest book is They Can't Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement.'-- +Big Think   

Left of Black S7:E8: The Future of Black Electoral Politics in Trump’s America

Left of Black S7:E8: Hidden Figures -- The Future of Black Electoral Politics in Trump’s America
On this episode of Left of Black Political Scientist Kerry L. Haynie  joins host Mark Anthony Neal in a discussion of the 2016 Election season and the impact of its outcomes on Black and Latino/a voters across the nation and in the state of North Carolina.
Haynie is Associate Professor of Political Science at Duke University where he directs the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Social Sciences and co-directs the Duke Council on Race and Ethnicity. Haynie is an editor of the journal Politics, Groups, and Identities as well as the author of New Race Politics in America: Understanding Minority and Immigrant Politics (with Jane Junn) and African American Legislators in the American States.

Left of Black is a weekly Webcast hosted by Mark Anthony Neal and produced in collaboration with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University and in conjunction with the Center for Arts + Digital Culture + Entrepreneurship (CADCE) and the Duke Council on Race + Ethnicity
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Follow Left of Black on Twitter: @LeftofBlack

The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America: Ibram X. Kendi & Brenda Stevenson in Conversation

'Despite myths of a postracial world, racism is alive and well. In Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, an “engrossing and relentless intellectual history of prejudice in America” (Washington Post), the historian and 2016 National Book Award winner Ibram X. Kendi traces the arc of antiblack racist ideas from 15th-century Portugal to the founding of the United States, arguing that we must confront the history of racist ideas in order to grapple with racism’s insidious hold on America. UCLA Professor of History Brenda Stevenson joins Kendi in conversation.' -- The Hammer Museum