Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 557

Atlantic Exchange: A Conversation with John Legend and The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates

'Music has long had a special role in American democracy. Protest songs, fight songs, the national anthem and songs of hope, praise and idealism: singing has often defined our historic search for a more perfect Union, and connected us to our common humanity together. In an Atlantic Exchange conversation on the eve of the release of Darkness and Light, singer and social activist John Legend joined The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates to explore the power of music in shaping political discourse.' -- Atlantic Love 

Daughter Of African-American Filmmaker Asks, What Happened To Kathleen Collins?

'Much of the world is getting to know the work of Kathleen Collins - all the more to regret that she's not around to hear the praise. Kathleen Collins was a writer and filmmaker who died in 1988 of breast cancer. She was 46 years old. Her 1982 film, Losing Ground, was one of the first features directed by an African-American woman. It never opened in theaters. But last year, the film sold out at Lincoln Center. And now her first collection of short stories has been published, Whatever Happened To Interracial Love? ' -- NPR

Marching Flute And Fantasy Fiction: The Education Of Lizzo

'The Minneapolis singer and rapper Lizzo spent her early life deep in the Pentecostal church — and shut away from secular music. When she moved to Houston, Texas, everything changed.' -- NPR Music 
 

Up Close with Alvin Ailey Dancers in Rehearsal

'Alvin Ailey dancers prepare for the New York premiere of the final installment of Kyle Abraham’s “Untitled America,” a trilogy about the effect the prison system has on African-American families.' --New York Times

Two Journeys Collide During the Mississippi Freedom Summer

'Emmy-winning director Sam Pollard  discusses his documentary Two Trains Runnin’ which weaves together the political and cultural efforts of two groups of young people during the “Freedom Summer” of 1964. Two groups of musicians and obsessed music fans traveled to Mississippi in search of Blues legends Skip James and Son House, who hadn’t recorded in decades. These quests ended in the volatile state of Mississippi during the protests of the Freedom Summer.' -- +The Leonard Lopate Show from WNYC 

Junot Díaz on the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean Apocalypse

'The fiction writer Junot Díaz  was born in the Dominican Republic in 1968. In 2009, he was awarded an Order of Merit by the Dominican government. But years later he was stripped of the medal, for speaking out against the country’s policies toward people of Haitian descent. In a wide-ranging conversation with David Remnick, Díaz discusses his complicated relationship with his native country and his experiences of xenophobia and racism as an immigrant growing up in America.' -- +WNYC 

Backtalk: Rebranding White Supremacists + The Activism of Standing Rock

'Host Amy Lam and Sarah Mirk talk about how white supremacists have effectively branded themselves as hip "alt-right" folks rather than straight-up racists. They also talk about the ongoing activism at Standing Rock and hear from a youth organizer on the scene in North Dakota.' -- +Bitch Media  

Conversations in Black Freedom Studies: Black Women Radicals Gloria Richardson and Mae Mallory

' The Schomburg Center closed out its 2016 Conversations in Black Freedom Studies series with an important dialogue that paid tribute and explored black women radicals within the Black Power Movement, with a focus on Mae Mallory and Gloria Richardson. Ms. Richardson was in conversation with Dr. Ashley Farmer and recalled pivotal moments in black history, of which she had significant involvement.'
 

#ProfessionalBlackGirl -- Episode 12: Treva B. Lindsey

'Dr. Treva B. Lindsey. Professor. Scholar. Diva Feminist. Wig Whisperer. And #ProfessionalBlackGirl.' -- +Yaba Blay 

Resilient Resources: Pathways to Sustainable Justice with Dr. Sylvia Hood Washington

'Dr. Sylvia Hood Washington is an environmental epidemiologist, environmental engineer and environmental historian with 30 years of research experience working on the impact of industrial pollution on human health and ecosystems. She is a published author of Packing Them In: An Archaeology of Environmental Racism in Chicago, 1865-1954 (2004) and Echoes from the Poisoned Well: Global Memories of Environmental Injustice (2006) and the creator and editor Environmental Justice. She was the first African American historian to study and publish a formal history of environmental injustices in the US in 2006.' -- +Duke Franklin Humanities Institute