Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 61

Conversations in Atlantic Theory • Kaiama L. Glover on 'A Regarded Self: Caribbean Womanhood and the Ethics of Disorderly Being'

'This discussion is with Kaiama L. Glover, she is an Ann Whitney Olin Professor of French and Africana Studies and Faculty Director of the Digital Humanities Center at Barnard College at Columbia University. She has written extensively about Caribbean literature in works such as Haiti Unbound: A Spiralist Challenge to the Postcolonial Canon (2010), and she is the prize-winning translator of several works of prose fiction and non-fiction. Her current project, an intellectual biography titled For the Love of Revolution: René Depestre and the Poetics of a Radical Life. has been supported by fellowships at the Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris and the New York Public Library Cullman Center.  In this conversation, we discuss A Regarded Self: Caribbean Womanhood and the Ethics of Disorderly Being published by Duke University Press in 2021. Our conversation here focuses on championing unruly female protagonists in selected Caribbean literary works and expanding modes of theorization.'

Millennials Are Killing Capitalism: “They Know The Terror” - Dorothy Roberts on Family Policing and Abolition

'Dorothy Roberts is the George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she directs the Penn Program on Race, Science, and Society. The author of four books, including Killing the Black Body, Fatal Invention and Shattered Bonds. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  In this conversation with Millennials Are Killing Capitalism, Roberts to discusses her latest book Torn Apart: How The Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—And How Abolition Can Build A Safer World.  We talk to Dr. Roberts about how family policing or the so-called child welfare system functions within a larger carceral web in the United States. She talks about the geographic zones of family policing and discusses the origins of our family policing system in slavery, settler colonialism and Elizabethan poor laws.'

'Requiem for the Enslaved' Holds a Major University's Truths Up to the Light

'Carlos Simon is a young composer on the rise, with an ear for social justice. His best known work so far, Elegy, is a string quartet in honor of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Next year, a large-scale tribute to George Floyd will premiere with the Minnesota Orchestra, and Simon's new album, Requiem for the Enslaved has just been released. The piece confronts Georgetown University's troubled past and its ownership of enslaved individuals. It follows in the wake of other high profile institutions – including Harvard, Columbia and the University of Virginia – admitting their own past history with slavery.'

Black Baseball Players Struggled Long After Jackie Robinson Broke the Color Barrier

'It's often said that Jackie Robinson opened the door for Black baseball players to enter the majors. But that was just the FIRST door. Turns out, a lot of doors stood between Black players and equality. After Jackie, a new documentary on the History Channel, focuses on three more legends that followed, all with the World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals of the 1960's: Bill White, Bob Gibson and Curt Flood. "What we see in Jackie Robinson is a player first, and then he becomes an activist in his retirement," director Andre Gaines told NPR's Morning Edition. "With Bill, Bob and Curt, it's the sort of first wave in our nation's history of the player-activist, something that we kind of take for granted today".'

Bernard Wright Plays Coltrane, Armstrong, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder

'Recorded shortly before his  death, Bernard Wright plays solo piano versions of John Coltrane's "Naima", Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World", Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are", Stevie Wonder's "Visions" and "Flower Power".'

The Old Man and The Three with JJ Redick: The Grant Hill Interview

'Our guest this week is none other than NBA Hall-Of-Famer and absolute legend, Grant Hill. Topics include: Hazing JJ Redick during his rookie year on The Orlando Magic, exactly why he chose to go to Duke over North Carolina, why he admires Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) so much, being a part of Coach's first National Championship, why JJ Redick was so hated at Duke, great Duke stories about Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley, being named The Next Michael Jordan during his rookie season w/ The Detroit Pistons, playing for The Orlando Magic, almost playing with Tracy McGrady and Tim Duncan, details about his horrific injuries that sidelined his career and the misdiagnosis that came from so many doctors, almost becoming a Los Angles Laker, his admiration for LeBron James and so much more.'

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

'The moment on December 1, 1955, when Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to give up her Montgomery, Alabama city bus seat to a white man, has come to define Mrs. Parks' legacy. It sparked the Montgomery Boycott and galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. But throughout her lifetime, she was involved in the struggle for Black liberation, working for school desegregation and reparations. A new documentary explores these facets of her life: The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. The Takeaway is joined by the documentary's executive director and co-director Yoruba Richen, and Dr. Jeanne Theoharis, who penned the book of the same name on which this documentary is based.'

Over 55, and Not Retired After All

'Early on in the pandemic, economists thought the public health crisis would contribute to a wave of early retirements. However, today, many workers at retirement age have returned to work. Lindsey Pollak joins NYTs writer Ben Casselman on All Of It.'

White Supremacy Group Uses Republican Playbook to Gain Legitimacy

'A nascent neo-Nazi group in New England is attempting to recruit new members by raising its public profile and latching onto Republican talking points that were once considered fringe. Phillip Martin of WGBH reports.'

Destiny O. Birdsong in the Black Writer's Studio

'Destiny O. Birdsong is a poet, novelist, and essayist whose work has appeared in the Paris Review Daily, African American Review, and Catapult, among other publications. Her debut poetry collection, Negotiations, was published in 2020 by Tin House and was longlisted for the 2021 PEN/Voelcker Award. Her debut novel, Nobody’s Magic, was published in February 2022 from Grand Central Publishing.'