Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 727

Soul vs. Soul: "The Beautiful Ones"--Prince + Mariah Carey with Dru Hill (Curated by Shana Redmond)

Nary a cottage industry for Prince covers, but if there was someone to  credibly partake, Mariah Carey would be on that short list--here joined by Dru Hill on "The Beautiful Ones."   
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Ornette Coleman: Jazz Iconoclast + American Original Goes Home

NPR Jazz: "Ornette Coleman was an American icon and iconoclast — a self-taught musician born  in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1930, who went on to win the Pulitzer Prize, the Japanese Praemium Imperiale, two Guggenheims, a MacArthur, honorary doctorates and a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master honor."

50 Shades of Black Music--The Mixtape (Curated by Kwame Phillips)

Policing the Playground and the Pool by Lisa B. Thompson

Policing the Playground and the Pool
by Lisa B. Thompson | Huffpost Impact
Summer is a time for youthful frolicking. Children across the nation are flocking to parks, playgrounds and pools to play and enjoy their well-earned vacation from school. Unfortunately the coverage of the police force's response to black children at a pool in McKinney, Texas this past weekend was a painful reminder that not all children can expect summertime to be carefree. The video reminded me of other incidents both past and present that reflect how excessive force is used to police black children. It was another devastating graphic example of how black bodies continue to be vulnerable to reckless law enforcement officers.

I did not need to see the video to understand that many see black children and teens as rowdy, uncivilized and even violent. It is traumatizing to see their bodies treated with contempt by law enforcement and fellow citizens. It has been widely reported that harsh and disproportionate punishments of black children happen during the school year so it's only logical that those ideas and reactions do not take a vacation during the summer.

The troubling incident in McKinney reminded me of the need to prepare myself for the racial dynamics in outdoor spaces as summer kicks into high gear. For many parents playgrounds, parks and pools are places to let down your hair and let you child run free. I rarely feel comfortable doing so. I must be vigilant for another parent or an authority figure crossing the line and mistreating my child or other black children. This is just one of the hazards of what I call parenting while black. While this is not a scientific study, over the years I have noticed the disparate treatment of black children in these public spaces that are meant to be sites of leisure and recreation.

Many have noted the ways public recreational facilities, and pools in particular, have been central in the battleground for racial integration. While people are no longer throwing chemicals into pools to keep blacks out there is often an unwelcoming attitude. At my local pools there have been many times when I noticed rules being over zealously enforced when black children break them, but ignored when non-black children then do so. I also have observed that authority figures such as camp counselors and life guards speaking caringly to non-black children to correct behavior while they are abrasive with black children. Given this pattern I often find myself speaking to lifeguards about how harshly they address black children and the need to apply rules fairly across the population.

While microaggressions by lifeguards at the pool can be considered a small problem given the other issues facing African Americans today, I think that it's symptomatic of other larger issues. Public spaces should not only be for the privileged. I can only wonder if this kind of treatment and the lack of public pools in neighborhoods with black children is the primary reason black children are more likely to drown than other groups. I believe if all parents helped to equalize the treatment of children there would be less tension and more fun at the pool for everyone.
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Lisa B. Thompson is a playwright and associate professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at UT Austin where she is an OpEd Project Public Voices fellow. She is author of Beyond the Black Lady: Sexuality and the New African American Middle Class and The Mamalogues a new play about black motherhood in the age of anxiety. Follow her @playprof.

Follow Lisa B. Thompson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/playprof

Soul vs. Soul: "Baby I'm for Real"--The Originals + Esther Phillips + After 7

You start with Marvin Gaye doodlin' in his head with multi-part harmonies, like the ones he sang with The Moonglows when he was younger. It would still be a few years before Mr. Gaye had access to the multi-track studio that would allow him to fully realize what he was hearing in his head in the early 1970s with What's Going On and Let's Get It On.  The Originals, who often sang back-up on Motown tracks in the 1960s, were Gaye's laboratory, bringing together those harmonies on  "Baby I'm for Real"(1969) and "The Bells" (1970).  As Laura Nyro and Labelle flipped a brilliant version of "The Bells" on their classic Gonna Take a Miracle (1971), Esther Phillips brought a unique rendering of "Baby, I'm for Real" on her career defining From a Whisper to a Scream (1972).  A generation later, After 7 paid tribute to that era with their own (over-produced) rendition of "Baby, I'm for Real" mashed with Bloodstone's "Natural High."

Beyond College-Ready: Top Charter Schools Support Graduates In College

NPR Code Switch: Many elite charter schools boast of making students from challenging socioeconomic backgrounds ready for college. Now some programs are focused on helping more of those students finish their degrees.

Sarah Jones: One woman + Five Characters + a Sex Lesson from the Future

In this TED performance, Sarah Jones brings you to the front row of a classroom in the future, as a teacher plugs in different personas from the year 2016 to show their varied perspectives on sex work.

#OneWord: 50 Women and Girls from Age 5-50 on the Word 'Feminism'

In their latest episode of #OneWord the folk at Cut Video ask 50 Women and Girls from age 5-50 their thoughts on the word Feminism.

#TheRemix with Dr. James Braxton Peterson: Hip Hop Culture 101

#TheRemix Host James Braxton Peterson and producer Jeanette Woods discuss the evolution of hip hop, from birth to Billboard charts. The music can be traced back to a Jamaican DJ, but the influences that formed what we know today come from African-American musical and folk traditions. Professor Peterson also offers a glimpse of his  hip hop playlist and the tip on old-school spoken word artists.

#McKinney Case Highlights State Violence Against Women

Huffpost Live: A Texas police officer has been placed on administrative leave after a video surfaced of him forcefully arresting and pulling a weapon on a group of black teens. We discuss how this case forces us to recognize state violence as a women's issue too.  Host Marc Lamont Hill is joined by  Emmanuel Obi (@ObiLaw), Attorney, Obi Law Firm; Representing Tatiana Rhodes' family;  Cherrell Brown (@Awkward_Duck) Community Organizer;  Mark Anthony Neal (@NewBlackMan) Professor of African American Studies, Duke University;  Imani Perry (@imaniperry) Professor, Princeton Department of African American Studies.