Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 765

Jazmine Sullivan--the Visuals for "Forever Don't Last"

Visuals for Jazmine Sullivan's beautiful "Forever Don't Last" from her new recording Reality Show (2015).

Duke’s “Nigger Heaven”

Rather than stand up to the pressures from  forces not interested in inclusion, Duke University chose to relegate fee-paying students and employees who practice Islam to the campus’s metaphoric “Nigger Heaven.
Duke’s “Nigger Heaven” by Mark Anthony Neal | NewBlackMan (in Exile)
One of the most popular pieces of fiction on race published in  the 1920s was Carl Van Vechten’s Nigger Heaven (1926).  A photographer by vocation, Van Vechten was a supporter of and otherwise hanger-on to the Black artists and thinkers who comprised the Harlem Renaissance. Though the novel was basically a pre-reality TV-styled satire of the lives of the Black and Talented, the book’s title was drawn from the well known practice of relegating Black folk to the balconies of churches and theaters in a segregated society.
The goal of such practices was to maintain the illusion of segregation in American society, while being inclusive of taking money from anyone who wanted to spend it. It is the same logic that forced fare-paying Blacks to the “back of the bus.”
I thought about Van Vechten’s novel and its larger implications after Duke University--my employer--reversed its decision to allow the Muslim Call to Prayer to be amplified through Duke University Chapel’s Bell Tower on Fridays--a chapel that was designed by Black architect Julian Abele, who was denied accommodations in Durham, NC because of segregation in the 1930s.
Regardless of the reasons why Duke reversed its original decision--a question best addressed by the University’s leadership housed in the Allen Building, another building designed by Abele--it is a classic example of an institution choosing to embrace the tenets of diversity, inclusion (religious or otherwise) and pluralism, only when it is convenient and profitable for them to do so.

Rather than stand up to the pressures of forces not interested in the very inclusion that Duke claims to value--who irrationally believe that the Call to Prayer was an example of "Muslims taking over"--it chose to relegate its fee-paying students and employees who practice the Muslim faith to the campus’s metaphoric “Nigger Heaven.”

Duke University Scholar Omid Safi on Religious Freedom and the Fear of Islam

Though Duke University has reversed its decision to allow the Muslim Call to Prayer from the Duke University Chapel Bell Tower, Omid Safi , Duke University Professor and Director of Islamic Studies dismantles arguments that suggest such efforts at plurality and inclusivity are examples of "Muslims taking over"

9th Wonder & Mark Anthony Neal's 'History of Hip-Hop' ver. 5.0: "Fear of a Black Planet"

History of Hip-Hop ver. 5.0: Fear of a Black PlanetSPRING 2015Duke University#DukeHipHop
Wednesday 6:15-08:45 pmWhite Lecture Hall 107East Campus
*Classes are Open to the Public*
Instructors:Mark Anthony Neal, Ph.D. | man9@duke.edu | 919.684.3987 | Twitter: @NewBlackMan 9th Wonder (Patrick Douthit) | Twitter: @9thWonderMusic  Course Description
What began as a localized activity designed to provide a safe haven for Black and Latino youth in New York City, has become a global movement with a documented impact on cultural, political and economic realities throughout the globe.  Co-taught by Grammy Award Producer and record label head 9th Wonder (Patrick Douthit) and Mark Anthony Neal, a noted scholar of Black Cultural Studies, the course will examine the organic, social and cultural foundations of Hip-Hop Culture, as well as the key aesthetic innovators/innovations, and the debates that have arisen over Hip-Hop’s increased influence.  As with previous iterations of the course, the thematic center pivots on a classic Hip-hop recording; Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet was released 25 years ago this spring and in line with a current moment defined, in part, by #BlackLivesMatter, we will revisit the groundbreaking recording, which remains one of the most sophisticated commentaries on Race in America produced in US Popular Culture in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries.
TEXTS
Race, Reform, and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction and Beyond in Black America, 1945-2006—Manning Marable That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader (2nd Ed.)—ed. by Murray Forman + Mark Anthony Neal   Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap—Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop—and Why It Matters—Tricia  Rose
Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists—Sacha Jenkins + Elliott Wilson + Jeff Mao + Gabe Alvarez + Brent Rollins + Gabriel Alvarez

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Week 1—January 14 , 2014--“Fear of a Black Planet”Introductions
Week 2—January 21, 2014--“Welcome to the Terrordome”Reading: Race, Reform, and Rebellion-| Marable (3-145)Prologue: the legacy of the first Reconstruction; The Cold War in Black America, 1945-1954; The demand for reform, 1954-1960; We shall overcome, 1960-1965; Black power, 1965-1970; Black rebellion : zenith and decline, 1970-1976
Week 3—January 28, 2014--“Power to the People”Reading: That’s the Joint: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader | Forman + Neal  (9-68)Hip-Hop Ya Don’t Stop: Hip-Hop History and Historiography;  The Politics of Graffiti Craig Castleman; Zulus on a Time Bomb: Hip-Hop Meets the Rockers Downtown Jeff Chang; B-Beats Bombarding Bronx: Mobile DJ Starts Something With Older R&B Disks and Jive Talking NY DJs Rapping Away in Black Discos Robert Ford, Jr.; Hip-Hop’s Founding Fathers Speak the Truth Nelson George; Physical Graffiti: The History of Hip-Hop Dance Jorge "Fabel" Pabon; Hip-Hop Turns 30: Watcha Celebratin’ For? Greg Tate
Race, Reform, and Rebellion | Marable (146-215)From Protest to Politics: The Retreat of the Second Reconstruction, 1976-1982; Reaction: Black Society and Politics During Reagan Conservatism, 1982-1990
Week 4—February 4, 2014--“Burn Hollywood Burn”Reading: That’s the Joint: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader | Forman + Neal  (69-223)No Time For Fake Niggas: Hip-Hop Culture and the Authenticity Debates; Puerto Rocks: Rap, Roots, and Amnesia Juan Flores;  It’s a Family Affair Paul Gilroy; On the Question of Nigga Authenticity R.A.T. Judy; Arabic Hip-Hop: Claims of Authenticity and Identity of a New Genre Usama Kahf ; Lookin’ for the Real Nigga: Social Scientists Construct the Ghetto Robin D.G. Kelley; Hip-Hop Chicano: A Separate but Parallel Story Reagan Kelly; Authenticity Within Hip-Hop and Other Cultures Threatened With Assimilation Kembrew McLeod;  Race…and Other Four-Letter Words: Eminem and the Cultural Politics of Authenticity Gilbert Rodman; Rapping and Repping Asian: Race, Authenticity and the Asian American Oliver Wang
Week 5—February 11, 2014--“Anti-Nigger Machine”Reading: Race, Reform, and Rebellion-| Marable (216-256)Into the Wilderness: The Twilight of the Second Reconstruction, 1990-2001; The New Racial Domain: The Politics of Racial Inequality, 2001-2006
That’s the Joint: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader | Forman + Neal  (225-343)Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City: Hip-Hop, Space and Place; Black Empires, White Desires: the Spatial Politics of Identity in the Age of Hip-Hop Davarian Baldwin ; 'Represent': Race, Space, and Place in Rap Music Murray Forman; Rap’s Dirty South: From Subculture to Pop Culture Matt Miller; Global Black Self-Fashionings: Hip-Hop as Diasporic Space Marcus Perry; Hooligans and Heroes: Youth Identity and Hip-Hop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Alex Perullo; Native Tongues: A Roundtable on Hip-Hop's Global Indigenous Movement Cristina Verán with Darryl DLT Thompson, Litefoot, Grant Leigh Saunders, Mohammed Yunus Rafiq, and JAAS
Week 6—February 18, 2014-- “Who Stole the Soul?”
Guest Lecture: Ron K. Brown | Evidence & Jason Moran -- The Subtle One | Duke Performances
Digital Group Project Workshop
Week 7—February 25, 2014--“B-Side Wins Again”Reading: That’s the Joint: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader | Forman + Neal  (345-433)I’ll be Nina Simone Defecating on Your Microphone: Hip-Hop and Gender; I Used to be Scared of the Dick: Queer Women of Color and Hip-Hop Masculinity Andreana Clay; Cover Your Eyes as I Describe a Scene so Violent: Violence, Machismo, Sexism, and Homophobia Michael Eric Dyson and Byron Hurt; 'The King of the Streets': Hip Hop and the Reclaiming of Masculinity in Jerusalem’s Shu’afat Refugee Camp Ela Greenberg; Scared Straight: Hip-Hop, Outing, and the Pedagogy of Queerness Marc Lamont Hill; Empowering Self, Making Choices, Creating Spaces: Black Female Identity via Rap Music Performance Cheryl L. Keyes; Hip-Hop Feminist Joan Morgan; Butta Pecan Mamis Raquel Rivera.
Screening: Hip-Hop: Beats and Rhymes (dir. Byron Hurt)
Week 8—March 4, 2014 --“War at 33 ⅓” Reading: That’s the Joint: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader | Forman + Neal  (527-730)Looking for the Perfect Beat: Hip-Hop, Technology and Rap’s Lyrical Arts; Bring It to the Cypher: Hip Hop Nation Language H. Samy Alim; Airshafts, Loudspeakers, and the Hip-Hop Sample Andrew Bartlett; Hip-Hop: From Live Performance to Mediated Narrative Greg Dimitriadis; Dead Prezence: Money and Mortal Themes in Hip-Hop Culture James Peterson; Sampling Ethics Joseph Schloss VII. I Used to Love H.E.R.: Hip-Hop in/and the Culture Industries; The Rap Career Mickey Hess; The Business of Rap: Between the Street and the Executive Suite Keith Negus; 'I Don’t Like to Dream About Getting Paid': Representations of Social Mobility and the Emergence of the Hip-Hop Mogul Christopher Holmes Smith;  Black Youth and the Ironies of Capitalism S. Craig Watkins; An Exploration of Spectacular Consumption: Gangsta Rap as Cultural Commodity Eric K. Watts
Week 9—March 11, 2014 -- Spring Break
Week 10—March 18, 2014--“Revolutionary Generation”Reading: That’s the Joint: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader | Forman + Neal  (435-525)The Message: Rap, Politics and Resistance; Intergenerational Culture Wars: Civil Rights vs. Hip Hop Todd Boyd and Yusuf Nuruddin; The Challenge of Rap Music from Cultural Movement to Political Power Bakari Kitwana; Voyeurism and Resistance in Rap Music Videos Jennifer C. Lena; Postindustrial Soul: Black Popular Music at the Crossroads Mark Anthony Neal; My Mic Sound Nice: Art, Community and Consciousness Imani Perry; Rise Up Hip-Hop Nation: From Deconstructing Racial Politics to Building Positive Solutions Kristine Wright
Week 11—March 25, 2014--”Fight the Power”Reading: Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Revolution  | Ogbar (1-71)Introduction; The minstrel reprise : hip-hop and the evolution of the Black image in American popular culture; "Real niggas" : race, ethnicity and the construction of authenticity in hip-hop
Week 12—April 1, 2014--“911 is a Joke”Reading: Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Revolution  | Ogbar (72-181)Between God and earth : feminism, machismo, and gender in hip-hop music; Rebels with a cause : gangstas, militants, media, and the contest for hip-hop; Locked up : police, the prison industrial complex, Black youth, and social control.
Week 13—April 8, 2014--“Brothers Gonna Work It Out”Reading: The Hip Hop Wars | Rose (1-215)Introduction; Part One: Top Ten Debates in Hip Hop: Hip Hop’s Critics; Hip Hop’s Defenders
Week 14—April 15, 2014--“Pollywanacraka”Reading: The Hip Hop Wars | Rose (217-272)Part Two: Progressive Futures
Group Project Work Sessions

Week 15—April 22, 2014
Group Presentations

Still on the One at Age 83: Happy Birthday Grady Tate

Known for his work as a session drummer and a stint on The Tonight Show, Grady Tate has been underrated as a vocal song stylist. The Durham, NC native, who has taught a generation of students at Howard University, is still on-the-one at age 83.  Here Mr. Tate performs "Sack Full of Dreams" from his 1968 recording Windmills of My Mind.

The Story Behind '40 Acres and a Mule'

NPR profiles the story behind General William T. Sherman's "Field Order 15"--the infamous "40 Acres and a Mule"--and the betrayal that occurred in its aftermath.

Arise America: NYC Paying $17 Million for Wrongful Convictions

'New York City agreed to pay 17-million dollars to settle three wrongful criminal convictions in a case involving Robert Hill, Alvena Jennette, and Darryl Austin who served a combined 6-decades behind bars, one of whom died in prison before they were exonerated last May. To talk more about the case, Arise America is joined by civil rights attorney Charles Coleman.'

Common and John Legend Perform ‘Glory’ at the Metropolitan Club

Common and John Legend perform the Golden Globe winning collaboration "Glory" at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. The song is featured in the film SELMA directed by Ava DuVernay.

Left of Black S5:E15: Tourism, Race & Historical Memory in New Orleans

Left of Black S5:E15:  Tourism, Race & Historical Memory in New Orleans

Left of Black host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined via Skype by Professor Lynnell L. Thomas (@llthoma), who talks about her new book Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: Tourism, Race, and Historical Memory (Duke University Press). Thomas is Associate Professor and Chair of American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.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).

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Episodes of Left of Black are also available for free download in @ iTunes U

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Follow Left of Black on Twitter: @LeftofBlack
Follow Mark Anthony Neal on Twitter: @NewBlackMan

Are We on the Verge of a New Era of Civil Rights Protest?

On the latest episode of The Remix (WHYY), host and Lehigh University Professor James Braxton Peterson talks with Gene Demby of NPR's Code Switch discuss the emergence of new generation of social protests.