Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 892

Tell Me More: Hollywood Wants A Piece Of The Action In China's Movie Market

30 Days of ‘Left of Black’: Bomani Jones and Nathaniel Friedman

30 Days of ‘Left of Black’: Bomani Jones and Nathaniel Friedman

I’ve known Bomani Jones for more than a decade, since we were both contributors at Africana.com.  And though these days Bomani is most known for his appearances on ESPN’s Around the Horn, recently signing a four-year-dealwith the network, I’m of the mind of folk like Duke Economist William “Sandy” Darity who believe that Bomani needs to be in a Ph.D. program somewhere; he is quite possibly the smartest person in America writing and talking about sports.  He is for sure one of the funniest talking and writing about sports, as this Left of Black interview from November of 2010 highlights.  His comments about Lebron James are prescient, while his framing of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is worth the price of admission alone.

'Moral Monday' Protests at North Carolina General Assembly

Tom Lassiter
June 3 was designated as the day for citizens from Guilford, Forsyth and Rockingham counties to turn out in force for Moral Monday. Greensboro was especially well-represented as citizens dissented the hard-right turn taken by the General Assembly.

Tell Me More: Black Single Fellas Looking For Long-term Relationship. Surprise?

The Leonard Lopate Show: Dwight Gooden

Major League pitcher Dwight Gooden talks about his memoir of his talent, addiction, and recovery. In  Doc , the Mets’ beloved Dr. K shares the intimate details of his life and career, revealing all the extraordinary highs and lows: The hidden traumas in his family; the thrill and pressure of being a young baseball phenom in New York; his self-destructive drug binges; and his three World Series rings.

Jackson Katz: Violence Against Women—It's a Men's Issue

TEDTalks
Domestic violence and sexual abuse are often called "women's issues." But in this bold, blunt talk, Jackson Katz points out that these are intrinsically men's issues -- and shows how these violent behaviors are tied to definitions of manhood. A clarion call for us all -- women and men -- to call out unacceptable behavior and be leaders of change.

Retro Report: The Tawana Brawley Case

TheNewYorkTimes
In 1988, the nation learned the truth about the alleged crimes against Tawana Brawley, but the shocking story was far from over.

Tell Me More: Cheerios Commercial Leaves Bitter Taste

Courtney B. Vance: In Performance in 'Lucky Guy'

TheNewYorkTimes
The New York Times invited Tony nominees to perform scenes on location in New York. Here, Courtney B. Vance, who plays a newspaper editor in "Lucky Guy," rants about the columnist Mike McAlary.

30 Days of ‘Left of Black’: Farai Chideya and Professor Cathy Cohen

30 Days of ‘Left of Black’: Farai Chideya and Professor Cathy Cohen
If I had role models for how I wanted to function as the host of Left of Black, veteran journalist Farai Chideya would be on that list—a list that would also include the late Gil Noble, Charlie Rose, the late Frankie Crocker, Bev Smith (from her days in the late 1980s on BET), and…Don Imus. I was happy and excited to have Farai  on this Left of Black  episode from November of 2010. When I was transitioning into the world of public writing more than a decade ago, and contributing to Farai’s Pop & Politics site, it was Farai who instructed me on how to write a snappy, punchy lede.

University of Chicago Political Scientist Cathy Cohen is part of my Chicago intellectual family (like my late friend and colleague Richard Iton), and her work, like The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDs and the Breakdown of Black Politics , has been influential on me in terms of thinking about politics—in both formal and informal aspects—around the study of popular culture.  At its core, I’ve envisioned Left of Blackas a vehicle for scholars to discuss their latest book-length publications—I don’t think there was one book that I was more excited to talk about during our first season than Cohen’s Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics .