Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 907

Left of Black S3:E24 | Gun Violence, Rape Culture & the Assault on Voting Rights

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Times; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -</style><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Left of Black S3:E24 | Gun Violence, Rape Culture <span style="color: blue;">&</span> the Assault on Voting Rights</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Host and Duke University Professor <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mark Anthony Neal </b>is joined, via Skype, by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Akiba Solomon</b>, Managing Editor of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://colorlines.com/">Color... Magazine</a></i>, and journalist and activist <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://kevinalexandergray.com/"&... Alexander Gray</a></b>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Solomon is the coeditor with Ayana Byrd of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Black-Wom... Black Women Bare All About Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips, and Other Parts</a>. </i>Gray is the author of <i><span style="font-family: Times;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Lightni... style="font-style: normal;">Waiting for Lightning to Strike: The Fundamentals of Black Politics</span></a></span></i>. He is the managing editor of <a href="http://thenewliberator.wordpress.com/... New Liberator</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">***</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://leftofblack.tumblr.com/"&... style="font-family: Times;">Left of Black</span></a><span style="font-family: Times;"> is a weekly Webcast hosted by Mark Anthony Neal and produced in collaboration with the </span><a href="http://jhfc.duke.edu/"><span style="font-family: Times;">John Hope Franklin Center</span></a><span style="font-family: Times;"> at Duke University.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">***<br />  <br />Episodes of <b><span style="font-family: Times;">Left of Black</span></b>are also available for free download in @ </span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/l... style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">iTunes U</span></b></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>

Randall Kennedy on the Accomplishments of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Duke Law School
Randall Kennedy, the Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School, will deliver a five-part lecture series on the modern history of the civil rights movement at Duke Law School during the spring 2013 semester.

The lectures, to be delivered Feb. 13 and 14, March 28, and April 8 and 9, will address the major legislative and legal achievements of the civil rights revolution, including the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, and cases that contributed to symbolic and substantive changes in U.S. law and culture. Kennedy's lecture is supported by the Robert R. Wilson Fund at Duke University and is part of Duke University's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the undergraduate program's desegregation.

Jasiri X Responds to Rosa Clemente's Call for Men in Hip-Hop to Stand Against Rape

1HoodMedia
Hip-Hop artist/activist Jasiri X speaks out against Rick Ross's song "U.O.E.N.O. (You Ain'T Even Know It)" in which he says, "Put molly all in her champagne/ She ain't even know it/ I took her home and I enjoyed that/ She ain't even know it." and the culture of rape in America.

Decoded: Rapsody--"In the Town"

Life + Times
Jamla Records emcee Rapsodybreaks down her single "In The Town" – spinning a tale about the vicious cycle of prostitution and the importance of positive female role models to break the cycle – from  her debut album, last year's The Idea of Beautiful.

New Knee-Gro Radio Format Proposal: Tea Party + Hip Hop

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They can riff for 4 hours each day on the virtues of combining assault weapon distribution with Gangsta Rap. The show logo would consist of Emmett Till's face with a target superimposed over it.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">—“Date Rape 2013" – Starring superstar Florida rapper/date rape advocate Rick Ross and Congressman Todd "God's Will" Aiken (R). A weekly conversation with two nationally recognized "rape experts," about both religious and non religious based date rape strategies. The strategies will cover both the pre/post rape process and no abortion under any circumstances are permitted.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">—“Teen Baby Mama Drama" – Co-hosted by the nation's two most famous advocates of "jail bait motherhood," future tea party presidential candidate Bristol Palin and American Idol superstar Fantasia Barrino. Once again, any discussion of abortion is off the table. Produced by Levi Johnsto<span style="font-size: small;">n.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">—“Voucher  Madness" – hosted by  90's hip hop music expert Congressman Paul "Voucher King" Ryan (R). Theme song for the show will be "Hip Hop For When Your Welfare Check Doesn't Pay Off."</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">—“Wetback " – Hosted by Alaska Congressman Don "Freedom Fighter" Young(R) and 2000's hip hop expert Marco "Latin King" Rubio (R). This show focuses on the twin growing influence of Latin Hip Hop and the Latino vote (at the same time.) To be broadcast live daily from Wasilla, Alaska, <span style="font-size: small;">and w</span>ho knows who might show up to "drop some rhymes" during the show (hint, hint).</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Of course this programming will air on the Interstate Radio network of "Knee-gro Radio Queen/Gangsta Rap Promoter" Cathy Hughes.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">This programming should be a great way for Republican Tea Party members to make a significant contribution to the Reince Prebus strategic "minority outreach," that he recently announced.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;">***</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;">Bob Davis is co-owner/creator (with his brother Mike) of the award winning <a href="http://www.soul-patrol.com/">.... Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/kozmicfunk&quo...

MHP Show: Free Angela & All Political Prisoners with Director Shola Lynch

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Melissa Harris Perry talks with Shola Lynch, director of Free Angela and All Political Prisoners.

The Bad Woman: A Review of Tyler Perry’s Temptation (Spoiler Alert)

The Bad Woman: A Review of Tyler Perry’s Temptation (Spoiler Alert) by Ebony Utley | special to NewBlackMan (in Exile)
Tyler Perry’s Temptation gets a lot right in its portrayal of infidelity, but it gets a lot wrong in its portrayal of the main character, Judith. Infidelity is certainly not a new topic for Perry. You can pretty much pick a movie and someone is cheating inside his storylines. But Temptation is the first film of Perry where infidelity drives every aspect of the plot.
Brice and Judith fall in love when they are mere children. They marry when they are teenagers. The world happens to be a hard place. They are poor adults. Future years of unfulfilled dreams pave a path of resentment for Judith. Brick by brick, she follows the path out of her current life and into the strong arms of a wealthy, dark, handsome, dangerous stranger. Marrying young, accruing resentments, neglecting your partner, and having workplace opportunities are all contributing factors to infidelity. In the brief moments that we see Judith actually talking about relationships, her observations and advice are accurate. I’m not mad at the way Perry presented infidelity in the film. I’m not mad that the story was about a woman’s infidelity. I am mad at how Judith was punished for being bad.
Judith’s badness exists in stark contrast to her husband’s goodness. Brice is a good Negro. He works hard, he’s cautious about everything—work, sex, conflict, and life in general. He doesn’t have money or material things but loves his wife even if he doesn’t pay her a whole lot of attention. He’s a good man. In fact, Judith tells him exactly this before she breaks his heart, Tyler Perry style. Cue one of his angry Black woman scenes.
Judith, on the other hand, is bad even in a blouse buttoned to her chin and a wrinkled skirt to her ankles. She’s unwomanly in contrast to the women at work. She doesn’t care about appearances. She’s cold to her client. She’s impatient with her husband. Since she’s always thinking about the future, she can’t quite seem to appreciate what she has. And despite her dissatisfaction, she passively mentions her concerns but doesn’t fight for herself. I watched Judith on the big screen and wanted to be nothing like her.
Until she falls for Harley. With him, she expresses her righteous indignation. She stands up for herself. She makes plans to open her business. She becomes sexier. She is no longer a bad example of womanhood; she’s a badass. But her newfound agency is tainted by drugs and alcohol. Judith walks with confidence, money, and power only because another man gave it to her. The representation of Black femininity that I wish I saw more of, is presented as a facade. When Judith is at her most assertive, she’s battered for finding her voice. Perhaps, she would have died had her good Black man not come back to rescue her. Cue the entrance of a well-chiseled working-class back man from a Tyler Perry movie here.
It’s difficult for me to see Temptation without seeing Perry’s other films as context. Similarly assertive characters like Judith have also been punished for not being good girls. But being beaten is not the extent of it. Judith also contracts HIV. In the trailer, Judith’s mother warns, “He gon take you straight to hell.” After seeing the movie, am I supposed to interpret that hell on earth is having HIV? Harley’s ex-wife also had HIV and she declared (presumably because of it) that she would never find love again. Both arguments are wildly disrespectful to all the positive people living fulfilling lives.
In addition to reminding women that if they have an affair they may catch HIV, Temptation conveys three other problematic missives.
1. Your authority (even as a relationship expert) will be tenuous as long as you listen to your feelings. 2. The path to hell is paved with desire. 3. Women deserve punishment for their poor choices even if those choices have some good outcomes.
Judiths watching the film learn that choosing to prioritize your authority and recognize your desires (both of which are good) will lead to punishments on par with going to hell.
Ironically, nothing happens to Harley—the man who gave her HIV. He’s never mentioned again after Judith’s rescue. There are no consequences for his spread of the disease. Presumably he disappears with his talent, wit, charm, and money to seduce another woman.  At the end of the film, Judith is alone and lonely, slightly hobbled and beaten down by life. Dressed überconservatively and on her way to church, she watches her ex-husband with his new wife and child.
The message is that men deserve their desires; women do not. Everything Judith learned about herself during her affair is seemingly undermined and undone in the face of her losses. Before and after the affair, she was never quite good enough. I concede that Judith finally got her marriage counselor practice, but now her work is all she has. Cue Tyler Perry single workaholic woman character here.
Bad women bear the brunt of punishment in Tyler Perry’s morality plays. Of course, any time a woman has unprotected sex, there is the risk of catching HIV, but Perry’s heavy-handed morality is disproportionately distributed. It’s Perry’s money and Perry’s movie. His conclusions are his prerogative, but as a woman who knows Judiths, it’s important to recognize that despite Perry’s fire and brimstone, being bad by someone else’s standards could actually be good for you.
***
Ebony Utley, Ph.D. is an associate professor of communication studies at California State University Long Beach. She is currently working on her second book Shades of Infidelity (www.shadesofinfidelity.com) about women’s experiences with infidelity.

Promo: Akiba Solomon & Kevin Alexander Gray Talk Voting Rights, Stop-and-Frisk and the Culture of Rape on the April 1st 'Left of Black'

On April 1st, Left of Black host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal will sit down with Akiba Solomon , managing editor of Colorlines Magazine and longtime Civil Rights activist and journalist Kevin Alexander Gray to talk about voting rights, Stop-and-Frisk policies and and the culture of rape.
Tune in this Monday at 1:30pm EST

The Other Rosa Parks: Now 73, Claudette Colvin Was First to Refuse Giving Up Seat on Montgomery Bus

Democracy Now
At a ceremony unveiling a statue in her honor last month, President Obama called Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus a "singular act of disobedience." But nine months before Parks' historic action, a 15-year-old teenager named Claudette Colvin did the very same thing. She was arrested and her case led to the U.S. Supreme Court's order for the desegregation of Alabama's bus system. 
Now 73, Claudette Colvin joins us for a rare interview along with Brooklyn College Professor Jeanne Theoharis, author of the The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. Theoharis says Parks' act of defiance may not have happened if not for Colvin's nine months before. Colvin says learning about African-American history in school inspired her act. "I could not move because history had me glued to the seat," she recalls telling the bus driver and the police officer who came to arrest her. "It felt like Sojourner Truth's hands were pushing down on one shoulder, and Harriet Tubman's hand pushing down on another shoulder."

Rick Ross is a Republican

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He rhymes about his riches all of the time.  Not sure how or if he pays his taxes, but the one percenters generally ride with the boys in red.  As much as he raps about assault weapons and murdering (what must be young black men), he can’t be for background checks, ending straw purchases or the assault weapons ban.  He’s better then Glen Beck at influencing consumers to buy gold.  In fact if we believe him, “blowing money fast” is an aspirational attribute. His music label is named after an out-of-production high-end car model. The evidence is overwhelming.  The “Bawse” is running with the elephants.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Obviously I am not the first to pull Rick Ross’ card – so to speak.  Plenty of bloggers and music journalists have done so – like <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog... But while his audience and his critics seem to for the most part forgive him his various right wing proclivities, it seems as though these recent rape lyrics have crossed a line – hitting the gender nerve that’s been exposed by the conservative forces that are committed to trans-vaginal probes, restricting or abolishing reproductive rights and freedoms, and of course, legitimizing rape.  Hip Hop activist, and former Green Party VP candidate, Rosa Clemente and others have initiated a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=... shame Rick Ross.  She is right. Whether these lyrics are fantasy or we’re supposed to believe everything rapper, Rick Ross, says, the lyrics reflect the rape culture underwriting too many recent horror stories in REALITY.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">We live in a world where women are brutally gang-raped on buses, carted around town by High School football players, unconscious, raped and recorded on smartphones by kids who tweet the images – proudly.  In this world, the real world, rape culture is consuming the lives of women, girls, and the sad men and boys who perpetrate these crimes, mostly free from prosecution. In these political and real-world environments, rape fantasy rap is just another sick sinister contribution to the rape culture against which should all stand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">***</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">James Braxton Peterson</span></b><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"> is Director of Africana Studies and Associate Prof of English at Lehigh University, and a MSNBC Contributor.</span></div>