Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 945

HuffPost Live Mashup: "Horses and Bayonettes"

HuffPostLive  A musical mashup in which Mitt Romney wants to play Battleship, and Obama keeps it old school with horses and bayonets.

Keli Goff & James Braxton Peterson Discuss 2012 Election on 'Our Voices with Black Enterprise'

BEMultiMedia  This week, we showcase a Reporter's Roundtable examining the up-coming 2012 presidential election. Panelists include Tara Wall, Media Strategist and Senior Adviser to the Romney Campaign; James Braxton Peterson, Director of Africana Studies and Associate Professor at Lehigh University; and Keli Goff, Political Analyst for The Root.com.

Beverly Guy-Sheftall on Creating 1st Women's Studies Program at an HBCU

Makers: Women Who Make America:
Beverly Guy-Sheftall on creating the first women's studies program at a historically black college and the reaction to feminism in the African American community.

Despite Hoax, Violence Against Women Remains a Concern

Despite Hoax, Violence Against Women Remains a Concern by David J. Leonard & Stephanie Troutman | NewBlackMan (in Exile)
Reports surfaced Tuesday that Sharmeka Moffitt's wounds were self-inflicted.  According to Winnsboro Police Chief Lester Thomas, “All of the evidence is pointing back to the victim inflicting this upon herself. No evidence has shown any other person was involved.”  He goes on to note, “This case is solved.” 
While our concern about the media silence remains steadfast; while our thoughts about the lack of care and concern afforded to women of color because of American racism and sexism remains real, we think our collective attention should turn to Sharmeka Moffit.  Our concern remains focused on her health and well-being. 
Whether her wounds are the result of an assailant or self-inflicted, as reported today, her pain, the trauma her body has endured, and the collective refusal to hear the pain endured by women of color, to give her and others the benefit of the doubt, and to see her as victim before criminal, is real.  The systemic of the humanity of women of color remains a disheartening.  The emerging response to call her a liar, to condemn her, and to dismiss the horror of this trauma event speaks volumes. 
We remain in thought about the emotional trauma facing Sharmeka and hope we can begin to listen.  We should all follow and heed the words from her family:
A Statement from the Family of Sharmeka Moffitt

"Our family is devastated to learn the circumstances surrounding our daughter’s injuries. While this was not the resolution we had expected, it is a resolution, and we appreciate the thorough investigation by the local and state police as well as federal agencies.
We are sincerely sorry for any problems this may have caused and wish to express our appreciation for the outpouring of love, prayers and support we have received from friends, acquaintances, church organizations and government officials.

 Over the coming days and weeks, our focus will be on Sharmeka and her recovery. We ask that you continue to pray for her and for our family, and that you respect our privacy at this difficult time."

#SatChat: Twitter 'Saturday School' for Teachers

"Long Distance Revolutionary": New Doc Tells Untold Story of Mumia Abu-Jamal's Life Journey

Democracy Now
The new documentary, Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey With Mumia Abu-Jamal, chronicles Mumia Abu-Jamal's life and work as a journalist, writer and public intellectual even as he spent some 30 years on death row in Pennsylvania. In 1982, Abu-Jamal was sentenced to die for allegedly killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. He always maintained his innocence. Then, last year, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set aside Abu-Jamal's death sentence after finding jurors were given confusing instructions that encouraged them to choose death rather than a life sentence. In January, prosecutors announced they would no longer pursue the death penalty against Abu-Jamal, and the imprisoned journalist was transferred to the general prison population. We air a clip from the film, out in February, and speak with director Stephen Vittoria.

Left of Black S3:E6 | Color-Blind Racism in the Obama Era

Left of Black S3:E6 | October 22, 2012
Color-Blind Racism in the Obama Era 
Left of Black host and Duke Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined in the Left of Black studios by Eduardo Bonilla Silva, Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Sociology Department at Duke University.  Neal and Bonilla-Silva, the author of the now classic Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States, discuss the Obama Presidency, the importance of a social justice politics, and the insidiousness of “color-blind” racism.
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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.
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Episodes of Left of Black are also available for free download in  @ iTunes U

Rob 'Biko' Baker of the League of Young Voters on "Organizing Young Voters"

from  Rap Sessions: Hip-Hop Activism in the Obama / Tea Party Era 
@ Philadelphia Art Sanctuary  

Panelists: Bakari KitwanaAngela WoodsonRob “Biko” BakerJasiri XAlexis McGill JohnsonEvent Moderator: James Braxton Peterson[image error]

Kickstarter: 'Finding the Funk"--a film by Nelson George

About Finding the FunkInspired by an idea from legendary record producer Arthur Baker, Finding the Funk  is a road trip in search of the past, present and future of Funk music. We start in Dayton the birthplace of so many of Funk's originators, then onto Detroit where from the ashes of Motown, P-Funk's Mothership arose and then to LA where a new crop of musicians, like Dam Funk, are creating their own Funk history. 
Among those featured in the film are Sly Stone, Bootsy Collins, Mike D of the Beastie Boys, D'Angelo, Marcus Miller, Mtume, Nona Hendryx, Vernon Reid, Maceo Parker, Bernie Worrell, Steve Arrington, Reggie Hudlin, Sheila E, Shock G, Sade's Stuart Matthewman and Diplo. Hosted by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of the Roots. Vh1 is hoping to air  Finding the Funk next spring.
After a whirlwind summer of filming concerts, outdoor festivals and intimate backstage jam sessions with some of the Funk's most notable performers, Finding the Funk is headed into post-production. $20,000 is what we need to take our film to the next level.
We'll be posting two other trailers for the film, right here, on our Kickstarter page during the pledge period, giving you all a deeper look into what we've shot and why this film will be worth your time!
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Davey D & Nelson George Talk 'Brooklyn Boheme'

Davey D :
We recently sat down with longtime music critic and author Nelson George to talk about his new movie Brooklyn Boheme .This is a film that focuses on what many deemed a major Black Artist renaissance in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn during the late 80s and throughout the 90s and on into the early part of the millennium.
During our interview, not only did we talk about the movie, but we had an engaging exchange on the state of Hip Hop and Black music in general… To this day one of the dopest books I’ve ever read is Death of Rhythm and Blues and so we definitely built on some of the points he raised there…  Enjoy the convo which recently aired on Free Speech TV.

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