Left of Black, the Longest Running Web Series at Duke University, Returns for its 13th Season

Left of Black, the longest running web series at Duke University, returns for its 13thseason, produced by the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute (FHI). The season premiere, a pre-recorded in-person event at NorthStar Church of the Arts that featured Dr. Farah Jasmine Griffin, Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon, and host and Duke Professor Mark Anthony Neal will re-stream on October 13th through FHI’s already robust YouTube channel, now touting over 15,000 subscribers.

 

FHI began producing the series at the very beginning of the now-infamous Spring semester of 2020, months before the global pandemic started. At that time, the institute’s multimedia director, Eric Barstow, took on the charge of director-producer for the series. He is now eager to embark on his fourth season with Left of Black.

 

During the pandemic, FHI, like all other Duke entities, had to pivot to working remotely. For the series, this meant conducting interviews virtually to be edited later. Now, in 2022, Barstow, an alum of Duke’s own MFAEDA documentary program, is eager to fire up in-person production once again.

 

“My approach with the show, as with events at FHI, will be hybridized. Interviewing remotely afforded wonderful conversations with scholars regardless of location. But face-to-face interaction brings a certain energy that is hard to replicate in a fully digital space. I am ready to start filming!”

 

Upcoming episodes will feature diverse discussions such as with documentary filmmaker and anti-sexist activist, Byron Hurt, whose new film, HAZING, premiered on Independent Lens on PBS earlier in September. Additional guests will include author Dorothy Roberts who will discuss her book, Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families––and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World, published by Basic Books, and former hip-hop producer and industry legend, Sophia Chang.

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