Left of Black S13 · E1 | 'Read Until You Understand' with Dr. Farah Jasmine Griffin & Nnenna Frelon

"Read until you understand," started as a simple instruction for learning that Dr. Farah Jasmine Griffin first heard from her father, Emerson, who tragically passed away when she was only nine years old. Those words stuck with her and became the title of her latest publication celebrating the magnificence of Black genius in all walks of life. Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature, is a PBS NewsHour Best Book of the Year and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year in Nonfiction recipient, published by W. W. Norton & Company. 

Dr. Farah Jasmine Griffin is the William B. Ransford Professor of English and Comparative Literature and African American Studies at Columbia University and was the inaugural chair of its African American and African Diaspora Studies Department. Dr. Griffin was joined by Left of Black founder and host, Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, who serves as the chair of African & African American Studies at Duke University and by 2022 Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist, Nnenna Freelon. The trio discussed grief, forgiveness, and a little bit on a long-forgotten piece of music history––the jukebox.