'The From Slavery to Freedom Lab presented a two-day conference to explore iconic images and popular constructions of Blackness in culture. Rhea L. Combs is curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History & Culture.' -- Duke Franklin Humanities Institute
'You cannot kill the arts. This is particularly true when you talk about poetry, which does well in a world of social media as it's easy to digest in its short form. Measuring success in art can be tricky, though. Impact and influence can be felt immediately, so how does art find that everlasting durability? Philanthropy can encourage and enable art, and as a result, potentially lengthen its life
'Superman, the Man of Steel, the Last Son of Krypton, the Big Blue Boyscout. Whatever you call him, you know who he is. After 80 years, it’s impossible not to know about the alien superhero who fights for truth, justice and the American way. But that hasn’t always been the case. He was conceived by two second-generation Jewish immigrants as someone who stood up for the working-class people and fo
'While George Washington Carver 's rise from slavery to scientific accomplishment has inspired millions, time has reduced him to the man who did something with peanuts. This documentary uncovers Carver's complexities and reveals the full impact of his life and work.' -- Iowa PBS
by Mark Anthony Neal | @NewBlackMan | NewBlackMan (in Exile) “I would say that my sound is a romantic sound. It’s water. It’s ocean. It’s tranquility.”—Jon Lucien That Jon Lucien’s name is rarely evoked in casual conversation about Jazz and Soul vocalists of the past two generations is perhaps fitting for an artist who was often cast as an outsider. Born in British Virgin Islands in 1942, wasn’t
What is the ongoing relevance of the Black Lives Matter movement particularly as the nation heads back to the polls for the upcoming 2020 election? In this episode of Left of Black , host Dr. Mark Anthony Neal discusses the movement with Candis Watts Smith , co-author of Stay Woke: A People’s Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter , (NYU Press, 2019), which noted scholar Robin D.G. Kelley says “L
' Edge of Sports host Dave Zirin talks with Scoop Jackson , author of the new book, The Game is Not a Game: The Power, Protest and Politics of American Sports .'
'In the fourth episode of Play It Forward , Ari Shapiro speaks with R&B polymath Georgia Anne Muldrow about how music has served her during the pandemic and the sprawling soul-jazz of Lakecia Benjamin .' -- All Things Considered
' Alison Saar says the nude in her 2019 sculpture Set to Simmer has a message for the viewer: "If you want to look at me, don't just give me a sideways glance. Sit down in this chair and know me." Race, gender, the power of women, black hair, and the kitchen are all themes that appear in Saar's work. Her last show in L.A. offered a small cookbook of family recipes , accompanied by photos of her w
'Does Freedom of Speech have limits in the workplace? Walter Mosley was working as a writer on a TV show. One day, in the writers' room, he shared with his colleagues the story of his disturbing encounter with a police officer who used the n-word. That story -- more specifically that word -- landed Mosley in HR. He ended up quitting. “You could write it in a script if you want,” he tells Rebecca
' Ishmael Butler — co-founder of '90s hip-hop group Digable Planets — released The Don of Diamond Dreams , his fourth album as Shabazz Palaces , in April. He may be 50 now, but he's still hip, and his music spans generations.He stays connected to new music through his son Jazz, who records as Lil Tracy.' -- Morning Edition
'The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated issues that disproportionately affect women. So on this episode, we're talking to Mikki Kendall — author of the new book, Hood Feminism — about what on-the-ground feminism practiced by women of color can teach us that the mainstream feminist movement has forgotten.' -- Code Switch
"Fear of a Black Consciousness: Chuck D and Nipsey Hussle" is an intergenerational, Hip-Hop discussion with 9th Wonder & Dr. Mark Anthony Neal that explores how Chuck D’s legacy speaks to and through Nipsey Hussle and the Hip-Hop generation of today. -- Woody Guthrie Center
'Structure is fundamental to almost every kind of music, even those genres that emphasise improvisation, such as most jazz. Free improvisation, however, eschews the trappings of structure and even composition, allowing musicians unrestrained autonomy to create the rules of a piece of music as they perform it. Born in musicians’ circles in the late 1950s and ’60s, this avant-garde jazz genre still
'ABWH's panel of experts -- Treva Lindsey , Tammy L. Kernodle , Mark Anthony Neal , and Guthrie Ramsey -- discuss the Lifetime original movie The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, moderated by Shennette Garrett-Scott.' -- Association of Black Women Historians
' Braxton Cook is a Juilliard-trained, genre-jumping artist whose music feels both contemporary and timeless. For his Tiny Desk (home) concert, Cook jumped around his discography, performing tracks from his 2017 album,
