' ON MY MIND , a film by Petra Richterová & Jennifer Galvin , is an abstract, Afro-cosmic film, aesthetically and symbolically grounded in African culture and New York history. Based on vanguard saxophonist and composer Marcus Strickland ’s latest track "On My Mind remix," urbanscapes and spiritual objects bring these artists into a rare, contemporary dialogue, reflecting the song’s timeless cont
Jazz legend Joshua Redman joined Duke Professor and Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal at one of Durham’s iconic pubs, T he Pinhook , for a stirring discussion about the state of jazz, his own musical journey, and the legacy of his father–– great jazz saxophonist Walter Dewey Redman . Duke Performances brought Redman to Durham to stage his ongoing tribute concert, Still Dreaming , dedicated to
' Spike Lee ’s new Netflix film, Da 5 Bloods , follows a group of Black Vietnam War veterans who return to present-day Vietnam to find the body of their Squad Leader, Stormin Norm, who died in combat. Through archival clips and flashbacks, the film highlights the complicated position that many Black soldiers found themselves in during the Vietnam War, fighting for a cause they didn’t necessarily
With George Floyd as muse, Jaki Shelton Green offers a tribute to Black lives, befitting the master poet that she is. "Oh My Brother" is featured on her new recording The River Speaks of Thirst .
' The destruction of Black property, combined with policies designed to keep Black Americans behind their white counterparts, resulted in the racial wealth gap this country is still facing today, says William Darity , a professor of public policy, African and African American studies and economics, and director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University. This is attribut
Music and vision for "Oh, What a Beautiful City" from Dr. Guy's Musiqology's latest recording A Spiritual Vibe, Vol. 1 . The song features vocals from Bridget Ramsey .
' Spike Lee 's film, Da 5 Bloods , follows four black veterans who go back to present day Vietnam to bring home the remains of their beloved former squad leader who was killed in combat.' -- Morning Edition
' Gabrielle Union is a force. But before she became an actress, activist, and businesswoman, Gabrielle was a Black girl from Omaha trying to find Black community, belonging, and love in a largely white suburb in California. After years of difficult relationships and trying to fit the standards other people had set for her, she finally feels like she’s come into her own. And now, she's trying to i
'There's a long tradition of white people trying to understand what it would be like to step into black people's shoes. But the journalist Grace Halsell went one step further: She attempted to step into black people's skin. Code Switch spoke to professors— Alisha Gaines and Robin D. G. Kelley —who have spent a lot of time thinking about Halsell's experiment. Gaines is an English professor at Flor
'Da 5 Bloods , Spike Lee's new film, follows five friends who shed blood, sweat, and tears together in the 1st Infantry Division during the Vietnam War — and who return, after 50 years, to bring home the body of a fallen friend, and perhaps a treasure buried with him. Actor Delroy Lindo stars in Da 5 Bloods . He says it was a tough film to make. "When we wrapped in Saigon. I was aware of being qu
'Jefferson Davis Day is one of three holidays celebrating the Confederacy, in Alabama, and as protests continue, and symbols of our country’s racist legacy come toppling down in cities and towns nationwide, Congresswoman Terri Sewell says it’s time to end this holiday. " We need atonement to heal," she wrote . Sewell represents the 7th Congressional District of Alabama, which includes Selma, Birm
' Zoocrü is a Durham progressive jazz combo embedded in African diasporic music. They describe themselves more simply — Zoocrü is Black American music . Drummer and founding member Jonathan Curry wants listeners to understand the different lineages in Black American music. Between songs, the audience learns about the band’s influences and intentions — how and why they draw on North Carolina legen
'Writer William C. Anderson explains how capitalist logic reframes oppressed people as looters while obscuring the structural robbery at the heart of society, and calls for organizing and building new ways of life - outside, and against the state's murderous grasp. Anderson wrote the article ' Forget “Looting.” Capitalism Is the Real Robbery' for Truthout .' -- This is Hell! This is Hell! · These
'Africana studies scholar Yannick Giovanni Marshall explains how Black liberals work to police the possibilities of Black politics -- co-opting and neutering the critiques of radicals, in service of their own position in a society built on centuries of exploitation of Black life and labor. Marshall wrote the op-ed "Black liberal, your time is up" for Al Jazeera English .' -- This is Hell! This is
Credit: AFP via Getty Images 'NPR's Michel Martin speaks with professor Keisha Blain , author Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom , about the history of policing in the United States.' -- All Things Considered
' Jodine Dorcé , host of The Silver Lining , talks with Guthrie Ramsey in a wide-ranging conversation about the music on his project A Spiritual Vibe, Vol. 1 , helped him live and create during a pandemic, protests, and a fight with cancer.' -- DrMusiqology
by Mark Anthony Neal | @NewBlackMan| NewBlackMan (in Exile) “the church is a great archive of Black music.” -- Nikki Giovanni Amiri Baraka once wrote that Black music, “to retain its freshness, its originality, its specific expression of its own history and contemporary reality in each generation creates a ‘new music’.” This was yet another articulation of what Baraka once called the “changing s
Writer and curator Chaédria LaBouvier has cemented her place in the art world as the first African-American person to curate an exhibition at the famed Guggenheim Museum. A scholar of the celebrated artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat , LaBouvier sat down with co-host Sasha Panaram, Ph.D. to share her process for organizing the stunning show, “ Basquiat’s ‘Defacement’: The Untold Story .” The exhibit wa
'Over the past several years, we’ve watched Don Lemon go from a semi-conservative broadcast journalist to an emotionally expressive, openly opinionated public figure. The CNN anchor has even drawn the ire of President Trump. And Lemon is OK with that. “If the President is exhibiting racist behavior,” he tells Come Through with Rebecca Carroll , “it is incumbent on journalists to point that behavi
' Imara Jones joins us to talk about creating a truly inclusive Black Lives Matter movement, and getting back to the roots of Pride. Imara Jones is an award-winning journalist, and the creator of TransLash , a multi-episode series about what it is like to be transgender, especially a trans person of color, at a time of social backlash.' -- Nancy
' Lisa Lucas , Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, discusses the Twitter hashtag #PublishingPaidMe, where writers of color have revealed their book advances as well as the long-standing issues in the publishing
