Artist Talk with Arthur Jafa: A Series of Utterly Improbable, Yet Extraordinary Renditionsby Mark Anthony Neal / 4d
'In this talk, Arthur Jafa talks about his concluding exhibition at the Julia Stoschek Collection Berlin as well as his latest project “The White Album.” The title of the exhibition, A Series of Utterly Improbable, Yet Extraordinary Renditions, concerns the sense of absence Jafa sees haunting Black life. The word “rendition” refers to his interpretation of the aesthetics associated with Black bei
REEL SOUTH: Now Let Us Sing (dir. Dilsey Davis)by Mark Anthony Neal / 5d
' An interfaith, interracial choir in Durham, North Carolina is forced to take a new direction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the choir, which is dedicated to racial unity, must grapple with the dual crises of the coronavirus pandemic and police killings of African Americans, all while trying to sing as one unit while living miles apart. Directed by Dilsey Davis .'
Afropop Worldwide: Rap, Reggae and Cultural Resistance in Belo Horizonte, Brazilby Mark Anthony Neal / 5d
'Belo Horizonte is Brazil’s sixth largest city and including its surrounding districts, the country’s third largest metropolitan area. The capital of Minas Gerais, a state built on mining, dairy products and coffee production, Belo Horizonte is often seen as a parochial, conservative backwater, yet its thriving alternative arts scene provides robust forms of musical and cultural resistance to the
Grenada: The Dream of a Black Utopiaby Mark Anthony Neal / 5d
Samora Michel and Maurice Bishop 'A Marxist revolution, a Cold War proxy battle, and a dream of a Black utopia. In 1983, Ronald Reagan ordered the U.S. military to invade the island of Grenada. Almost four decades later, many Americans don't remember why — or that it even happened. “This was a Black country with people making their own success and failure,” says Dessima Williams , Grenada’s forme
Invisible Blackness with Adrian Younge – Understanding Cultural Comedy, an Interview with Russell Petersby Mark Anthony Neal / 5d
' Russell Peters knows the power of using comedy to challenge the status quo and how to make light of unconscious bias. In this episode of I nvisible Blackness with Adrian Younge , Russell discusses the expression of cultural intelligence through comedy, the power of hiphop to inspire identity and the subtitles of understanding intention when applied to humor.'
PBS Short Film Festival | Highway Mike (dir. Sriyanka Ray)by Mark Anthony Neal / 5d
'Highway Mike is the story of Mike , a formerly homeless addict who used to live below the bridge in a park where hundreds of users gather every day to do drugs. Now he does outreach work to prevent overdoses in that same park. Mike tries to balance his past with his present as he leads us into the underbelly of one of New York City’s most overlooked communities, and gives us a firsthand glimpse
To Love And Not Forgive: A Conversation with Ashley C. Fordby Mark Anthony Neal / 6d
'For much of her childhood, Ashley Ford 's father was incarcerated, and her mother struggled to raise her while grappling with her own upended life plans. In her new memoir, Somebody's Daughter, Ford looks at how these formative conditions shaped her understanding of childhood, authority, forgiveness and freedom.' -- Code Switch
Marcia Chatelain examines McDonald’s’ mixed impact on Black Americaby Mark Anthony Neal / 6d
'Fast food is a staple of American culture, but in recent decades there has been a new focus on health and wage inequality. PBS NewsHour 's Jeffrey Brown talks to Pulitzer Prize winning author Marcia Chatelain about the complicated history of McDonalds in the Black community: how the fast food giant supported Black franchise owners, but was a trap for unhealthy diets and low wages. It’s part of o
“How do you color a sound?”: The ‘Wonder Bread’ Soul of the 5th Dimension by Mark Anthony Nealby Mark Anthony Neal / 7d
| @NewBlackMan | NewBlackMan (in Exile) What is a more mainstream example of America, than a sandwich made with white bread? And that is perhaps what Motown’s Berry Gordy was thinking when he launched a short-lived merchandising partnership with Schafer Bakeries in Lansing, MI. “The Supremes Special Formula White Bread”, featured Motown’s flagship trio, The Supremes, on its packaging. Long-forgo
Amid Haiti's Upheaval, Rapper Mach-Hommy Sees The Country's Resiliency In Focusby Mark Anthony Neal / 7d
' Mach-Hommy 's latest album, Pray For Haiti , was released in early 2021 on the respected Griselda Records and is already being considered one of the year's best. Simultaneously, a place he cares deeply about sinks further and further into crisis. As a member of the country's diaspora, the artist says he's used to holding disparate thoughts, like these, in his head at the same time. Hommy says t
REEL SOUTH: Missing Magic (Directed by Anissa Simone Latham-Brown)by Mark Anthony Neal / 7d
'As uprisings spread across the country, a young poet in Birmingham, Alabama becomes involved in local protests against decades of police brutality. As he tries to reconcile the city’s modern image as a diverse and welcoming metropolis with its violent and complex civil rights history, he suddenly becomes a part of the story when he’s arrested at a demonstration. Missing Magic is directed by Anis
Whitewashing History and Suppressing Voters Go Hand in Hand by Ben Jealousby Mark Anthony Neal / 7d
Whitewashing History and Suppressing Voters Go Hand in Hand by Ben Jealous | @BenJealous | NewBlackMan (in Exile) There’s been a lot of news about the Democratic legislators in Texas who fled the state to prevent Republicans from pushing through sweeping new voter suppression laws. Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened to have them arrested to force them to attend a special session of the state legisla
