What Will Happen When All The Teachers Are Gone? | Eclectablog

What Will Happen When All The Teachers Are Gone? | Eclectablog

What Will Happen When All The Teachers Are Gone?

I really tried to see “both sides” of this “reopen the schools” debate for the longest time…I know how hard it is to try to get anything done with little kids at home in normal times–multiply that by 100 during this pandemic. And I get the frustration that comes with trying to juggle work, bills, child care, and all the other responsibilities of day-to-day life, and then have big pieces and chunks of your “support system” just torn away–and not for a day or two, but for months, with seemingly no end in sight.

And add to that the stress and tension of uncertain income streams, business shutdowns, work from home arrangements, not being able to see your family…it’s bleak out there right now.

So I get it…

That is, until a school reopening advocate told me that teachers who were working virtually were nothing more than “curriculum couriers,” and if we weren’t careful we’d work ourselves right out of our jobs–that schools would just put kids in big rooms with “facilitators” and our lesson plans, and get rid of all the teachers who weren’t “willing” to “get back to work”.

That really shook me, on multiple levels.

1. The carefully constructed “mask” worn by so many in this camp (“we love our child’s teachers, but doctors and nurses are working…”, or “I’m trying to be patient with my community’s teachers, but I’m losing my patience…”) came crashing down–and despite their objections when called out, CONTINUE READING: What Will Happen When All The Teachers Are Gone? | Eclectablog

Los Angeles Teachers, Parents Stand Up Against Politicians' Threats - LA Progressive

Los Angeles Teachers, Parents Stand Up Against Politicians' Threats - LA Progressive

Los Angeles Teachers, Parents Stand Up Against Politicians’ Threats

Despite pressure from local politicians, businesses, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Eric Garcetti, and the Los Angeles Times, teachers throughout California—and especially in Los Angeles—have mobilized to demand vaccinations before school reopening.

The teachers, backed by parents, have actively responded to this attack on their United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) union for demanding a full complement of safety measures. They note that this is the same lineup of forces who opposed the teachers strike 18 months ago that transformed UTLA into a much stronger union and won important victories.

On Saturday, February 20, a 100-car caravan stretched through downtown Los Angeles—sponsored by Students Deserve, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Los Angeles Alliance for New Economy, Eastside Padres Contra Privatization, Reclaim Our Schools, and UTLA.

Cars were adorned with bilingual signs saying Not My Child, Schools Are Not Safe; End Educational Racism; Teachers Lives Matter; AND Don’t Save the Economy by Risking a Child’s Life.

Teachers, backed by parents, have actively responded to this attack on their UTLA union for demanding a full complement of safety measures.

The February 17 Los Angeles Times editorial denounced the teachers for not returning to work without vaccinations and also attacked LA school superintendent Austin Buettner for not forcing the teachers back.

The editorial also said “the union is jeopardizing its own popularity. If it continues to put the needs of students and families last.” Such hypocrisy from a newspaper that attacked the strike by teachers for improved conditions and reduce class size in the schools.

As a 17-year veteran teacher, I agree with other teachers by saying that we shall not lose our CONTINUE READING: Los Angeles Teachers, Parents Stand Up Against Politicians' Threats - LA Progressive

Elizabeth Jennings Graham, Black Educator Hall of Fame - Philly's 7th Ward

Elizabeth Jennings Graham, Black Educator Hall of Fame - Philly's 7th Ward

ELIZABETH JENNINGS GRAHAM, BLACK EDUCATOR HALL OF FAME

E’ry day this month, the Center for Black Educator Development, in partnership with Phillys7thWard.org, will highlight a Black Educator Hall of Famer.

But, don’t forget, e’ry month is Black History Month…February is just the Blackest.

Today, our featured Black Educator is Elizabeth Jennings Graham.

#BlackEducatorsHoF #BlackTeacherPipeline

Elizabeth Jennings Graham was known as the first freedom rider. She was born in New York in 1827. Her father, Thomas Jennings, was an inventor and was the first Black person to hold a patent. He was also a founder of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church. Her mother was a speech writer and member of a well-known literary society in New York. The family was well-to-do members of Black society in New York City.

After graduating from school, Graham became a teacher, teaching at the city’s private African Free School. The school, which was founded by abolitionists, was for children of enslaved people and free Black people. Graduates often became influential members of New York’s Black community, including Alexander Crummell and Henry Highland Garnet. Later, Graham opened a CONTINUE READING: Elizabeth Jennings Graham, Black Educator Hall of Fame - Philly's 7th Ward

We Must Do Something About “Tennis Loss”!! | The Merrow Report

We Must Do Something About “Tennis Loss”!! | The Merrow Report

We Must Do Something About “Tennis Loss”!!

Imagine for a moment that you are an excellent tennis player who regularly ranks in the Top Ten in your age group and in your state.  You have an excellent first serve that you can place with pinpoint accuracy, a reliable second serve, a devastating two-hand backhand, and a well-disguised drop shot that befuddles opponents.  What’s more, you cover the court with surprising speed and agility and have developed an impressive deep topspin lob.  You invariably bring home some silver in local tournaments, and in state tournaments you are a good bet to reach–at minimum– the quarterfinals.

Then came the pandemic. You haven’t been able to play tennis since March, 2020, because all the courts and public clubs were shut down.  Some of your wealthy competitors have their own courts or have been able to play on private courts belonging to friends.  Not you…..

Now the ban has been lifted, and you and your coach have just begun to work on all aspects of your game–your first serve, second serve, drop shot, two-hand backhand, and topspin lob–because a weakness in any one aspect of your game will invariably mean defeat.  At this level, opponents are quick to sniff out deficiencies and take advantage of them. 

However, on the very day that you and your coach begin working in earnest, a directive comes from from the state office that coordinates tournaments and–critically–determines rankings. It says that, out of concern for “Tennis Loss” and in the absence of tournament results, rankings will be determined by a performance test that will be administered state-wide in one month. Players CONTINUE READING: We Must Do Something About “Tennis Loss”!! | The Merrow Report

Considering Opting Out Your Child from High-Stakes Testing? – Parents United for Public Education

Considering Opting Out Your Child from High-Stakes Testing? – Parents United for Public Education

Considering Opting Out Your Child from High-Stakes Testing?

With the recent guidance issued from the Department of Education that says that states must give standardized tests this school year (despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the many other reasons testing should be cancelled), we’ve decided to republish this post about opting out of testing.

We will continue to update the post and resources as more information becomes available about adjustments to the processes for this school year.

Data on teacher’s perceptions of the PSSA’s effectiveness as an indicator of student achievement from the June 2019 “Standardized Tests in Public Education” report by the PA General Assembly’s Legislative Budget and Finance Committee

Over recent years, there have been a handful of parents, district wide, who contentiously objected to the high stakes attached to the state’s standardized tests: PSSA and Keystones. In some years, there have been more organized efforts, like those in 2014-15 that lead to over 17% of families from Feltonville School of Arts and Science opting out of the PSSAs.

We fully support the right for parents to opt their children out of high stakes standardized tests. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is one of a few states that has a legal provision for parents to opt their children out of the PSSA and Keystone exams.

Standardized testing has been at the forefront of what is going wrong in public CONTINUE READING: Considering Opting Out Your Child from High-Stakes Testing? – Parents United for Public Education

Teacher Tom: If the World Disappears When I Close My Eyes

Teacher Tom: If the World Disappears When I Close My Eyes

If the World Disappears When I Close My Eyes

Two-year-old Jonathan put a blanket over his head.

"Where did Jonathan go?" His parents pretended to look for him. "Where is he?"

Jonathan giggled under his blanket. He had played this game before. 

A couple months earlier, he had played the game the other way. He had "discovered" that when he closed his eyes, the world disappeared. It had frightened him at first. He would blink quickly, not wanting, I reckon, to risk losing the world forever, but as he became more confident that the world would return, he took to closing his eyes for minutes at a time. "Everything is gone," he would say, at first with awe, but then matter-of-factually. This hiding under a blanket was a new game for him, an extension of the old one: if the world disappears when I close my eyes, maybe I can disappear as well.

As adults we find his mistaken understanding to be cute, one CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: If the World Disappears When I Close My Eyes

NYC Educator: Big Lie on Testing from Biden

NYC Educator: Big Lie on Testing from Biden

Big Lie on Testing from Biden

The Biden administration is insisting on standardized testing for traumatized students this year. This is a huge disappointment. I remember the awful education policies of the Obama administration, and I remember Diane Ravitch writing that Obama gave Bush a third term on education. Don't get me wrong--I certainly don't miss Big Orange at all.

I was wary of Biden because of Obama's awful policies. I remember Arne Duncan making us all Race to the Top. I remember the insistence on evaluation teachers based at least somewhat on test scores. Despite the fact that it mitigates the judgment of insane supervisors, it was and is junk science.  It's not best policy to judge working teachers by junk science.

But Joe Biden came to Pittsburgh to speak to educators, and painted us a very different portrait of himself. Biden was low on my list of Democratic candidates. He wasn't the worst of the bunch. I would not have voted for anti-public education candidates Corey Booker or Mike Bloomberg under any circumstance. Biden got my vote, but I was very concerned he'd enable the sort of reforminess that Obama did.

The forum in Pittsburgh was really interesting, but when I got there I found no way to ask a question. I tried really CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Big Lie on Testing from Biden

Biden Admin Wants “to Focus on Assessments” in 2020-21 | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Biden Admin Wants “to Focus on Assessments” in 2020-21 | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Biden Admin Wants “to Focus on Assessments” in 2020-21

On February 22, 2021, acting ed secretary Ian Rosenblum (formerly of testing-friendly ed reform org, Education Trust) sent this letter to state school superintendents informing them that standardized testing must happen in the 2020-21 school year “to understand the impact COVID-19 has had on learning and identify what resources and supports students need” and “to address the educational inequities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.”

Anyone with a smidge of critical thought and modest powers of observation could easily make a short list of the impact that COVID-19 has had on learning. Furthermore, the biggest support public schools have needed for years is adequate (equitable) funding not tied to property taxes and not tied to any federal competition.

Surveying district and state superintendents about what they need in order to provide equitable education opportunities for their students would be a much better use of US Dept of Ed time and money than spending multiple millions on standardized tests.

But, but, but, according to Rosenblum, as a last-thought, tacked-on reason for administering tests during a pandemic, “parents need information on how their children are doing.”

I have been teaching the better part of three decades, and I have yet for any CONTINUE READING: Biden Admin Wants “to Focus on Assessments” in 2020-21 | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Jersey Jazzman: We Don't Need Standardized Testing In a Pandemic

Jersey Jazzman: We Don't Need Standardized Testing In a Pandemic

We Don't Need Standardized Testing In a Pandemic

UPDATE: Just as I was finishing this post, I caught a glimpse of this news:

The U.S. Department of Education extended flexibility to states today in how and when they administer mandated end-of-the-year assessments, including allowing shorter tests that can be given remotely and, in the summer, or even in the fall. The federal agency advised states to blunt the impact of the tests, suggesting the scores not be used in final grades and grade promotion decisions.

However, despite the disruption to schools from the pandemic, the federal agency did not liberate states from administering standardized tests; it will continue to require statewide assessments. Some states, including Georgia, requested waivers that would allow them to forgo standardized testing altogether this year.

As I argue below, this is a bad idea. I really hope the Biden administration can be persuaded to reconsider.

* * *

A notable bit of education policy news in New Jersey last week:

New Jersey will apply to the federal government to waive standardized testing for the current school year as districts across the state continue to cope with the constraints of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday.

Murphy said the state has not yet received word from President Joe Biden’s administration as to whether it will accept its application to waive the federal CONTINUE READING: Jersey Jazzman: We Don't Need Standardized Testing In a Pandemic

Leonie Haimson: Biden’s Absurd Decision to Impose the Tests: Opt Out! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Leonie Haimson: Biden’s Absurd Decision to Impose the Tests: Opt Out! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Leonie Haimson: Biden’s Absurd Decision to Impose the Tests: Opt Out!

Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters and board member of the Network for Public Education, responded to Biden’s broken promise about suspending the testing.

She wrote:

Today, Ian Rosenblum acting Asst. Sec. of the US Dept. of Education announced that states would NOT be given a waiver from administering standardized exams – though ten had already requested them, including New York.  Rosenblum is the formerly the Ed Asst. to Cuomo, and then worked at the pro-testing outfit Ed Trust, headed by John King.

His letter is here; article in Chalkbeat here.  The letter does say that the tests could be shortened, given over the summer (!) or even next fall. 

Surprising and depressing that they would make this announcement before Miguel Cardona, appointed as CONTINUE READING: Leonie Haimson: Biden’s Absurd Decision to Impose the Tests: Opt Out! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Education Matters: Biden is off to a real slow education start.

Education Matters: Biden is off to a real slow education start.

Biden is off to a real slow education start.

You know you want to give the new guy some time, but how long does it take to do what is right? Well, since Biden just punted on high stakes standardized tests during a pandemic, it will be at least another year. However, since Obama's education policies were truly dreadful and destructive, I wouldn't hold out much hope that Biden will be different.

The Biden administration showed a real lack of leadership today when it punted to the states on high-stakes testing.

 From the letter the acting secretary of ed sent to the states. 

To be successful once schools have re-opened, we need to understand the impact COVID-19 has had on learning and identify what resources and supports students need. We must also specifically be prepared to address the educational inequities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, including by using student learning data to enable states, school districts, and schools to target resources and supports to the students with the greatest needs. In addition, parents need information on how their children are doing

https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/stateletters/dcl-assessments-and-acct-022221.pdf

I love how it finishes, you know, because we can't trust teachers to tell parents, and be honest, so since we CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: Biden is off to a real slow education start.

CURMUDGUCATION: Biden Administration Won't Waive Big Standardized Test. Dammit.

CURMUDGUCATION: Biden Administration Won't Waive Big Standardized Test. Dammit.

Biden Administration Won't Waive Big Standardized Test. Dammit.

The Biden administration has offered its first flat-out wrong decision in the education sphere. 

Today Acting Ed Secretary Ian Rosenblum sent a letter out to state education chiefs. The news was not good, outlining the bad reasons for its bad decision.

To be successful once schools have re-opened, we need to understand the impact COVID-19 has had on learning and identify what resources and supports students need. We must also specifically be prepared to address the educational inequities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, including by using student learning data to enable states, school districts, and schools to target resources and supports to the students with the greatest needs. In addition, parents need information on how their children are doing

Who is this "we"? That's not entirely clear. But, as I've said before, the "we need information so we can address needs" argument is baloney for at least two reasons.

First, if you need information, ask the teachers. Ask the teachers. Ask the teachers. Ask. The. Teachers. They have been doing steady, daily assessment, both formal and informal, every day since this mess started. They know far more than the Big Standardized Test will ever tell anyone, and they know it today, not months from now when BS Test results come back. Parents can certainly learn far CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Biden Administration Won't Waive Big Standardized Test. Dammit.

Grading Guidance for Progress in Distance Learning - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

Grading Guidance for Progress in Distance Learning - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Thurmond Announces New Grading Guidance for Student Progress in Distance Learning

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today the release of guidelines that address grading student progress and the ongoing issue of equity in distance and hybrid learning environments. Resources that support local control are included in the new guidance, allowing schools to make the best decisions for their respective student populations.

“As the majority of California’s public schools continue to respond to distance learning needs, we should reflect on how student progress is measured and consider how to shift to more equitable grading systems and policies, whether the instructional setting is in-person, virtual, or hybrid,” Thurmond said. “This is an opportunity to make a significant change.”

The new guidance includes research-based approaches to grading that may be especially helpful if students are not in class and access to technology and learning supports may be unequal. These include replacing grading quantities, such as the extent to which students have completed assignments, with grading qualities in student work that reflect students’ current achievement level at the time, and using flexibility in timing the collection of evidence for grading decisions so students are graded on the learning they do, not when they do it.

Resources for Making Local Decisions Regarding Grading Student Progress is located on the CDE Support tab on the CDE Distance Learning web page under “Grading and Graduation.” Contact the CDE Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resource Division at CFIRD@cde.ca.gov with any questions regarding the grading guidance and resources.

# # # #

Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Grading Guidance for Progress in Distance Learning - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Jennifer Berkshire and Charles Siler - Network For Public Education

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Jennifer Berkshire and Charles Siler - Network For Public Education

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Jennifer Berkshire and Charles Siler

The Network for Public Education invites you to join us for a video conference with NPE President Diane Ravitch. Diane's guests will be Jennifer Berkshire and Charles Siler. Berkshire is the the co-author of the recent book, A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door and Siler is an anti-racist, equity, and pro-public education consultant. Join Diane, Jennifer and Charles in conversation about how public education advocates can win the messaging wars vs. those who seek to privatize public education.

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Jennifer Berkshire and Charles Siler - Network For Public Education

TIME FOR THE NEXT PHASE – Dad Gone Wild

TIME FOR THE NEXT PHASE – Dad Gone Wild

TIME FOR THE NEXT PHASE

“For convenience, history is often viewed as a conflict between the instinct for order and the impulse toward chaos. Both are necessary: both are manifestations of the need to survive. Without order, nothing exists: without chaos, nothing grows. And yet the struggle between them sheds more blood than any other war.”
― Stephen R. Donaldson, The Gap Into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge

 

Today I did something that I haven’t done in nearly a year. I kissed my wife good-bye as she headed out for school. Quite a bit different than the past couple of months when I’d so the same, but she’d head back to her corner of the bedroom where she’d deliver instruction to students remotely.

I can’t even imagine what is going through her head as she makes the 8-mile drive this morning. She’s missed her students terribly over the past months, but there still has to be some fear as the pandemic is still ongoing.

Today is just a planning day. A chance to get the classroom ready and prepare for the arrival of students tomorrow. By the end of the week, MNPS will have students attending at every grade level. And with that will come more unique challenges.

The conversation around schools has been rightfully centered on teachers, but let’s not forget CONTINUE READING: TIME FOR THE NEXT PHASE – Dad Gone Wild

2021 Medley #4 – Indiana Still Hates Public Ed | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #4 – Indiana Still Hates Public Ed | Live Long and Prosper

2021 Medley #4 – Indiana Still Hates Public Ed

School “reform” in Indiana

In April of 2019, I wrote,

This year, just like in the past, the state of Indiana, ruled by one party with a supermajority in the legislature, has worked to disrespect public schools and public school teachers. The only way to fight this, aside from the daily grind of contacting legislators about every single damaging piece of legislation, is to elect people who don’t hate public schools and public school teachers.

One would think we’d be able to get the teachers, themselves, on board with this…

Sadly, nothing has changed and my fellow Hoosiers, including many of my former public school colleagues, continue to send the same anti-public education folks to Indy. In this year’s session of the Indiana General Assembly the Republican supermajority, like Republican legislators across the country (see here, and here, for example) are doing everything they can to damage the public schools of the state.

They are attempting to divert more money for the state’s already expansive voucher program…despite the studies that have shown that vouchers don’t improve education. They will likely succeed. The state, of course, hasn’t looked CONTINUE READING: 2021 Medley #4 – Indiana Still Hates Public Ed | Live Long and Prosper

NYC Public School Parents: More wasteful DOE spending on busing, devices, and possibly School Safety Agents to come

NYC Public School Parents: More wasteful DOE spending on busing, devices, and possibly School Safety Agents to come

More wasteful DOE spending on busing, devices, and possibly School Safety Agents to come

The Panel for Educational Policy will vote on a new batch of DOE contracts this Wed. on February 24. As an elected official wrote me over the weekend, “Am looking at PEP Contracts – some are questionable.”  I replied, “Always! Which ones now?”

Here are some:  There are retroactive contracts totaling more than $58 million for school busing, mostly for the month of January, except for a Reliant bus contract for Jan. 15 through Feb. 14 for $14.6M. 

This is despite the fact that DOE created a separate non-profit company (with less transparency) that would acquire Reliant and operate its 835 routes from January to June of this year, for a total of $59 million, according to  the contracts approved at the Dec. 4, 2020 PEP meeting. 

This new proposed contract document explains:

This emergency has risen as a result of the need to provide pupil transportation during the 2020-2021 school-year, while the DOE completes individual negotiations with Reliant for their pupil transportation services. These transportation services are necessary for the preservation of the health, safety, and general welfare of students and the school system as a whole. As such, declarations of Emergency Procurement and Emergency Implementation of contracts by the Senior Executive Director for the Division of Contracts and Purchasing and the Chancellor, respectively, were made (see attached).

Unexplained is what has caused the unanticipated extension of these negotiations with Reliant, and whether they relate to the  $142M in unpaid pension costs that the DOE insisted to the PEP and reporters they wouldn’t have to cover, but the union insisted they would. 

The proposed contract list also includes paying IBM another $5.12M to “stage” and send 55,000 new iPads, similar to the process from last year, when they paid IBM a total of CONTINUE READING: NYC Public School Parents: More wasteful DOE spending on busing, devices, and possibly School Safety Agents to come

NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER #BLACKHISTORYMONTH

 NewBlackMan (in Exile)

NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY

Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile-blm_20.html

GIVĒON: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

by Mark Anthony Neal / 4h

'"Just bear with me while I just enjoy this and soak in it," GIVĒON admits with a laugh. Switching between the demeanors of a seasoned, nonchalant crooner and a giddy-grinned newbie, the fast-rising R&B star makes a point to show his humility during his long-awaited debut at Tiny Desk. Accompanied by a minimal, masked-up band and only one background vocalist (a fellow Pisces at that), the baby-fa

A Historian Daina Ramey Berry's Brief But Spectacular Take on Understanding the Past to Live a Better Future

by Mark Anthony Neal / 4h

'This Brief But Spectacular comes from historian Daina Ramey Berry , who chairs the history department at the University of Texas at Austin. She is dedicated to rethinking the way we teach American history to all students, and her latest book is called, A Black Women's History of the United States .' -- PBS NewsHour

How Democracy Reform Protects Black Political Power by Ben Jealous

by Mark Anthony Neal / 4h

| @BenJealous | special NewBlackMan (in Exile) The 2020 elections taught us that our democracy is both strong and fragile. This is the time to shore it up with the For the People Act that is now waiting for action by Congress. Voters showed the strength of our democracy by showing up in record numbers to cast ballots to defeat an incumbent president. And voters in Georgia, led by Black voters, m

Duke Performances Presents Billy Childs’ ‘Enlightened Souls (2013)

by Mark Anthony Neal / 4h

'Duke Performances presents the world premiere of Enlightened Souls: Commemorating 50 Years of Black Students at Duke at Baldwin Auditorium, Duke University, Durham, NC on Friday, October 4, 2013. Composed by Billy Childs . Commissioned by Duke Performances. Performed by the Billy Childs Jazz Chamber Ensemble featuring Dianne Reeves with the Ying Quartet .' Duke Performances Presents Billy Childs

Coffee & Books" Marc Lamont Hill Discusses His Book 'Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics' with Co-Author Mitchell Plitnick‪.‬

by Mark Anthony Neal / 1d

'On this episode of Coffee & Books, host Marc Lamont Hill is joined by Israel-Palestine expert Mitchell Plitnick , the co-author of Hill's new book, Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics . The two discuss why it was important to write this book, and dive into policies and politics of Israel-Palestine.'

'Black Girl Songbook' – Chapter 2: Now That We Found Love Featuring Deborah Cox

by Mark Anthony Neal / 1d

'In the second chapter of Black Girl Songbook , Danyel Smith explores her favorite type of record. From Etta James’s “At Last” to Erykah Badu’s “Honey,” Danyel dives deep into songs that capture the discovery of a pure and true love. Later on, she’s joined by Juno Award–winning Canadian singer, songwriter, and actress Deborah Cox to talk about her iconic hit, “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” her e

Meshell Ndegeocello: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

by Mark Anthony Neal / 2d

'Meshell Ndegeocello 's Tiny Desk (home) concert feels like a narrative film. Shot in vivid black and white, the concert includes songs from throughout her career framed by her thoughts on the importance and influence of James Baldwin: "He deserves flowers every day. Most of all because he was willing to discuss things that were painful, hard to look at, hard to see, hard to accept." That descrip

How Octavia Butler's Sci-Fi Dystopia Became A Constant In A Man's Evolution

by Mark Anthony Neal / 3d

' Octavia Butler 's alternate realities and 'speculative fiction' reveal striking, and often devastating parallels to the world we live in today. She was a deep observer of the human condition, perplexed and inspired by our propensity

 NewBlackMan (in Exile)