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19-year old Ham had to flee New Orleans in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, leaving behind Miss Pearl, his foster mother. Now, he makes the trek back to his home to find out if Miss Pearl survived carrying the only thing he could take with him–a pendant she gave him that contain […]

In 1974, the nation was gripped with the story of Joan Little, a young Black woman who, in self-defense, killed the prison guard at a Beaufort County Jail, In Washington, North Carolina when he sexually assaulted her while she was in custody. It raised questions of how safe a Black woman could be with police […]

How do city and state governments go about creating “ghettos” to sequester their undesirable communities while protecting affluent white spaces? And at whose expense? Sheryll Cashin, J.D., the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law, Civil Rights and Social Justice at Georgetown University Law Center, joins host Dr. Mark Anthony Neal to discuss her latest book, White […]

In 1988, the world was introduced to the groundbreaking Black rock band, Living Colour, with their debut record, “Vivid,” which dominated the charts and was a commercial hit. Made up of lead vocalist Corey Glover, guitarist Vernon Reid, drummer William Calhoun, and bassist Muzz Skillings, the group then released their sophomoric album, “Time’s Up,” a […]

What was the cultural production of the Civil Rights Era and beyond during the Black Arts Movement of the ’60’s and ’70’s? Dr. Casarae Lavada Abdul-Ghani, Assistant Professor of English at Temple University joins Dr. Mark Anthony Neal to discuss her new book, Start a Riot! Civil Unrest in Black Arts Movement Drama, Fiction, and […]

The railroad has long held a place in American mythos as the very representation of “progress,” such as with westward expansion. But in the years following Emancipation, Black women have long utilized the newfound technology to increase their mobility around the country. What were some of the inherent retaliations that Black women faced while riding […]

Not much has been written on the life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson–until now. For many people she was mainly known as the wife of famed poet and novelist, Paul Laurence Dunbar. But Alice Dunbar-Nelson was a poet, essayist, and activist very much in her own right and power. Prof. Tara T. Green, Chair of African American […]

What is the lasting impact of Black masculinity being used as a tool of capitalism and commerce?  Dr. Jordanna Matlon, Assistant Professor at American University, joins host Dr. Mark Anthony Neal to discuss her new book, A Man among Other Men: The Crisis of Black Masculinity in Racial Capitalism, published by Cornell University Press. Dr. […]

272 enslaved people were sold by Georgetown University in 1838 to bring in much-needed funds to preserve itself. Recently, the university has strove to make amends for this tremendous act of inhumanity. But composer Carlos Simon, Assistant Professor in the Department of Performing Arts at Georgetown, felt that something should be done to commemorate the […]

In the face of ongoing calls to “be patient” during the Civil Rights Era, how did activists and artists use Black theater, and Black performance more broadly, as a form of dissidence to make change? Dr. Julius B. Fleming, Jr., a scholar of Performance Studies and Black Literature and an Assistant Professor of English at […]