Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined by Shawn Michelle Smith as she discusses her latest publication, Photographic Returns: Racial Justice and the Time of Photography, which explores cutting edge Black image makers who have created new work by repurposing photography done in the past in attempts to express the complexity of Black life. Shawn Michelle […]
How do Black people show up online? And how does that digital presence contribute to vital conversations that, many times, can only happen in a virtual space? André Brock, Jr., Associate Professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech, joins Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal to talk about how […]
Who was the first Black movie icon? Many would argue in favor of the unparalleled and unmatched Paul Robeson. Known for his immense presence on the silver screen and his baritone singing voice, Robeson also shook up the status quo of his day as political activist for Civil Rights drawing praise and scrutiny on the […]
Student protests have become a part of campus life to gain equity and visibility from university administrators. The 1989 Howard University protests were no different in raising issues of the time for a more Afrocentric curriculum among other concerns. Joshua M. Myers, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies in the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard […]
When we think of rock n’ roll, we may not initially think of the pioneering Black women who blazed the first trails that established what we know of today as the iconic music of the 1950’s on through the 1970’s. Yet, there is no question that such rock legends like Big Mama Thornton and Etta […]
Dr. Lisa B. Thompson, prolific author, award-winning playwright, Black scholar, and professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, sat down with Left of Black host Dr. Mark Anthony Neal to talk about her body of work and the joy of creating for the stage. Thompson’s plays, which have […]
Scholars are all too familiar with academic writing in the university. But what about academic fiction? Moreover, what academic fiction was penned by notable Black writers, such as W.E.B. DuBois, and how is this genre explored in more popular forms of media such as the 1990’s show, A Different World, or the film and subsequent […]
What should a man sound like when singing Gospel music in the Black church? What octave is just “too high” for a man to incorporate into his performance? The cultural expectations that come with Black worship sometimes fail to validate the liberty of expression of many male vocalists due to what congregants think is acceptable […]
During the time of Jim Crow segregation, HBCU’s have nurtured some of the brightest talent to be seen on the football field. From producing intensely competitive student athletes to employing some of the greatest coaches in the game, like the legendary Jake Gaither of Florida A&M University (FAMU), Black colleges have a tradition of putting […]
Does being a Black artist necessitate being ‘woke’ and thus influencing the work that they produce? Cartoonist Keith Knight has attained newfound success with the new Hulu original series, “Woke,” starring rising star Lamorne Morris as Keef, an artist whose confrontation with the police causes him to question the comic strips he’s been creating. Somewhat […]