When African American poet Camille Dungy decided to move her family to the predominantly White community of Fort Collins, CO, she did not expect to embark on a seven-year journey to diversify her front yard into a thriving ecosystem that invites all sorts of wild life. This HOA-defiant act spurred her to apply for a […]
A random back-to-school party in 1973 Brooklyn, New York ended up being ground zero for the birth of hip-hop culture at the electrifying fingertips of 18-year old local legend, DJ Kool Herc! As we wrap up celebrating hip-hop’s year-long 50th anniversary, We commemorate this beloved genre with a talk-back event featuring hip-hop scholar Bakari Kitwana, […]
Living conditions for incarcerated people in upstate New York’s Attica Correctional Facility were nothing short of dehumanizing. Black inmates were especially brutalized by the nearly all-white guard staff who were mostly from the rural town where the prison still stands today. In September 1971, when inmates revolted and took over the penitentiary to demand better […]
The Theater Owners’ Booking Association, or T.O.B.A., a theater network that employed Black entertainers to perform for African American audiences across the country, was a key player when vaudeville was the mainstream form of entertainment in early 20th century America. The Theater Owners’ Booking Association, or T.O.B.A., a theater network that employed Black entertainers to […]
Black organizing in urban spaces, particularly following The Great Migration onward, has always courted intense scrutiny from the powers-that-be. Black organizing in urban spaces, particularly following The Great Migration onward, has always courted intense scrutiny from the powers-that-be. What is the incredible history of this important Black self-empowerment in 20th century Philadelphia? Dr. J.T. Roane, […]
Too often, the drive for upward mobility and the desire to identify with the middle class causes us to discredit the value of blue collar workers, particularly those African Americans who are working class. Award-winning author and historian Dr. Blair LM Kelley joins host Dr. Mark Anthony Neal to discuss her latest book, “Black Folk: […]
Black mothers and birthing people are shown to be grossly neglected and misunderstood by the medical industrial complex that is our current healthcare system. And beyond bringing life into the world, Black motherhood is fraught with societal strife, from the Moynihan Report released in March, 1965 to seemingly never-ending incidents of Black youth being killed […]
What are the intersections between Ancient Greece and Africa and how does this shared history de-center the Transatlantic Slave Trade in a more expansive view of Blackness in the world? Dr. Sarah F. Derbew, Assistant Professor of Classics at Stanford University, joins host Prof. Mark Anthony Neal to discuss her first publication, “Untangling Blackness in […]
What happens when you take the incendiary reviews of an embattled film critic and juxtapose that against the intellectual work of a little-known, yet highly influential academic from the U.K. along with the rebellious generation of the late 1960’s? Author Dr. Daniel McNeil, the National Scholar Chair in Black Studies at Queen’s University, joins host […]
Picture celebrated authors Toni Morrison and Alice Walker getting together with famed playwright and actress Ntozake Shange at the poet and essayist June Jordan’s Brooklyn apartment to be fed Jamaican gumbo and champagne while talking about their work .Now imagine Prof. Audre Lorde, critically acclaimed writers Paule Marshall & Margo Jefferson, and other Black feminists […]