Left of Black S3:E8 | Recalling the Legacy of Queer Gender-Bending Harlem Renaissance Performer Gladys Bentley

November 5, 2012

For many Gladys Bentley is a long forgotten footnote to the Harlem Renaissance and Jazz Age.  Bentley’s willingness to challenge the racial, sexual and gender status quo of the 20^th Century is recalled in the work of Durham-based artist Shirlette Ammons on her new recording Twilight for Gladys Bentley.  Ammons and Duke University Professor Sharon Patricia Holland join Left of Black Host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal in studio to talk about “Bentley Mode,” the tradition of “raunchy” Black Music (“f*ckable feminist”) and Holland’s new book The Erotic Life of Racism (Duke University Press).

***

Left of Black is a weekly Webcast hosted by Mark Anthony Neal and produced in collaboration with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University.

***

Episodes of Left of Black are also available for free download in  @ iTunes U