Weekly Webcast ‘Left of Black’ To Focus on Politics, Culture

Weekly Webcast ‘Left of Black’ To Focus on Politics, Culture
by Camille Jackson
Wednesday, October 27, 2010

DURHAM, N.C. -- This fall, Duke University African and African American Studies professor Mark Anthony Neal has taken his role as the one of the university’s public intellectuals to a new level with his weekly program, “Left of Black,” featuring interviews with academics, authors, artists and others discussing cultural issues.

The next episode of the online show will turn its attention toward politics in time for the midterm election with guests Farai Chideya, a former NPR news analyst, and Cathy Cohen, a political scientist from the University of Chicago.

Both guests will join Neal via video conference software, or Skype.

The program will air online at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 1, on Duke’s Ustream channel, ustream.tv/dukeuniversity. Viewers are invited to participate in a Twitter conversation while the show airs using hash tags #LeftofBlack or #dukelive.

Neal, who covers the most prescient topics of the day, will discuss NPR’s firing of political commentator Juan Williams with Chideya, who recently wrote a piece criticizing how the network deals with diversity. Chideya is the host of “Pop+Politics with Farai Chideya,” a three-part radio series on the 2010 midterm election.

Cohen is the author of “Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics,” and co-editor of a new book series, “Transgressing Boundaries: Studies in Black Politics and Black Communities.” She and Neal will talk about African-American voter participation.

“I definitely see this program as an extension of my desire to make the knowledge produced in and by the university available to a wider public,” Neal said. “It is also a chance to highlight the ideas of folk who aren’t the standard talking heads.”

Neal, known for his progressive views on black male masculinity, describes the program as offering “a contrarian view of blackness,” or a perspective that goes beyond the status quo of what it means to be black. Blackness, he says, cannot be defined as “a political position in the left/right paradigm.”

The 45-minute show, now in its second month, includes Neal interviewing two guests, in studio or by Skype, and introducing a “question of the week.” Student volunteer Galvin Wells of North Carolina Central University poses the question to bystanders in short video clips. He also provides additional footage and production assistance.

“Left of Black” is recorded and produced at the John Hope Franklin Center of International and Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke. Catherine Angst, multimedia specialist, and Jason Doty, administrative manager, tape and produce the show from a customized basement studio.

"I find it incredibly inspiring that even with very limited resources and the wider expectation to 'do more with less,' the Franklin Center still finds innovative ways of using technology to address important issues of today," Doty said.

In the last episode Neal reflected on the 15th anniversary of the Million Man March, asking guest James Peterson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, about the long-range impact of the march on black men. Also, music critic Rashod Ollision shared his critique of the current state of R&B music.

Past episodes have featured:

-- Spoken word poet Joshua Bennett speaking candidly about negotiating the constraints of black masculinity in the hip-hop era;

-- Local author Zelda Lockhart revealing her struggles with the publishing industry;

-- A discussion on how black mega churches have changed the way people worship, and the Morehouse College dress code with regular contributor and Morehouse professor Stephane Dunn;

-- And, an exploration of portrayals of black female sexuality, and rape and the Civil Rights Movement.

"Left of Black" also airs on Time Warner’s public access television stations. In Durham County, the program airs at 10 p.m. Mondays on channel 18. In Orange and Chatham counties it airs Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on channel 8.

The webcast can also be found on iTunesU and has been embedded by several news websites and blogs including TheLoop21.com and TheDivaFeminist.com.

For a complete archive of “Left of Black” visit Duke on Demand.

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Camille Jackson
T: (919) 681-8052
Email: camille.jackson@duke.edu

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