Book News:
My UT homie S. Craig Watkins is getting some much deserved national attention for his new book Hip-Hop Matters. Check out his interview in the Austin-Statesman and KFPA’s Morning Show (joined by Dawn Elisa Fischer).
Just got Shayne Lee’s T.D. Jakes: America’s New Preacher (NYU Press) in the mail today. According to Publisher’s Weekly:
Arguing that West Virginia native T.D. Jakes "is the signpost for postdenominational Protestant America" for his "uncanny ability to blend the spiritual with the secular," Tulane University sociologist Lee offers an intriguing exploration of Jakes's popularity. Lee avoids heavy jargon and effectively pares his study down to the essentials, making this an accessible portrait despite some occasionally awkward prose. His approach is generally well-balanced; he admires Jakes's journey up from poverty, his hard work and innovation, but believes his "strong embrace of capitalism, penchant for self-invention and reinvention, rugged individualism, and... insatiable appetite for success" reflect the darker side of the nation that made him a Christian celebrity.
New Black Man has finally received some hometown love, courtesy of The Herald Sun in Durham and WUNC’s “The State of Things”. The latter runs for about an hour, but hang in for the first half when homie calls in an accuses me of wanting to be “a sellout”. As my man John Jackson puts it, “radio is the Greyhound Bus” of mainstream radio—“everybody cam buy a ticket”.
Speaking of the brilliant John Lester Jackson, Jr.—known to some as Anthroman—his new book Real Black: Adventures in Racial Sincerity drops officially on November 15th. Like his Harlemworld, Real Black is some groundbreaking ethnography.
“Black Media” Update:
Esther Iverem has dropped the October edition of SeeingBlack. Robert D. Bullard and Beverly Wright drop a serious piece on the “real looting” in N’awlins and SeeingBlack also runs my conversation with “Nu Soul” artist Rahsaan Patterson.
On NPR’s News and Notes, Farai Chideya talks with actress Denise Nicholas(still oh so fine after all these years) about her new book Freshwater Road, which examines The Freedom Summer of 1964 through the eyes of a 19-year-olf black women from Detroit. The book is loosely based on Nicholas’ own experiences during Freedom Summer. I had the chance to talk with Ms. Nicholas in late August—my feature on her will run at Felicia Pride’s The Backlist next week.
The Red River Shootout:
I was only in Texas for 11 months, but I developed an affection for Longhorn Football, largely because of Cedric Benson (who should have come to Bears camp on time) and Vince Young (who’s on some next generation Randall Cunningham ish). Anyway after five previous tries, UT finally defeated its archrival Oklahoma in the Red Rover Shootout.
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