A History of Black Folk on Twitter: Mark Anthony Neal @ TEDxDuke

From 'Go Down Moses' to the death of Manning Marable, what is the relationship between Black folk and social media?

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Wither Black History?

John Hope Franklin @ the University of Rochester in 1953

from The Loop

Black History is More Important Than Ever
by Mark Anthony Neal

he election of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President has accelerated conversations in this country about the significance of race. For those who thought that the country had already made significant racial gains, President Obama’s election was just confirmation. For many others, the election of the first Black president means little to those who lack the opportunity and privilege that President Obama was afforded.

As the debates rage on with regards to whether or not we live in a post-race society, it is perhaps legitimate to wonder about the significance of Black History, as we celebrate the first Black History Month in this country after the election of the first Black head of state.

According to a logic that suggests the country has transcended the limitations of race, it would seem there should be no use for the study of Black History and by extension, institutions such as African-American Studies departments and black cultural centers.

But that logic largely works only for those who never viewed the study of Black History as a serious enterprise and only as a feel-good endeavor designed to enhance the self-esteem of African-American youth. And while there is great pride to be taken in the learning of so many black “firsts,” Black History and the field of African-American/Black Studies is so much more than that.

Read the Full Essay @

The 45th Annivesary of Du Bois's Death in Ghana

from Vibe.com


CRITICAL NOIR: Remembering the "Old Man"
by Mark Anthony Neal

W. E. B. Du Bois died quietly in Accra, Ghana on August 27, 1963 at the age of 95. Du Bois had been living in Ghana for several years at the invitation of Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah. Du Bois's death marked not simply the end of an era and but closure on the life of a figure who remains unprecedented in African-American life and culture. For more than 60 years Du Bois remained at the center of much of the political and social discourse that examined the life of the "Negro" in America. Beginning with the publication of his ground breaking sociological study The Philadelphia Negro, his status as a founding member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), his stewardship of the NAACP's magazine The Crisis, his break with the organization he founded over its fear of radicalism, his run for the US Senate (New York) in 1950, his subsequent indictment as a foreign agent (the charges were later dropped) to his death in Ghana--the day before the March on Washington--Du Bois possessed a "Forrest Gump"-like presence in African-American Life.

Read the Full Essay @