Left of Black S:2 E:2 w/ William "Sandy" Darity and Miriam Duchess Harris

Left of Black S:2 E:2

w/ William "Sandy" Darity and Miriam Duchess Harris

September 19, 2011

Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal is joined by noted economist William “Sandy” Darity, the Arts & Sciences Professor of Public Policy, Professor of African and African-American Studies and Economics at Duke University. Darity discusses the Obama Administration’s methods of tackling the economic crisis and reveals his own approach to combating unemployment, via a guaranteed jobs program. Darity then delves into Project Bright Idea, a program that aims to educate youth by providing “gifted-quality education."

Neal also talks with Duchess Harris, associate professor of American studies at Macalester College in Minnesota and author of Black Feminist Politics from Kennedy to Obama. In her book, Harris tours the movements of black feminist women and tells the story of the formation of the National Black Feminists Organization and Combahee River Collective, while highlighting how the face of feminism has changed. Harris also discusses the current controversy surrounding the film The Help.

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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 download @ iTunes U

New Episode of Weekly Webcast ‘Left of Black’ to Feature Noted Black Economist William “Sandy” Darity

New Episode of Weekly Webcast ‘Left of Black’ to Feature Noted Black Economist William “Sandy” Darity

On the September 19^th broadcast of ‘Left of Black’ host Mark Anthony Neal is joined by noted economist William “Sandy” Darity, the Arts & Sciences Professor of Public Policy, Professor of African and African-American Studies and Economics at Duke University. 

Darity discusses the Obama Administration’s methods of tackling the economic crisis and reveals his own approach to combating unemployment.  The professor then delves into his projects that educate youth by providing “gifted-quality education” and teaching research skills.  Darity, who is Chair of the Department of African and African-American Studies at Duke, also highlights the importance of African and African American studies to all Americans.   

The episode will also feature Duchess Harris, associate professor of American studies at Macalester College in Minnesota and author of Black Feminist Politics from Kennedy to Obama.  In her book, Harris tours the movements of black feminist women under different presidencies and tells the story of the formation of the National Black Feminists Organization and Combahee River Collective, while highlighting how the face of feminism changes.  Harris also discusses the current controversy surrounding the film The Help.

“Left of Black” airs at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Mondays on Duke's Ustream channel, ustream.tv/dukeuniversity. Viewers are invited to participate in a Twitter conversation with Neal and featured guests while the show airs using hash tags #LeftofBlack or #dukelive.  

"Left of Black" is recorded and produced at the John Hope Franklin Center of International and Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke.

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I Was Anita Hill

from the Huffington Post

I Was Anita Hill
by Duchess Harris

The political event that had an impact on my young adult life more than any other was the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings.

In October of 1991 I was 22-years-old and in my first month of graduate school. It was the first time I'd left the Eastern seaboard where I'd always used public transportation. Without understanding the Midwestern landscape I moved to Minnesota with no car. I had broken up with my East Coast boyfriend and I was the only Black student in my department. I couldn't afford long-distance calls and Al Gore hadn't invented the internet, so I was often glued to the television.

I watched the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings every day. Even though Anita Hill was a Republican social conservative, she was a Black woman who taught law, and that was my dream. I watched wondering, what if something horrible like this happened to me? No one believes her.

A few years later, I started teaching in a department (that I am no longer affiliated with), and I soon found out. We went on an international research trip. We were in a warm destination during January term, and my department chair asked me to go to a topless beach with him.

Similar to Anita Hill, I did not come forward. A well-meaning white colleague (like Nina Totenberg), told the Dean who insisted that I file a grievance. I was not tenured and couldn't imagine defying the Dean.

To make a long story short, an investigation was done, and I was not believed. Similar to Professor Hill, I was publicly vilified. Similar to Professor Hill, my career persevered.

I am sharing this story because a few years later I ran into my perpetrator's wife. Unlike Virginia Thomas, she never called my campus phone and she never asked me to apologize.

If Mrs. Thomas thinks that those of us who have experienced this are sorry that we spoke truth to power, well yes Virginia; there is a Santa Claus.

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Duchess Harris is an Associate Professor of American Studies at Macalester College, author of Black Feminist Politics from Kennedy to Clinton, and co-editor with Bruce D. Baum of Racially Writing the Republic: Racists, Race Rebels, and Transformations of American Identity.