Honoring W.E.B. Du Bois 2012

The Board of Trustees at the University of Pennsylvania appointed Dr. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois Honorary Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies on February 17th 2012. The day included three intellectual panels, art installation, musical tribute, and a poetic tribute. This short video captures the day's activities.

With: Tukufu Zuberi, Lawrence Bobo, Camille Charles, Vivian Gadsden, Lewis Gordon, Stephanie Evans, Aldon Morris, Mary Pattillo, Reiland Rabaka, Gwendolyn Du Bois Shaw, Kenneth Shropshire, Quincy Stewart, Robert Vitalis, Howard Winant.

A History of Haiti and the Legacy of Violence in Jamaica on the February 13th 'Left of Black'

A History of Haiti and the Legacy of Violence in Jamaica on the February 13^thLeft of Black

Host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined in-studio by Laurent Dubois, the Marcello Lotti Professor of Romance Studies and History at Duke University   A co-director of the Haiti Lab at the Franklin Humanities Institute,  Dubois discusses his new book Haiti: The Aftershocks of History (Metropolitan Books).  Dubois gives historical context to the longstanding relationship between the U.S. and Haiti.  Also the author of Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France, Dubois also talks about how he uses athletics as a gateway into political and cultural engagement. 

Later, Neal is joined via Skype© by University of Pennsylvania professor of anthropology Deborah Thomas.   The author of Exceptional Violence: Embodied Citizenship and Transnational Jamaica and co-director and co-producer of the film Bad Friday: Rastafari After Coral Gardens, Thomas discusses common misconceptions and stereotypes against Jamaican people.  Thomas dives into the history of the Rastafarian Movement and their oppression.  Lastly, Thomas talks about her film, and how her background as a dancer inspires her scholarship.

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Left of Black airs at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Mondays on the Ustream channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/left-of-black. 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 Blackis recorded and produced at the John Hope Franklin Center of International and Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University.

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Follow Left of Black on Twitter: @LeftofBlack

Follow Mark Anthony Neal on Twitter: @NewBlackMan

Follow Laurent Dubois on Twitter: @SoccerPolitics

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Digitizing Africana Diaporas: Technology and Ethnobiology in the Black Hebrew Community | A Talk by John L. Jackson, Jr.

African American Males Transcending Urban Disadvantage

African American Males Transcending Urban Disadvantage

Researchers studying African American boys and men living in urban contexts typically default to deficit models. While few would dispute the need to understand the factors that contribute to urban disadvantage, scholars are increasingly exploring “what works” – the social resources, conditions, practices, and policies that yield more encouraging outcomes for African American males in the city.

As leaders of the Penn Institute for Urban Research Faculty Forum, Penn GSE Professor Shaun Harper and Annenberg Professor John Jackson have brought together leading scholars who are addressing these issues.

Titled African American Men Transcending Urban Disadvantage, the Forum will feature:

David Wall Rice, Morehouse College:
Reimagining Black Male Identities and Expectancy, 4/18

Elijah Anderson, Yale University:
A Discussion of Against the Wall: Poor, Young, Black, and Male, 4/19

Mark Anthony Neal, Duke University:
Beyond Pathological Media Misrepresentation, 4/20

All lectures will be held from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in Huntsman Hall (University of Pennsylvania), Room 250, 3730 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

This forum is free and open to the public.