http://blackademics.org Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:17:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've taught courses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 2009, but until this semester all of my courses have been in the Department of African and African American Studies. This semester I have the privilege of developing a new class just a few buildings down from ... http://blackademics.org/2012/01/09/beat-making-lab-in-unc-music-department/ For those of you who tweet I highly recommend you follow Dr. Mark Anthony Neal (@newblackman) and Dr. Sandy Darity (@sandydarity). You'll learn things like this: “@NewBlackMan: Unemployment Rises For Blacks As It Falls For Everyone Else @SandyDarity”. Dr. Neal linked a News One article, but I found another article ... http://blackademics.org/2012/01/08/unemployment-down-unless-youre-black/ I wrote the title track to MK Asante Jr’s award-winning documentary narrated by Maya Angelou, The Black Candle. Produced by Derrick Hodge with Robert Glasper on piano and Chris Dave on drums. HAPPY KWANZAA YALL! http://blackademics.org/2011/12/26/the-black-candle-soundtrack/ [Blackademics founder Pierce Freelon writes from West Africa] Greetings from Accra, Ghana - my home for the next two weeks. I've decided to submit "My View" from West Africa, to give you a glimpse into my experience on the road. I'm here shooting a documentary about black cultural production and migration throughout ... http://blackademics.org/2011/10/12/greetings-from-ghana-part-1/ Have you seen this advertisement from the skin care company Nivea? The ad depicts a young clean cut brother chucking his curly counterpart - a beheaded doppelganger with full-blown afro and beard - into the distance. The caption reads, "LOOK like you GIVE a damn: RE-CIVILIZE YOURSELF." Nivea is a German ... http://blackademics.org/2011/08/19/nivea-racist-advertizement-or-racist-civilization/ I'm working on a documentary about an after-school program I'm involved with called Poetic Justice. Check out this poem from one of our students and peep an article I wrote about the program below: North Carolina is emerging as one of the hotbeds of the international spoken word and slam poetry ... http://blackademics.org/2011/05/31/poetic-justice-hip-hop-and-spoken-word-documentary-about-durham/ Gil Scott Heron performed at the Carolina Theatre here in Durham last year. I had the honor and privilege of sitting down with him after the show. He was one of my biggest inspirations and he will be dearly missed. http://blackademics.org/2011/05/30/gil-scott-heron/ The legendary Keith Elam, also known as Guru, passed away last April. In addition to being half of the world renown Hip Hop duo Gangstarr, Guru is also known for pioneering in the fusion of jazz and Hip Hop through his Jazzmatazz franchise. In honor of the late Guru Hip ... http://blackademics.org/2011/05/05/guru-legacy/ Close your eyes and imagine you are sitting inside a small family-owned diner in Harlem. It's almost 5 o'clock in the morning. The year is 1929. A young man with a flour-dusted apron places a warm, sweet potato waffle and three seasoned fried chicken wings in front of you. It ... http://blackademics.org/2011/04/11/chicken-waffles-durhams-renaissance/ I've been teaching a dream class at North Carolina Central University for the past two years called Hip Hop, Music and Politics (it was originally called, It's Bigger Than Hip Hop: Music and Political Movements - I abbreviated the title this semester for simplicity's sake). This class is the culmination ... http://blackademics.org/2011/04/04/rap-politics-eagles/