We had an “academic barbershop roundtable” this morning on the politics of race and pop culture in the context of Black superhero comic books. Our guests were Drs. Adilifu Nama (author of Super Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes
), Dwain Pruitt (comic author and Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Morgan State University, Todd Steven Burroughs (co-editor of the forthcoming Black Classic Press publication A Lie of Reinvention: Correcting Manning Marable’s Malcolm X) and Mark Bolden of the Fanon Project. We discussed the history of comics and the various was of interpreting their meaning and societal impact. We also heard audio from Public Enemy, Oddisee and Black Nerd Rants. All this and much on this edition of The Super Funky Soul Power Hour!
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Greetings, Professionals:
Good day!
This program is excellent, refreshing and on point!
Thank you!
Yumy Odom, Founder
The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC, Inc.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKhRbE5esRU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
This is the episode #1 of 11 of a great series exploring the African symbolism and antecedents of modern Euro-US super heros & villains in cartoons, tv series, and movies. Great work!
It is always a pleasure to join Dr. Ball and Dr. Burroughs on the air. Dr. Nama and Dr. Pruit have put together some incredible work on Black Super Heros in comics and pop culture. Get those books!
Hate
Check this for a speech by Brother G, author of shades of memnon. His book is a pan-african hero story based on history, cultural myths, and righting the wrongs that exclude the african from the ancient world story of heros and fantasy.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3596705828408030197#
Another strong discussion! Speaking of A Man Called Hawk and Dr. Avery Brooks, it fascinates me that Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Captain Benjamin Sisko so trouble the Trek world. DS9 is treated like an heretical book in the Trek meta-text. Captain Benjamin Sisko: New Orleanian, baseball fan, single father, The Emmisary of the Bajoran Prophets, a classic mythic hero who gives up his life to save others, an unapologetic Black man who decorates his quarters with Yoruban masks and who still hasn’t forgotten segregation even in the 24th century, even as he oversees the transition of Bajor from an imperially occupied planet to an independent planet under a provisional government, and the management of a stable wormhole where the Prophets live. DS9′s darker themes made for great stories. Avery Brooks is under appreciated. Bring back the Emissary!
I LOVED this discourse/conversation!!!! We don’t have to worry about the “dearth” of black heroes; we have HERU, on whom ALL subsequent heroes are based. Do an online search for John R. Moore’s “Black Heru(Horus):The Original Superman”, and view Samuel L. Jackson’s character in the movie “Unbreakable”, keeping the Heru allegory in mind. Enjoy!!
Excellent program on a subject that has been neglected for a long time. I wished you had more time for a longer discussion. Money is tight now but I’m going to buy both of dr. Nama’s books Super Black and Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film Asap. Pax et Justica.
Amazing discussion gentlemen. What made it even better for me was the fact that I was working on a drawing of my own original character as I listened to the knowledge being dropped, and it really made me reflect. Thanks.