Mark Anthony Neal’s web series opens with conversation with Jasmine Cobb on Black hair
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In an upcoming episode of "Left of Black," Mark Anthony Neal interviews Duke alumna Thema Bryant, a leading clinical psychologist.
Left of Black Season 14 has arrived! A fresh season of Mark Anthony Neal’s Webby-nominated web series, produced by the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke. The season is set to kick off on Oct. 19.
The season’s inaugural guest will be Jasmine Nichole Cobb, Professor of African & African American Studies and Art, Art History, and Visual Studies at Duke. The episodes are directed by Duke MFA in Experimental & Documentary Arts alumnus Eric Barstow.
Their discussion will be centered on her groundbreaking book, New Growth: The Art and Texture of Black Hair (2022), which explores the significance of Afro-textured Black hair and its intricate relationship with the body, space and visual culture. Additionally, Season 14 will feature the contributions of Deirdre Cooper Owens, Jennifer Nash, Thema Bryant and others.
In this season of Left of Black, we will showcase a lineup of scholars whose work delves into various aspects of Black life, creativity, scholarship, activism, resilience and Black excellence. The series will begin a new subseries this year, “Hip Hop @50,” that will feature conversations with key musicians and producers who made incredible contributions to the groundbreaking genre.
Left of Black Presents: Small Talk at FHI” is another subseries that kicks off with a live in-person event on October 25 when Mark Anthony Neal will host Nabil Ayers, son of renowned R&B legend Roy Ayers and the author of My Life in the Sunshine: Searching for My Father and Discovering My Family (2022).
The event and live taping will be held at the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute in our main lecture hall. Stay tuned for more details and a registration link.
Furthermore, this season welcomes the arrival of Jakiah Glass, the newest addition to the Left of Black production team. Glass, a recent mass communications graduate from North Carolina Central University, now serves as the assistant editor for the series.
Her affiliation with the Franklin Humanities Institute began with the Charmaine McKissick-Melton Communications Fellowship, a partnership between Duke and NCCU that targets undergraduate mass communications students.
Undergraduate Duke and UNC students should be on the lookout for a new course offering related to the Left of Black production process, taught by Neal. More information about the course will soon be announced.
