Commentary

Melissa Harris Perry Show, MSNBC: Recovering from the Boston Bombing

2013-04-21T14:00:00Z

I joined Michael Eric Dyson, Ari Melber, Valarie Kaur, & Katon Dawson on MSNBC's Melissa Harris Perry Show to discuss the aftermath of the Boston bombing. View the clips of my appearance here:

The Grio: "Please Don't Be Muslim" - Fears of Racial, Ethnic Profiling in the Wake of Boston Bombing

2013-04-17T20:40:00Z

"Being Muslim in post-9/11 America means worrying about being the victim of a terrorist attack and worrying that I might be blamed for that very attack; it means Muslim victims are invisible while Muslim perpetrators are the only Muslims we see."

Read the article here.

Smiley & West: Manning Marable's "Malcolm X"--Two Years Later

2013-04-05T04:00:00Z

Two years after the passing of historian Manning Marable and the release of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, one of his researchers Zaheer Ali joined Tavis Smiley and Cornel West to reflect on Marable's life and legacy, and on his biography of Malcolm X.

Listen to the segment here:

Download a podcast of the entire show here.

Al Jazeera The Stream: "Beyond the Nation: African American Islam Today"

2013-02-13T19:30:00Z

What does it mean to be an African-American Muslim in 2013? Fifty years ago, Islam in the US was laid against the backdrop of racial segregation, led by the likes of Malcolm X and Elijah Mohammed. But today things have changed, with Muslim influence represented in pop culture like the hip-hop music industry. Join The Stream as we go in-depth to talk about how the community has evolved.

Islamic Monthly: "The Case for Barack Obama"

2012-10-08T18:03:00Z

"[T]he case for Obama is predicated on politics, pragmatism and realism, and rests on the following premises: First, though the Democratic and Republican parties are beholden to special interests, there are notable and critical differences in policy between the two parties and their standard bearers; and in these areas of difference, Muslim-Americans’ interests are better served by an Obama presidency. Second, where significant policy differences do not exist (especially in the area of foreign relations and the national security state), significant discursive differences do; and a Romney defeat is necessary to repudiate the discourse of Islamophobia (along with rampant xenophobia) running through the veins of the Republican Party. Third, the White House is not a site for radical change: Obama’s presidency has exposed the limited transformative power of the office, while offering instead incremental, liberal reforms. Because of the limitations on presidential powers, voting is only one, although necessary, aspect of electoral politics (beyond Election Day, lobbying and constituent services are just important); and electoral politics is only one of several important kinds of political activity."

Read the full article here.

VIDEO & Storify: "Digital Humanities Beyond the Classroom: The Education of Manning Marable"

2012-04-28T18:00:00Z

As part of the Manning Marable Memorial Conference, I participated in a session with Megan Marcelin and Mark Phillipson entitled "Digital Humanities Beyond the Classroom: The Education of Manning Marable" that examined the series of pioneering digital humanities projects Dr. Marable undertook with Columbia's Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL).

One of the projects on which I worked closely with Dr. Marable is an online, annotated, multimedia version of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. At our conference session, I screened this CCNMTL-produced video clip highlighting some features of that project:

Thanks to all those who tweeted, here's a storified recap of the entire session (may take a few seconds to load):

Storify: "Researching Malcolm, Reading Marable: A Malcolm X Project Roundtable"

2012-04-27T15:15:00Z

As part of the Manning Marable Memorial Conference, fellow Malcolm X Project researchers May Alhassen, Garrett Felber, & Liz Mazucci joined me in a roundtable conversation moderated by Hishaam Aidi, about Manning Marable's Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. We reflected on our work with Dr. Marable, his book, and its critics.

A partial audio recording of the session is forthcoming, but in the meantime, thanks to all those who tweeted here's a storified recap (may take a few seconds to load):

Storify: "Minneapolis Royalty: Prince" Pop Conference Session

2012-03-25T03:25:00Z

Thanks to all who attended and tweeted about Matt Thomas's and my Pop Conference session on Prince, here's a storified recap (may take a few seconds to load):

IASPM-US/POP Conference: "MPLS (Minneapolis): As Site and Sound"

2012-03-22T02:59:00Z

As a preview/supplement for my Pop Conference presentation on Prince and the Minneapolis sound, the International Association for the Study of Popular Music posted my discussion of 10 songs that reflect the influence of the Minneapolis sound.

Read the article here.

The Root: "What About Poor White Kids?"

2011-12-20T05:33:08Z

"Our national conversations about poverty -- so entangled with race in unspoken ways -- have rendered the white poor invisible and the black poor pathological, and undermined our attempts to gain majority support for anti-poverty programs."

Read the article here.