On April 25, 2023, the world lost a gifted artist and committed activist – a man who was never shy about speaking (or singing) truth to power. With his passing, Harlem born Harry Belafonte joined his long time friend and fellow artist Sidney Poitier among the ancestors. Both men will be sorely missed. During the…
BIO – the Biographers International Organization podcast series – just reached a milestone. Its 100th episode features an interview with the co-authors of a biography about the first woman of color congresswoman, Patsy Takemoto Mink. Click here to hear fellow biographer Kitty Kelley interview Mink’s scholar/daughter Gwendolyn (Wendy) along with scholar Judy Wu. And you…
At the Biographers International Organization Annual Conference this past May, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel with distinguished writers/media creators – Marilyn Nelson, Julia Sweig and Barbara Allen – who talked about their approaches to exploring life stories using poems, podcast episodes and documentary film. Information about this panel is detailed below from…
Podcaster Obehi Ewanfoh, an African producer based in Verona, Italy, recently invited me to appear on his podcast series. Here’s the result – and enjoy the conversation.
In honor of Black Music Appreciation Month this June – and in loving tribute to the late master vocalist Al Jarreau – PRX is rereleasing a special 13-part Smithonian Productions series called, Jazz Singers. With Jarreau as the series’ enthusiatic and knowledgeable guide/narrator, each episode explored different aspects of the history and the art of…