This program originally aired on May 2, 2017.
Today another installment of Culture Connections with Dr. Sheri Parks of the University of Maryland. Author D. Watkins joins as we continue to reflect on the 2015 Uprising sparked by the death of Freddie Gray. D. co-hosts Undisclosed, a podcast that re-examines Freddie Gray’s death.
Have any new details emerged? How did the Uprising change the way we talk about race and inequality in Baltimore? We may be more willing to listen to the experiences of others. Does listening lead to change? What about on the national level? The 2016 election upended people’s assumptions about class, culture and race in this country. Will that disruption lead to a deeper understanding of the issues we face and how to solve them?
Dr. Sheri Parks joins us every month for the Midday Culture Connection. She’s an Associate Dean at the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland College Park, where she is also an Associate Professor in the Department of American Studies. Her book is called Fierce Angels: Living with a Legacy from the Sacred Dark Feminine to the Strong Black Woman.
D. Watkins is the author of two books: The Beast Side: Living (and Dying) While Black in America and The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir. He’s also an editor-at-large for Salon.com; co-host of a series on The Undisclosed, a blog that re-examines the events surrounding the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray; a lecturer in the Klein Family School of Communications Design at the University of Baltimore, and the founder of the BMore Writers Project.
