On today’s show, a conversation about the legacy of Jim Crow, representation, race and reclaiming racial stereotypes.
The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture has mounted a traveling exhibition from the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia in Big Rapids, Michigan. It’s called Hateful Things, and it includes objects from the 19th century through the present that dehumanize African Americans, and show, in striking and disturbing ways, how the pernicious legacy of Jim Crow remains woven into the fabric of the American story.
On Saturday afternoon, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Africana Studies is presenting a panel at the Lewis Museum called “Unpacking Hateful Things & Contemporary Practices.” Today, Tom welcomes two of the panelists to Studio A.
Vernā Myers, the recently appointed Vice President of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix, and author of the books: Moving Diversity Forward: How to Move from Well-Meaning to Well-Doing, and What if I Say the Wrong Thing? 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People;
And Dr. Lester Spence, a political scientist on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University. His latest book is called Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics. Dr. Spence will be moderating the panel, which also includes the literary historian Lawrence Jackson, the cultural historian Martha Jones, and the political scientist Rob Lieberman.
Our conversation was streamed live on WYPR’s Facebook page.
