Tag: Colson Whitehead

Posted in A Professor's Thoughts..., On the Desk..., On The Radar

Check out Dr. G as a Featured Contributor for VCU News!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

On this past Wednesday, I had the opportunity to be a featured contributor for a Juneteenth Reading List on VCU News!! I am always excited when I get to share a some resources and good reads/finds!!

The recommended reading list consists of various faculty on the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) campus. The list is meant to inform and celebrate the Juneteenth holiday. As noted by Elinor Frisa,

VCU News asked faculty, as well as staff from VCU Libraries, to suggest books that help readers understand and celebrate Juneteenth and all that it represents.

For my featured selection, I chose ‘We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy’ by Natalie Baszile.

Readers also get the opportunity to see the ways in which Black farmers use the land to discuss race relations, create identities, showcase the harvest as a healing tool and explain how it passed down through generations. I recommend this book as it is filled with rich history (past and present), it speaks to the importance of land ownership for Black Americans and it does not rely on one type of farming story. “We Are Each Other’s Harvest” is an inspiring book that informs, encourages and serves as a guide to the future legacy of Black American farmers.  

To see the full feature and article, click here!!

Posted in On The Radar

On The Radar-New Trailer Drop

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

Inspired by Colson Whiteheads’s 2016 novel, “The Underground Railroad” has been adapted into a live action television series by writer/director/showrunner Barry Jenkins for Amazon Prime Video. As noted by Jenkins,

“It’s a groundbreaking work that pays respect to our nation’s history while using the form to explore it in a thoughtful and original way. Preserving the sweep and grandeur of a story like this requires bold, innovative thinking, and in Amazon, we’ve found a partner whose reverence for storytelling and freeness of form is wholly in line with our vision.”

So I remember hearing about this film back in Summer 2020, and I was very much intrigued. Ever since the WGN series Underground was not renewed, I always hoped that the story of the Underground Railroad would get picked up and/or given another platform for it to be highlighted. There have been various showings about this amazing movement in a few mainstream and independent (Underground Railroad: The William Still Story [2012]; Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad [1994]; Harriet [2019]; The North Star [2016]; Woman called Moses [1978]; Freedom [2014]). So it very refreshing to see a modern, compelling take on this early to mid-19th century network of secret routes and safe houses.

Check out the trailers below that help set-up the series!

“In Aeternum”

Now what you will find captivating about “In Aeternum” is that it plays in reverse. According to Jenkins (via Twitter), “They say history is written by the victors, so… let’s run it back” (for a more detailed response see here).  

“Randall. Cora Randall”
“Speak upon the ashes”
“Preamble”

The Underground Railroad is set to stream later this year!!

**Sidenote: Let me also say Amazon Prime Video has been on a roll with their original television shows and movies….Sylvie’s Love [2020], One Night in a Miami [2020], The Wilds [2020], Flack [2021], Bosch [2015], The Boys [2019], just to name a few!