Every individual’s diverse background and experiences add value to our community. In February in particular, we celebrate the contributions of Black Americans throughout our history, thanks to Black History Month. In The Media School, we apply a media lens — acknowledging powerful, artful work centering on African-Americans.
Celebrating Black History Month: Honoring African-American contributions through a media lens
Appreciating Black media and art
Today, I’m sharing some of my favorite works by Black creators, often about the Black experience. This is obviously from the perspective of an outsider — I’d love to hear what you’re watching/reading/listening to/appreciating in honor of Black History Month.
First, my film and television recommendations — note they are all adult fare, so please read the synopses before checking them out. I appreciate the sensitivity and the structural and genre experimentations especially, and all have a lot to say about mental health (which you all know is a focus of my work).
And if you like those, try:
- Anything by writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour (if you like her TV work — “Watchmen,” “Pen15,” and “The Bear” — check out what she’s done in the theater)
- Lisa Cortes’ “Little Richard: I am Everything” (and if you like that, check out “The Apollo,” produced by Cortes)
- “Summer of Soul (... Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Robin Means Coleman’s “Horror Noire” is a book that continues to be meaningful to me. I’m humbled that Robin was on the board of the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts, the center I founded/directed at Northwestern, and is an executive producer on my film-in-process, “Orpa.”
In the art world: the work of Kerry James Marshall. The “Mastry” show is still one of the more powerful art exhibits I’ve seen. You can buy the catalog. Worth a look.
And in music:
- Miles Davis’s "Kind of Blue” is an LP I come back to often, because of the music but also the process of how it was created.
- Herbie Hancock — Not usually on my list of favorites, but I randomly told Siri to put him on during a recent commute, and I was struck by the range of his music. Worth checking out. Start with the song “Chameleon” and then keep going. Even “Chameleon” goes to unexpected places.
- I just noticed that Steely Dan’s (a seventh-grade favorite band!) “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” is built on the same bass line/riff as Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” (one of the standards I would often play in my jazz bands as a teenager and 20-something).
- When I ask my 26-year-old son what I should be listening to, over the last few years, the response is often Kendrick Lamar. So, I do what my son tells me to do.
Celebrating in The Media School
Media School faculty, staff, and students work year-round to acknowledge Black contributions to media. Here are a few Media School events and publications you may want to check out this month as well.
First, The Black Film Center & Archive presents an inspiring slate of programming each February for Black History Month. There’s still time to join them for:
- “Earth Mama” with a post-screening Q&A led by our own Robin Robinson
- “Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space” screening and Q&A
- The BFCA’s Black History Month closing reception, featuring the documentary “Finally Got the News” and a post-screening discussion led by Media School doctoral student Cole Nelson
Then, check out the most recent issue of Black Camera, the only scholarly film journal devoted to the study and documentation of the Black cinematic experience. It’s published by a team primarily consisting of Media School faculty and graduate students. Herman B Wells Endowed Professor Michael T. Martin is the journal’s editor; doctoral student Cole Nelson is its managing editor; and doctoral students Allison Brown, Joseph Roskos, Ahmed Tahsin Shams, and Justin Bonthuys are its editorial assistants. The issue includes work by Martin and Roskos; André Seewood, PhD’23; and our newest Ph.D. alumnus, Samuel Smucker.
Finally, a shoutout to our National Association of Black Journalists chapter on launching its new podcast, “The Creative Yard,” which explores storytelling, the creative process, career development, and resources for communications professionals. Check it out, and subscribe to catch future episodes.
Enjoy!
David Tolchinsky
Dean
The Media School at Indiana University