Mark Anthony Neal (@NewBlackMan on X)
@markanthonyneal.bsky.social
25K followers 2K following 1.2K posts
Aggregator of Black Culture. James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of African & African American Studies at Duke University. Host of the Webby-nominated Left of Black. Author of several books, including forthcoming SAVE A SEAT FOR ME (on Black Fatherhood).
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markanthonyneal.bsky.social
The Hiphop Archive and Research Institute the house that the late Dr. Marcyliena Morgan built. I was honored to bring #LeftOfBlack to her house 12 years ago to discuss her vision for the study of HipHop Culture.
Left of Black with Marcyliena Morgan
YouTube video by John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University
www.youtube.com
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
"Americans, meanwhile, are already paying other people—a lot—to care for their children. According to 2022 data from the National Database of Childcare Prices, families with just one child spend 8.9 to 16% of their median income for child care..."
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
One Obvious, Underused Child-Care Solution
Pay grandparents.
www.theatlantic.com
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
What do you do when the justice system you rely on for redress fails you and you have to take matters into your own hands?

Kali Gross discusses her book 'Vengeance Feminism: The Power of Black Women’s Fury in Lawless Times' (Seal Press) via #LeftOfBlack #Season15
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gyZ...
Left of Black | Black Women's Rage as a Means Towards Justice in Philadelphia with Kali Nicole Gross
YouTube video by John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke U.
www.youtube.com
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
The Hiphop Archive and Research Institute the house that the late Dr. Marcyliena Morgan built. I was honored to bring #LeftOfBlack to her house 12 years ago to discuss her vision for the study of HipHop Culture.
Left of Black with Marcyliena Morgan
YouTube video by John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Mark Anthony Neal (@NewBlackMan on X)
richmondbridge.bsky.social
‘How much hip-hop iconography would be considered anti-American under this new regime of revisionist history? Where would our legacy live, if banned from the Internet, besides our heads and our hearts? How would we preserve it for future generations?’

Urgent 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ question too
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
"Mark Anthony Neal notes the unprecedented "accessibility of the archive of contemporary and historical Blackness"...But "laments how digital accessibility has reduced our music to "the ambient background of the continued exploitation & commodification of Black culture."
www.npr.org/2025/10/01/g...
The BET Hip Hop Awards cut the cord as DEI dies
The show's suspension comes amid broader efforts to curb diversity at the institutional level. The next attempt to canonize the movement must learn lessons from its successes — and its missteps.
www.npr.org
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
"Mark Anthony Neal notes the unprecedented "accessibility of the archive of contemporary and historical Blackness"...But "laments how digital accessibility has reduced our music to "the ambient background of the continued exploitation & commodification of Black culture."
www.npr.org/2025/10/01/g...
The BET Hip Hop Awards cut the cord as DEI dies
The show's suspension comes amid broader efforts to curb diversity at the institutional level. The next attempt to canonize the movement must learn lessons from its successes — and its missteps.
www.npr.org
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
Boston to Pay $150,000 to 2 Black Men Wrongly Accused in White Woman’s Killing

Boston’s mayor, Michelle Wu, apologized in 2023 to Alan Swanson and Willie Bennett for the actions of police after the 1989 killing of Carol Stuart.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/u...
Boston to Pay $150,000 to 2 Black Men Wrongly Accused in White Woman’s Killing
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Mark Anthony Neal (@NewBlackMan on X)
lipsticklitterati.bsky.social
Sasha Bonet will be discussing her novel this week in her hometown, Houston. #KindredStories in #ThirdWard is hosting. Hope to see you there on Tuesday. #BookSky
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
A Searing Memoir of Black Womanhood, Across Generations

In “The Waterbearers,” Sasha Bonét weaves her matrilineal history into a larger struggle for survival and self-knowledge.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...
A Searing Memoir of Black Womanhood, Across Generations
www.nytimes.com
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
"a fear of sleep loss that itself causes sleep loss that in turn generates an even greater fear of sleep loss that in turn generates even more sleep loss … until the next thing you know, you’re in an insomnia galaxy spiral..."
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Why Can’t Americans Sleep?
Insomnia has become a public-health emergency.
www.theatlantic.com
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
A Searing Memoir of Black Womanhood, Across Generations

In “The Waterbearers,” Sasha Bonét weaves her matrilineal history into a larger struggle for survival and self-knowledge.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...
A Searing Memoir of Black Womanhood, Across Generations
www.nytimes.com
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
"Lalah Hathaway wants everything vantablack — blacker than black, the blackest black, a black that reveals Hathaway’s genealogical relationship to sound, traceable to her father Donny Hathaway’s performance of 'Be Real Black For Me'." -- Joshua Myers
www.capitalbop.com/lalah-hathaw...
Yours Sincerely, Lalah Hathaway
Lalah Hathaway dazzled at The Anthem last month, showing why she's often called "the first daughter of soul."
www.capitalbop.com
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
'The Los Angeles wildfires leveled entire neighborhoods, but perhaps nowhere suffered more than west Altadena. This is an account of three families’ grueling recovery — the part of the story most people never see.'
wapo.st/46jWqbf
L.A. fires burned their block. For each, the disaster was just beginning.
The Washington Post spent months with three families from West Las Flores Drive in Altadena, following their struggles to recover and to forge a new future.
wapo.st
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
‘The Brothers Size’ Review: A Spare and Poetic Restaging

In honor of its 20th anniversary, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play gets a fiercely minimalist production at the Shed.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/t...
‘The Brothers Size’ Review: A Spare and Poetic Restaging
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Mark Anthony Neal (@NewBlackMan on X)
Reposted by Mark Anthony Neal (@NewBlackMan on X)
biglolo7mile.bsky.social
The amount of unqualified folks with passing grades simply due to AI is going to be huge. Cheating at the highest levels.
markanthonyneal.bsky.social
Left of Black Digital Series Wins Two Telly Awards for Video Excellence
leftofblack.org/left-of-blac...