"If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny" ::: Examining "The Handmaid’s Tale". . .the fictional story that explores the real potential of the U.S. as a failed state.
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG We’ve added bios on @Ritzenhoffk @blkeducator @jysexton & @cassady2euca to the IAF Guestbook. Follow along as we develop this page. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Follow along as we build biographical statements on the “If America Fails” Panel of Experts. These notable people use their lives to create art, inspire and educate the world, and stand up regularly to #DefendDemocracy. Our world is a better place because they are in it.
Over the weeks to come, we will add biographical data to the “If America Fails” Guestbook. Thus far, there are entries for:
Dr. Karen A. Ritzenhoff, Professor, Department of Communication, Central Connecticut State University – who joined us for the 10/14/21 Sneak Peek focusing on fascism; Dr. David H. Ikard, Professor and Chair, African-American and Diaspora Studies, Vanderbilt University, andProf. Jared Yates Sexton, Associate Professor, Writing and Linguistics, Georgia Southern University-Statesboro – who will join us on 1/13/22 for the If America Fails: The Coming Tyranny Premiere, focusing on democracy; and Rev. Dr. Susan K. Williams Smith, Founder and Executive Director, Crazy Faith Ministries, joining the 1/20/22 panel on cults, cultures and religion.
Follow along and if you’re inspired by these souls, leave us a comment on what you value most about their work. — LMO
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG If you escaped, would you ever go back to @HandmaidsOnHulu Gilead? #MovieAddicts suggests reasons June may return in Season 5. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Movie Addicts provides history and background on The Handmaid’s Tale Hulu TV series and cast, and offers conjecture on June’s Return to Gilead in Season 5 to come. Following the brutal conclusion to Season 4, they explore reasons June may decide to return to Gilead, including:
Hannah – June may go back to rescue her eldest daughter.
Serena – if the now pregnant Serena decides to go back to finish what she started, June may follow her to settle scores with Serena and Aunt Lydia.
The handmaids – June’s sense of loyalty to other handmaids may inspire her to return to save them from Gilead and destroy this dysfunctional society.
Nick – since June fell in love with him while trapped in Gilead, she may want to return to rescue him.
What do you imagine you would do in June’s position? — LMO
“About Handmaid’s Tale: The Handmaid’s Tale is an American dystopian tragedy television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. The series was ordered by the streaming service Hulu as a straight-to-series order of 10 episodes, for which production began in late 2016. The plot features a dystopia following a Second American Civil War wherein a totalitarian society subjects fertile women, called ‘Handmaids,’ to child-bearing slavery. The first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, 2017; the subsequent seven episodes were released every Wednesday. In May 2017, the series was renewed for a second season; which premiered on April 25, 2018. In May 2018, Hulu renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on June 5, 2019. In July 2019, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which is scheduled to premiere in 2021. In September 2019, it was announced that Hulu and MGM were developing a sequel series, to be based on Atwood’s 2019 novel The Testaments. The Handmaid’s Tale’s first season won eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 13 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. It is the first show produced by Hulu to win a major award as well as the first series on a streaming service to win an Emmy for Outstanding Series. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama. Elisabeth Moss was also awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actress. Season 4 of The Handmaid’s Tale is premiering in 2021. Originally, the new season was scheduled to premiere in fall 2020, but production came to a halt in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Six months later, in September, production resumed in Toronto.
“This time around, viewers can expect 10 episodes instead of the usual 13, one of which will be directed by actress Elisabeth Moss (June Osborne). According to showrunner Bruce Miller, the decision ‘was 100% creative,’ allowing the show to focus on a smaller part of the story instead of multiple story arcs. ‘Some storylines just seem to shake out as a 10-episode story, in my eyes,’ he told IndieWire. ‘It gives us a little more freedom because you can rely more on one propulsive element.’ The teaser for season 4 shows the last time we saw June and hints at what’s to come. ‘I can’t rest. My daughter deserves better. We all deserve better. Change never comes easy,’ June says in it. ‘This war isn’t going to win itself. We’re just getting started.’ Season 4 of The Handmaid’s Tale will feature the show’s regulars — Elisabeth, Max Minghella (Commander Nick Blaine), Bradley Whitford (Commander Joseph Lawrence), Joseph Fiennes (Commander Fred Waterford), Yvonne Strahovski (Serena Joy Waterford), Alexis Bledel (Dr. Emily Malek Ph.D.), Samira Wiley (Moira), Ann Dowd (Aunt Lydia), O-T Fagbenle (Luke Bankole), Madeline Brewer (Janine), and Amanda Brugel (Rita). In addition, Sam Jaeger who portrayed American representative Mark Tuello throughout season 2 and 3 was added to the main cast for the latest installment. Viewers will also spot a new face from Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House. Actress Mckenna Grace will play Mrs. Keyes, described as ‘a sharply intelligent, teenaged wife of a much older Commander who rules her farm and household with confidence.’ The new character will show duality with a ‘calm and pious’ exterior but actually suffers ‘with turmoil’ and ‘insanity’ internally. Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Joseph Fiennes, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, Alexis Bledel, Madelaine Brewer, Samira Wiley, Amanda Brugel, Bradley Whitford, Nina Kiri, Sydney Sweeney. . .” — Movie Addicts
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG To #DefendDemocracy & resist autocracy requires a plan and @BostonGlobe has some ideas to help us on the path of ensuring we never have another president like “the Former Guy.” Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
“Donald Trump exposed the weaknesses in our system of government that could now be exploited by a corrupt leader with control of the White House.”
WHAT FORMS of resistance do you see in the country today? What are some things you think we should/could be doing to resist our own March to Gilead? The Boston Globe has some ideas and the Editors wrote a six-part series to help us on the path of ensuring we never have another president like “the Former Guy.” Part 1–“A treasure map for an American tyrant” of “Future-Proofing the Presidency,” is linked below. It offers an overview of recent presidential abuses like the lack of transparency around personal and business financial interests, debts and conflicts of interest; profiting from government service; perverting justice; and fomenting insurrection. — LMO
“Donald Trump exposed the weaknesses in our system of government that could now be exploited by a corrupt leader with control of the White House. In this series, the Globe editorial board outlines the urgent reforms needed to prevent the rise of an American tyrant — and to protect our democracy for posterity…
“Presidents in a democratic system of government are not meant to be able to extract personal profits from government service — or hand out pardons to imprisoned buddies, pervert justice, or foment an insurrection. That’s the promise of democracy: that it will be superior to these authoritarian tendencies of tyrants and kings…
“Congress and the current president must act fast and impose more durable legal guardrails on the commander in chief…by making an example of Trump and holding him accountable, the country can protect itself against future —and potentially far more devastating — presidential corruption and misconduct.”
“…while Trump himself has been sitting in Mar-a-Lago brooding over his loss to Joe Biden, all the weaknesses in our legal and constitutional system that he exploited remain, waiting for a future presidential miscreant to take advantage of them — maybe even for Trump himself, if he is reelected in 2024. That’s why Congress and the current president must act fast and impose more durable legal guardrails on the commander in chief. By passing stronger anti-corruption laws, strengthening existing norms and creating new ones, and deterring future presidents from abusing their power by making an example of Trump and holding him accountable, the country can protect itself against future —and potentially far more devastating — presidential corruption and misconduct. The nation can, and must, prevent the rise of an American tyrant…
“The last four years underscored just how corruptible the presidency is. Whether dealing with issues of foreign policy, the economy, or race, Trump’s self-interest was his administration’s north star. His tax cuts served him. His attorney general acted as if he were the president’s personal attorney. And he failed to protect the nation from an attack led by his sympathizers… there was an expectation of officials to not talk about white nationalism when sending intelligence up the chain to the president…
“. . . impeachment — has turned out to be a blunt and, in modern times, ineffective weapon.”
“…Congress is supposed to be the main check on the presidency and, in theory, it still could be. But its primary instrument for curbing the presidency — impeachment — has turned out to be a blunt and, in modern times, ineffective weapon. The Trump years demonstrated that too: Twice impeached for clear violations of the public trust, Trump was twice acquitted by senators in his own party.
“. . .democracies don’t die suddenly; they’re poisoned by strongmen who systematically chip away at checks on their power. . .Even with Trump out of office, American democracy is becoming weaker as long as his deeds go unpunished and the system is unchanged. . .”
“The failure of the existing accountability system in the Constitution not only enabled Trump to act on his worst impulses. It also may very well have made his presidency a prelude to something much worse. Because democracies don’t die suddenly; they’re poisoned by strongmen who systematically chip away at checks on their power, just as Recep Tayyip Erdogan has done in Turkey, Narendra Modi in India, or Viktor Orbán in Hungary. Even with Trump out of office, American democracy is becoming weaker as long as his deeds go unpunished and the system is unchanged…
“The American Constitution, as designed by the original Framers, proved to be an incredibly powerful document. But the Framers’ vision was not the sole reason the Constitution was able to sustain a democracy for over 200 years. Waves of American visionaries fought and sacrificed their lives to improve the Constitution and expand American democracy, as was done, for example, with the 13th and 14th, and 19th Amendments. As has always been the case in American history, a strong and resilient democracy requires an active and engaged citizenry, one that is willing to constantly work to improve what they already have. The United States is in desperate need of that kind of commitment and work today.” — The Editorial Board, The Boston Globe
“. . .a strong and resilient democracy requires an active and engaged citizenry. . .”
@ASoulAFire The website of OUR COMMONGROUND with @JaniceOCG is a great place to find resources to help as we #FightFascismNow and #DefendDemocracy. Check it out! Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
OUR COMMON GROUND Media and Communications produces OUR COMMONGROUND with Janice Graham, an URBAN PROGRESSIVE independent talk radio program examining global and community issues, events, thought, ideas and perspectives in and about the African-American community; TruthWorks Network; and If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny. OUR COMMON GROUND features guests who bring new ideas, and creative and innovative solutions and opportunities. The website of OUR COMMON GROUND is a great place to learn about community issues, news, Black art and literature, history, find links to the OCG radio program, and explore the many links to related resources. As you work to #FightFascismNow and #DefendDemocracy, peruse the vast collection of resources available at OUR COMMON GROUND. — LMO
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @therapy4bgirls offers a world of mental health resources managed by @hellodrjoy. Check it out! Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Therapy For Black Girls is a website that offers a world of mental health resources, well, for Black Girls. This includes a directory of therapists, podcast, blog and community. Check it out! When democracy is threatened, Black folk need to stay alert, aware and healthy, both physically and mentally. — LMO
“Therapy for Black Girls is an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls.
“The Therapy for Black Girls podcast is a weekly conversation with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia, about all things mental health, personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible version of ourselves.
“Dr. Joy Harden Bradford is a speaker and the host of the wildly popular mental health podcast… Her work focuses on making mental health topics more relevant and accessible for Black women and she delights in using pop culture to illustrate psychological concepts. She has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, Forbes, Bustle, MTV, Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, Refinery29, Teen Vogue, and Essence.” — Therapy for Black Girls
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG Learn more about Creative Writing Professor, podcast host, author & IAF guest @jysexton who will join in 1/13 premiere. Watch Thursdays, 8 pm ET, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Professor Jared Yates Sexton uses his M.F.A. (Southern Illinois University, 2008) to teach creative writing at Georgia Southern University-Statesboro. In his professorial role, he focuses on Fiction, Creative Writing, Narrative, Realism, Surrealism, Minimalism, Maximalism, Working Class Literature, Changing Masculine Roles, Screenwriting, Popular Culture and Publishing. He has even taught courses on The Handmaid’s Tale.
As a writer, Sexton has published six books, from fiction to non-fiction. They are:
An End To All Things (2012);
The Hook and The Haymaker (2015);
I Am The Oil Of The Engine Of The World (2016);
The People Are Going To Rise Like The Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage (2017);
The Man They Wanted Me to Be: Toxic Masculinity and a Crisis of Our Making (2020); and
American Rule: How A Nation Conquered the World But Failed Its People (2020).
Outside the university, Sexton focuses on the state of American Democracy, sharing with readers and listeners alike, the fruits of his research and insights on the challenges we face as a nation, with dry humor and flare. — LMO
“Jared Yates Sexton is the author of The Man They Wanted Me to Be, The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore, American Rule and three collections of fiction. He co-hosts The Muckrake Political Podcast with Nick Hauselman, has a newsletter on Substack, and is Associate Professor of Writing and Linguistics with Georgia Southern University-Statesboro. Sexton has gone undercover into the fascist world and his political writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The New Republic, Politico, and Salon.com. He is working on a new book.” — Stand Up! with Pete Dominick, a podcast
@JaniceOCG @TexasHDC inspired @andreachalupa & @sarahkendzior of @gaslitnation to explore the type of federal intervention neededto protect #VotingRights in call for New Civil Rights Movement. Join Thurs., 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Chalupa said “We need a new civil rights movement because we’re rapidly losing the hard fought achievements of the last civil rights movement with the Supreme Court and Republicans gutting the Voting Rights Act. This is all deliberate to force America to become a hostage state, just like Missouri, just like, increasingly, Texas and Florida…”
Last summer, as Texas House Democrats were preparing to fly to Washington, D.C., to oppose new Jim Crow voting legislation in their own state, and fight for voting rights at the national level, Gaslit Nation produced this segment [00:00 – 25:40]. In it, Andrea Chalupa calls for a New Civil Rights Movement and here we are six months later, with activists around the country on hunger strikes to fight on behalf of our right to vote, the right to have our voices heard, the right to have our opinions on national affairs, in fact, counted. Listen in, read the summarized comments below or the linked transcript, as Kendzior and Chalupa offer their ideas on how to move the system toward the will of the majority. Also, consider where we are today and what role you might play in #ProtectingDemocracy.
Chalupa said “We need a new civil rights movement because we’re rapidly losing the hard fought achievements of the last civil rights movement with the Supreme Court and Republicans gutting the Voting Rights Act. This is all deliberate to force America to become a hostage state, just like Missouri, just like, increasingly, Texas and Florida…
“…the colleagues of Manchin and Sinema in the United States Congress must commit to good trouble themselves by taking on Sinema directly, take on Manchin directly…It’s time to fight now, just like the giants who came before us.”
“It’s a civil rights emergency, Chalupa continued, “and we have to follow in the footsteps now of John Lewis, who said, ‘You need to commit to good trouble,’ and that’s what these Democrats in Texas are doing. They’ve committed to good trouble. They are following in the footsteps of John Lewis. That’s the only way we’re going to protect our democracy and move our country forward and break through…the colleagues of Manchin and Sinema in the United States Congress must commit to good trouble themselves by taking on Sinema directly, take on Manchin directly, sit in their offices with your staff and confront them directly. Out their puppet masters directly. Push for your party to openly reject, as a policy platform, any money from Exxon and other dark puppet masters of Manchin and Sinema. Be bold. Be fearless. It’s time to fight now, just like the giants who came before us.”
“The only thing I really wanted to add to that,” said Sarah Kendzior, is the new civil rights movement is here and has been here and a lot of the Republican reaction and certainly the election of Trump and the acquiescence of the media to promote him and to ensure that win was in reaction to growing civil rights activism, particularly around racist police brutality, but also towards the use of social media to enlighten people about the actual history of the United States, about atrocities that were basically buried from view from White eyes, at least, not taught in high schools, not taught even in colleges…
“We have people out there fighting, we have people out there documenting,” said Sarah Kendzior. “We have activists like William Barber, like Bree Newsome, like Stacey Abrams, who understand very well the stakes here and are able to link our trajectory as a country founded on genocide and slavery, and also simultaneously founded with ideals and a rejection of monarchy and all of these other things…”
“We have people out there fighting, we have people out there documenting,” she continued. “We have activists like William Barber, like Bree Newsome, like Stacey Abrams, who understand very well the stakes here and are able to link our trajectory as a country founded on genocide and slavery, and also simultaneously founded with ideals and a rejection of monarchy and all of these other things…
“I mean, this is the thing that I think people struggle with, especially how it’s taught to kids in schools, it’s just that the principles did not match the practices. I think one of the things that truly terrifies people isn’t an explicit, cartoonish villain, but the fact that people that say good things, or that might be nice to you, or that might be nice or good to other people, or that have high ideals, will go on to commit or cover up incredible atrocities.
“…the fact that people that say good things, or that might be nice to you, or that might be nice or good to other people, or that have high ideals, will go on to commit or cover up incredible atrocities…That is the history of America,” said Kendzior, “that’s the history of every country. We’re not exceptional in this regard.”
“That is the history of America,” said Kendzior, “that’s the history of every country. We’re not exceptional in this regard. That hypocrisy, that complicity, that willingness to stand around and be a bystander and let other people suffer, as long as you think it’s not going to be you, that is the history of the world, and it’s killing us. It’s killing the world as we know it. We see it in relation to the growing rise of autocracy and to the climate crisis and the refusal of officials and powerful actors, corporate actors, to do anything to stop it, and the media manipulation and normalization of mass death, mass suffering, the commodification of that.
“There is a big, I think, civil rights movement that understands all this stuff and is bringing it to public attention,” said Kendzior, “and that is why the republicans are so aggressive in these voting rights restriction laws, in their desire to make sure that people who do have a sense of justice, a sense of historical perspective, and a desire to serve the whole public, to serve everybody, are kept out of office and cannot maintain power and cannot change the power balance, which has always shifted in my lifetime towards the wealthiest and increasingly towards a very, very narrow group of wealthy and elite and well-connected actors…
“I definitely see citizens pushing back in the ways that they can, but it’s so rare that we really see elected officials taking a bold action in the way that these Texas House Democrats have.”
“I definitely see citizens pushing back in the ways that they can, but it’s so rare that we really see elected officials taking a bold action in the way that these Texas House Democrats have. You’re exactly right that that’s what we need more of, and it needs to be directed at the other officials who do have the ability to make profound change in this country and are choosing not to. They’re choosing to deny people the right to vote, they’re choosing to uphold the filibuster,” Kendzior concluded.
“To be completely clear,” said Chalupa, “when I’m calling for a new civil rights movement, I’m not speaking to Black/Brown communities who are living in a constant state of a civil rights movement in order to protect themselves, protect their children. The whole 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones that terrifies the far-right, that terrifies the Robert E. Lees of today, that’s the story of progress in America as told through Black and Brown communities defending themselves through constant, continuous movements for civil rights…Who I’m speaking to directly is the federal government, is Joe Biden and every single person around him, including his family, every single member of Congress, their staff, their family, their assistants, their assistants’ assistants. It’s the federal intervention that is needed. That is what we need when I say we need a new civil rights movement…
“Greater voting rights for all is ultimately unifying for the country because it ensures that the majority voice is heard and that we’re not suffering and trapped for God knows how long under a tyranny of the minority,” Chalupa explained. “The only way you achieve that, as has happened throughout history, is federal intervention. You need to have the president, his entire team, the staunchest allies across both chambers of Congress fighting tooth and nail for civil rights. That’s how you get a huge wave of intervention, progress and hope. We’re not going to get that without substantial effort and commitment and good trouble in the halls of Congress by the elected officials and their staff themselves. It is time for the good trouble to be spread to the highest offices of the land, or we’re cooked.”
“Greater voting rights for all is ultimately unifying for the country because it ensures that the majority voice is heard and that we’re not suffering and trapped for God knows how long under a tyranny of the minority,” Chalupa explained. “The only way you achieve that, as has happened throughout history, is federal intervention. You need to have the president, his entire team, the staunchest allies across both chambers of Congress fighting tooth and nail for civil rights.
Building on her experience as a Missouri resident, Kendzior said, “…It is a very necessary federal intervention to protect the rights of people living under oppressive state legislatures…We do not deserve to have our rights taken away, whether it’s our policy preferences or our votes themselves. We absolutely don’t deserve this and we’re at the point where, yes, we do need the Biden administration to step in, because we’ve lost our democracy on a microcosm level and we’re about to lose it on a national level in 2022-2024. That is the road we’ve been going down a long time.”
“…we’re at the point where, yes, we do need the Biden administration to step in, because we’ve lost our democracy on a microcosm level and we’re about to lose it on a national level in 2022-2024.”
“After examining the latest voter suppression situation in the United States, we do a deep dive into mercenary Erik Prince. After committing war crimes in Iraq, this Blackwater founder has been building up his ‘blood money’ business, including teaming up with Russia and Gulf States to make dirty deals involving the 2016 election and now attempting to build a private army in Ukraine. — Gaslit Nation
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG The #USHouseOfRepresentatives is there to represent YOU. Do they know what you want? #DemocracyMatters Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Contact your U.S. House Member…just because every adult deserves control over what happens to their own body…including WOMEN.
Contact your U.S. House Member…just because everyone deserves a living wage.
Contact your U.S. House Member…just because everyone deserves access to high-quality healthcare.
Contact your U.S. House Member…just because our children and our children’s children deserve air they can breathe, water they can drink and food they can eat.
Contact your U.S. House Member…just because every adult deserves control over what happens to their own body…including WOMEN.
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG Gather ideas on how to #FightFascismNow from @gaslitnation by @sarahkendzior & @andreachalupa – see the Gaslit Nation Action Guide. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
The Gaslit Nation Action Guide offers a good start on ideas to help us fight fascism and encroaching tyranny. It expounds on these suggestions:
Get a Team Management Guide.
Focus on State Races.
Join Local Grassroots Affiliates of Key National Organizations.
Fight Global Warming with Grassroots Organizations.
Unionize.
Run for Something.
— LMO
“Gaslit Nation,” hosted by writers Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa, experts on authoritarian states who warned America about election hacking before the 2016 election. Here, they take a deep dive on the news, skipping outrage to deliver analysis, history, context, and sharp insight on global affairs.” — Gaslit Nation
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG Professor of African American & Diaspora Studies, author of 4 books & IAF guest on 1/13, learn more about @blkeducator at Vanderbilt’s website. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Learn more about the background and accomplishments of Dr. David Ikard, Chair, African-American and Diaspora Studies, Vanderbilt University, at the school’s website, linked below.
Dr. Ikard published four books between 2007 and 2017, including:
Breaking The Silence: Toward a Black Male Feminist Criticism (2007), demonstrating the possibility and value of a viable black male feminist perspective;
Nation of Cowards: Black Activism in Barack Obama’s Post-Racial America (2012) with Martell Teasley, suggesting a posture of passionate and organized pressure for Black Americans to strike during the Obama Administration; and suggesting “neither Obama nor any political figure is likely to be in the forefront of addressing issues of racial inequality and injustice;”
Blinded by the Whites: Why Race Still Matters in 21st-Century America (2013), which explodes the myths of a “post-racial” nation and colorblind politics; and argues for an intersectional approach to challenging oppression; and
Lovable Racists, Magical Negroes, and White Messiahs (2017), which considers literature and popular media to dismantle popular white supremacist tropes.
— LMO
“Professor Ikard is Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies. His research and teaching interests include African American Literature, black feminist criticism, hip hop culture, black masculinity and whiteness studies. He is the author/co-author of four books, including Breaking The Silence: Toward a Black Male Feminist Criticism (2007), Nation of Cowards: Black Activism in Barack Obama’s Post-Racial America (2012), co-authored with Martell Teasley and winner of the Best Scholarly Book Award by DISA in 2013, Blinded by the Whites: Why Race Still Matters in 21st-Century America (2013), and Lovable Racists, Magical Negroes, and White Messiahs (2017). His essays have appeared in African American Review, MELUS, Palimpsest, African and Black Diaspora Journal, The Journal of Black Studies, and Obsidian III.” — Vanderbilt University
If America Fails? 