In this episode, Mark is diving into the life of WEB DuBois with the author of the new book, The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War, Chad Williams.

Chad Williams is the Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Professor of History and African and African American Studies at Brandeis University. Chad earned a BA with honors in History and African American Studies from UCLA, and received both his MA and Ph.D. in History from Princeton University. He specializes in African American and modern United States History, African American military history, the World War I era and African American intellectual history. 

His first book, Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era, was published in 2010 by the University of North Carolina Press. 

Tune in today!

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In this episode, Mark is talking with Dr. Tara T. Green about respectable life of Alice Dunbar Nelson.

Dr. Tara T. Green is CLASS Distinguished Professor and Chair of African American Studies at the University of Houston. She is the author and editor of six books. She has most recently published Love, Activism and The Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson (Bloomsbury), which was named a Prose Award Finalist in the Biography/Autobiography Category by the Association of American Publishers. And, See Me Naked: Black Women Defining Pleasure During the Interwar Era (Rutgers UP). She will be reading an excerpt from See Me Naked.

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Today, Mark and Dr. Sekou Franklin discuss Tennessee's recent political spotlight after the General Assembly voted to expel three of its members, who were leading a protest against gun control laws after a mass shooting in Nashville. 

This episode highlights the rarity of expulsion and the possible racism involved in the expulsion of two black representatives, while a white representative was not expelled. Dr. Franklin also points out that political activity by conservative legislatures in the states is a battleground for maintaining or rolling back civil rights, labor rights, women's rights, LGBTQ rights, and all gains made toward democracy. 

Dr. Sekou Franklin, a professor of political science at Middle Tennessee State University. He talks about the drivers of polarization, tactics used by black lawmakers facing conservative super majorities, and the importance of engaging in state and local politics.

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The Texas Rangers are celebrating their 200th year, and are widely known as a rugged and upright law enforcement agency that symbolizes Texas. However, the book "Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers" presents a more ruthless, racist, and barbarous history of the organization, and highlights their close ties to moneyed groups and powerful politicians. This book challenges the widely held view of the Texas Rangers and prompts important conversations about their role in law enforcement.

The guest today is Doug J. Swanson. Doug is a veteran investigative reporter and editor. He has written five novels and two non-fiction books. His most recent book is Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers, published in 2020 by Viking. Doug was for many years an investigative reporter and editor at The Dallas Morning News and was twice named the newspaper reporter of the year in Texas. 

He is currently a research associate professor in the English Department writing program at the University of Pittsburgh. Before joining Pitt in 2016, he taught journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Texas.

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In this episode, Mark had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Gay Byron about Christianity in Ethiopia and its deep roots on the African continent. Dr. Byron explained that Ethiopia has a unique history with Christianity, being one of the first nations in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion in the 4th century. Overall, this was a fascinating conversation that shed light on the deep roots of Christianity in Ethiopia and Africa, as well as the ongoing importance of Christianity in contemporary African society.

Gay L. Byron is a Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, DC. Her scholarship focuses on the origins of Christianity in ancient Ethiopia, cultural and womanist readings of Scripture, and race and ethnicity in early Christian writings. She is the author of Symbolic Blackness and Ethnic Difference in Early Christian Literature, co-editor (with Vanessa Lovelace) of Womanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse, and most recently co-editor (with Hugh R. Page Jr.) of Black Scholars Matter: Visions, Struggles, and Hopes in Africana Biblical Studies. Her current book project focuses on Ethiopian manuscripts and early Christianity.  Dr. Byron is also an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has preached and led workshops for a variety of denominations and local churches. 

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On this episode of The Parlay in All Blue Power history and culture collide. And yes, we're gonna talk about voting because voting is the first step. It is an essential tool for building wealth and obtaining and retaining power in the United States. The voting power of black people now is under attack. It is being attacked by Republican legislatures in the states of Louisiana and Alabama.

Mark is talking with Dr. Wendy Gaudin about Louisiana's Creole people, the history, the culture, and about how assertive use of political power can inform black people of today on how to build coalitions across racial and ethnic lines to ensure that we are not erased historically or politically.

Dr. Wendy A. Gaudin is an essayist, a beadwork, a poet, an American historian, and the proud descendant of Louisiana Creoles who migrated to California.  Her training as a historian took place at California State University, Louisiana State University, and New York University.  

Her nonfiction writing delves into the themes of race and belonging, skin color and ancestry, colonialism and family narratives, migration, oral history, hybridity, and Louisiana.  Her publications appear in North American Review, Indiana Review, Puerto Del Sol, the Rappahannock Review, the New Orleans Review, New South Journal, and the About Place Journal. 

She is currently writing an autoethnography of her family, her life, and her fieldwork in Creole Louisiana. A history professor at the Xavier University of Louisiana, Gaudin divides her time between New Orleans and the Acadiana prairie. 

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In this episode, Mark is talking with Anna Wolfe about Mississippi's Welfare Scandal.

Anna Wolfe is an investigative reporter for Mississippi Today, a nonprofit newsroom founded in 2016. Her coverage of poverty, public assistance and debtors prisons has received national recognition, including the Goldsmith Prize, the Collier Prize and the National Press Foundation’s Poverty and Inequality Award. 

Before joining the staff at Mississippi Today, she held several beats at Mississippi’s statewide newspaper, the Clarion Ledger, where she covered city hall and reported award-winning stories about medical billing and hunger in the Mississippi Delta. Born and raised in Washington State, Wolfe attended Mississippi State University and has lived in Jackson, Mississippi since graduating in 2014.

Tune in to hear an in-depth discussion about the welfare scandal, how it started, who’s involved, and how this has affected the residents of Mississippi.

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On the season finale of  The Parley in All Blue, Mark is joined by Dr. Stephen Finley who is the inaugural chair of African and African American studies at LSU. Dr. Finely is an associate professor of religious studies at LSU, as well. He's gonna walk us through how religion, the religion of "whiteness" fuels attacks, or the religion of white nationalism and white supremacy fuels attacks like that in Buffalo at Tops grocery store or at the Tree of Life Senegal in Pittsburgh or at the Walmart in El Paso Texas where the mass shooter in that case was specifically looking for Mexicans or Mexican immigrants. Dr. Finley will also discuss what religious studies mean and how it comes into play in today's society. 

Highlights from the episode:

• Teaching Religious Studies
• Defining Whiteness
• Religion and the Current State of Society
• Critical Race Theory and the School System
• The Mission of Turning Point USA

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Connect with Dr. Stephen Finley

Email: [email protected] 

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Today is part 2 of the conversation about the shooting that took place at Jackson State in May 1970. We have a very special guest, Vernon Steve Weakley, who is here to give us a firsthand account of what happened that tragic night at Jackson State University.

Vernon is an alumnus of Jackson State University and a graduate of the University of Houston. He was also a member of the Jackson State University, Houston Alumni Chapter. 

He is also a legendary member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. Jackson State University, Upsilon Epsilon (YE) Chapter, and is currently a member of Beta Alpha Chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity in Jackson, Ms.

Vernon Steve Weakley is a celebrated author and has made a name for himself in the literary world. He has written several successful books and numerous short stories that have brought him acclaim throughout America.

One of Vernon’s most notable works is his national, non-fictional best-selling book, "Standing at the Edge of Madness." The book delves into the human psyche and explores the depths of the human mind. It has been praised for its insightful analysis and its ability to shed light on complex issues that are often overlooked.

Over the years, Mr. Weakley has tirelessly and successfully worked to advance the cause of the NAACP. For his superb work with the NAACP, he received a meritorious award from that well-known, national civil rights organization.

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Mark is thrilled to have Dr. Nancy Bristow on the podcast today to discuss her book, "Steeped in the Blood of Racism: Black Power, Law and Order, and the 1970 Shootings at Jackson State College." The book sheds light on the tragedy that occurred on May 14, 1970, at Jackson State University, Mississippi.

Dr. Nancy K. Bristow is a Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Puget Sound, where she also serves on the leadership team of the Race and Pedagogy Institute. She is the author of three books, including Making Men Moral: Social Engineering and the Great War (NYU Press, 1996), American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic (Oxford University Press, 2012) and Steeped in the Blood of Racism: Black Power, Law and Order, and the 1970 Shootings at Jackson State College (Oxford University Press, 2020). Bristow has served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of American History and has offered historical commentary to news outlets ranging from the New York Times and The Nation to PBS and NPR.

Highlights from the episode:

• The massacre at Jackson State University on May 14, 1970, in Mississippi
• Dr. Nancy Bristow’s book, Steeped in the Blood of Racism: Black Power, Law and Order, and the 1970 Shootings at Jackson State College
• Was there Klan infiltration of both the Jackson police and highway patrol?
• What was going on in Mississippi around civil rights and black power in the 70s and 80s?
• The role of black students in the civil rights movement at Jackson State
• The shooting of Ben Brown and the emergence of black power in Mississippi
• The impact of desegregation on the campus
• What is Clarion-Ledger’s attitude towards civil rights and black power?
• How did Dr. Bristow become aware of the shooting at Jackson State?
• The current state of Mississippi

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