#AcademicRunPlaylist - 12/29/24

Clearly the local animals are still active, and while practicing my tracking skills I was also able to listen to some books for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was "Black Looks" by bell hooks. This collection of essays is an unapologetic theoretical deconstruction of US white supremacy and patriarchy. The topics range from media portrayals, societal stereotypes, to sexual harassment norms, and the tone and framing varies significantly between the different sections. This is very much a subjective investigation, so one needs to take declarations of fact with a grain of salt. That being said, this is a powerful, unique perspective on US society. FYI the latest edition has some newer content that is one of the best parts of the book. https://www.routledge.com/Black-Looks-Race-and-Representation/hooks/p/book/9781138821552

Last was "Coming of Age in Jim Crow DC" by Paula Austin, who does incredible work here assembling numerous sources - interviews, psychological tests, researcher notes, etc. - to provide a rich perspective on the experiences of Black teenagers during the interwar period in DC. This was still under Jim Crow, and the awareness that these kids had of politics and society refutes many common narratives of the era, and their plans and hopes for the future are interwoven with insight into their sometimes turbulent environment. Overall this helps to put faces on a not-so-distant past and add depth to the statistics one finds in other work. https://nyupress.org/9781479808113/coming-of-age-in-jim-crow-dc/