Category: John Jennings

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Reading Daniel Stein’s “Strange Fruit and Bitter Roots”

From the moment I heard about Daniel Stein’s recent book, Strange Fruit and Bitter Roots: Black History in Contemporary Graphic Narrative, I knew I wanted to read it, specifically because Stein examines numerous texts that I have used or plan to use in my courses. Stein offers a lot over the course of Strange Fruit and Bitter Roots, moving from an exploration of graphic … Read More Reading Daniel Stein’s “Strange Fruit and Bitter Roots”

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“Transmission of Racist Thought” Syllabus

Over the past few years, I have thought about the transmission of racist thoughts, the myriad ways in which racism gets passed down from generation to generation and transmitted from person to person across the centuries and decades. I’ve thought about how we need to sever this circuit, breaking it in twain so that the information stops before the transmission occurs. If we cannot … Read More “Transmission of Racist Thought” Syllabus

The Memory Beneath Our Feet

A couple of weeks ago I received my copy of Box of Bones, a project created by Ayize Jama Everett and John Jennings. Book one contains five stories, each written and illustrated by different artists. The overarching connective tissue within Box of Bones is Lindsay Ford, a PhD student in Folklore/African American Studies at UC Berkeley. Ford’s work centers on the Box of Bones, … Read More The Memory Beneath Our Feet

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“I do not intend to be quiet about it.”

On Wednesday, John Jennings posted one of his latest sketches on social media. The image of a tattered American flag lying on the ground as flies hovered over it with “The Untied States of America” as the caption. Jennings’ image hit me hard, especially after the racism on full display at the Presidential Debate on Tuesday night. I knew the debate was going to … Read More “I do not intend to be quiet about it.”

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False Narratives in “Profile”

Last post I wrote about Bettina Love’s “No Black Child Left Behind: Schools Policing Students of Color” and education. Today, I want to look at another piece in Bill Campbell, Jason Rodriguez, and John Ira Jennings’ APB: Artist Against Police Brutality. In “Profile,” Jennings, along with Damian Duffy and Robert Love, highlight the ways that society labels Black individuals, specifically men in this case, … Read More False Narratives in “Profile”