CBH Talk - A Black Tale of Returning Home: Lawrence Jackson and Nelson George in Conversation
In 2016, English professor Lawrence Jackson returned to his native Baltimore, accepting a job at Johns Hopkins University. His book Shelter: A Black Tale of Homeland, Baltimore, reflects on what it means for a Black man to leave and return; build a home in a neighborhood that would have been inaccessible to him earlier; and process changing dynamics of time, place, and race. Jackson discusses his insights and observations with renowned author and filmmaker Nelson George, whose groundbreaking works reflect on the black experience in America and who himself has borne witness to the intersection of change, place, and race in his own lifelong home of Brooklyn, New York.
Participants
.JPG)
Lawrence Jackson is a biographer and critic whose writing has appeared in Harper’s Magazine, n+1, and Best American Essays. He is the author of the award-winning books Chester B. Himes: A Biography and The Indignant Generation: A Narrative History of African American Writers and Critics. A Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of English and History at Johns Hopkins University, Jackson founded the Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts to create opportunities for enhanced intellectual and artistic relations between Hopkins and his hometown of Baltimore. He earned his PhD in English and American literature at Stanford University, and is a 2019 Guggenheim fellowship awardee.
Nelson George is an author and filmmaker who is passionate about documenting African-American life and culture. His non-fiction books include The Death of Rhythm & Blues, Elevating the Game, Hip Hop America, The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train, The Nelson George Mixtape, and many more. His novels include the noir titles The Accidental Hunter, The Lost Treasure of R&B, The Plot Against Hip Hop, To Funk and Die in LA, and The Darkest Hearts -- all published by Akashic Books. He has directed the HBO film, Life Support, starring Queen Latifah and the documentaries Brooklyn Boheme for Showtime, The Announcement for ESPN, Finding the Funk for VH1, A Ballerina's Tale about dancer Misty Copeland for IFC, and an upcoming Willie Mays feature doc for HBO. He is a producer of Good Hair, a doc featuring Chris Rock, and executive producer of a five-part series on Afenia and Tupac Shakur airing on FX later this year.
