Strange Fruit #244: Reading Books, Living With Your Parents, Doing Your Civic Duty

Strange Fruit #44: Some of My Best Friends...: Interracial Friendship in America: How multi-racial is your circle of friends? Are any of your close friends of a different race than yours? Not the lady who works down the hall from your office or the dad you chat with while waiting for your kid to get out of school. Someone who's been to your house or invited you over for dinner. A [recent poll by Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/08/us-usa-poll-race-idUSBRE97704320130808) found that the many white people - 40% - have no friends outside their race. We on Strange Fruit figure this is probably no surprise to black folks. Among people of color, 25% of respondents said they didn't have friends outside their race. We wanted to talk more about the reasons why this might be the case, and what historical and demographic factors created the situation. So we spoke to Tanner Colby, author of [Some of My Best Friends Are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America](http://www.ta by Strange Fruit

41 min listen

Strange Fruit #38: The Zimmerman Verdict: It's been a week since George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin. Most of us have spent this week reflecting, arguing, thinking, protesting, writing, organizing, praying, and unfriending people on social media. Yesterday, President Barack Obama [made a statement](http://uppitynegronetwork.com/2013/07/20/restoring-blackness-obamas-commentary-on-trayvon-martin/) about the verdict, outlining the effects of racism in America and on his own life. He was immediately accused by some of being divisive. Many prevailing voices are saying we need to move forward. That the system did its job, even if we don't like the result. They say Martin was partially to blame, while we ask [what he could have done differently](http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/07/what-should-trayvon-martin-have-done.html). They say that talking about racism and systemic injustice just perpetuates division. They say they are colorblind, justice is colo by Strange Fruit

37 min listen

Strange Fruit #36: Yolo Akili's Love Letter to the Universe Affirms the Good in All of Us: A few months ago we had [an eye-opening conversation](http://wfpl.org/post/strange-fruit-yolo-akili-darnell-moore-gay-men-and-sexism) with author Yolo Akili about his article, [Gay Men's Sexism and Women's Bodies](http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/03/gay-mens-sexism-and-womens-bodies/). Today Yolo is back with us to talk about his new book, [Dear Universe: Letters of Affirmation and Empowerment for All of Us](http://dearuniverse2013.com/). As always, Yolo is full of wisdom, and we hope he comes to Louisville one day and becomes Strange Fruit's official Life Coach. This week in Juicy Fruit we talk about an ugly incident that happened to one of our favorite people, [Dr. Brittney Cooper](http://www.brittneycooper.com/). Dr. Cooper wrote about the experience in a piece for Salon: [The N-word on the 4th of July](http://www.salon.com/2013/07/04/the_n_word_on_the_4th_of_july/). by Strange Fruit

37 min listen

Strange Fruit #55: Legendary Ballroom Photographer Gerard H. Gaskin: _"My images try to show a more personal and intimate beauty, pride, dignity, courage, and grace that have been painfully challenged by mainstream society."_Photographer [Gerard H. Gaskin](http://gerardhgaskin.com/) has been documenting house ball life for twenty years. His latest book, "[Legendary: Inside the House Ball Scene](https://www.dukeupress.edu/Legendary/)" is a vivid and beautiful look at a subculture we usually only get to see when a mainstream entertainer co-opts it. We spoke with Gerard this week about the book, and about what the house ball scene means to him. In our Juicy Fruit segment, we talked about [George Zimmerman's latest arrest](http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-11-18/news/os-george-zimmerman-arrested-20131118_1_george-zimmerman-murdering-17-year-old-trayvon-martin-deputies), this time for domestic violence. We also talked about the Colorado father who [shot his toddler daughter and himse by Strange Fruit

29 min listen

Strange Fruit #42: Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney: Playwright [Tarell Alvin McCraney](http://www.steppenwolf.org/ensemble/members/details.aspx?id=54) has been called the next August Wilson. Maybe that can be partially attributed to the fact that there are so few prominent African American playwrights, but there's still no doubt he is carrying an important mantle. At age 33, he's already had plays debut at the Royal Court London, New York's Vineyard Theatre, the Young Vic, and Steppenwolf Theatre, where he is an artist in residence. In March, he received the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize. We spoke to McCraney this week about his career, and how and why he writes about black gay life. He told us the real-life roots of some of his most famous works, and about working as August Wilson's assistant at Yale (including an unforgettable story about buying Wilson an iPod). In our Juicy Fruit segment this week, we had lots of news to cover: The #[solidarityisforwhitewomen](http://thehai by Strange Fruit

50 min listen

Strange Fruit #62: Trans* Students in Louisville; Historical Context for the "Black Woman Chair": This week, we're joined by WFPL's [Devin Katayama](http://wfpl.org/people/devin-katayama). Devin covers the education beat for the station, and he sat down with us to talk about his newest project, learning about trans\* high school students in Louisville. He also filled us in on his recent trip to Kenya over the holidays, and sat in on our Juicy Fruit segment, where we laid out some historical context for the horrific "[black woman chair](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/20/dasha-zhukova-black-woman-chair-buro-247-editorial_n_4633544.html)" photo that's been making the rounds online this week. We also talked about the Arizona fraternity who held an MLK Day party where attendees [dressed up as black stereotypes](http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/01/asu_expels_fraternity_over_mlk_day_black_party.html), and we pondered how to call out friends and acquaintances when they say s by Strange Fruit

43 min listen

$Strange Fruit #62: Trans* Students in Louisville; Historical Context for the "Black Woman Chair": This week, we're joined by WFPL's [Devin Katayama](http://wfpl.org/people/devin-katayama). Devin covers the education beat for the station, and he sat down with us to talk about his newest project, learning about trans\* high school students in Louisville. He also filled us in on his recent trip to Kenya over the holidays, and sat in on our Juicy Fruit segment, where we laid out some historical context for the horrific "[black woman chair](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/20/dasha-zhukova-black-woman-chair-buro-247-editorial_n_4633544.html)" photo that's been making the rounds online this week. We also talked about the Arizona fraternity who held an MLK Day party where attendees [dressed up as black stereotypes](http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/01/asu_expels_fraternity_over_mlk_day_black_party.html), and we pondered how to call out friends and acquaintances when they say s$

Strange Fruit #53: Remaking 'Roots,' UofL's LGBTQ Center, and What's in a 'Black' Name?: Around this time last year, we spoke with Dr. Stephanie Budge about the challenges faced by [LGTBQ folks during the holidays](http://wfpl.org/post/strange-fruit-going-home-gay-holidays) - specifically college students. Some students who have come out while at school are no longer welcome at home, and for some, going back home means going back in the closet. This week we spoke with Brian Buford about how [the LGBTQ Center at UofL](http://louisville.edu/lgbt) tries to make the holidays a better time for the students under its care. Each year, they host a Thanksgiving potluck where all are welcome. To fund this and their other efforts, they have an annual event called [Feast on Equality](http://feastonequality.com/), which is coming up on November 22. In this week's Juicy Fruit, we talked about Kylie Austin, a biracial teenager who [changed her name](http://thegrio.com/2013/11/06/biracial-girl-changes by Strange Fruit

35 min listen

Strange Fruit #41: Film Examines Guatemala's Breakdancing Culture; Orange is the New Juicy: This week we meet Coury Deeb, founder and director of [Nadus Films](http://nadusfilms.com/). The Louisville filmmaker's latest film, [Bboy for Life](http://nadusfilms.com/#bboy-for-life), takes us into Guatemala's breakdancing subculture, and shows how gang violence affects the lives of the dancers - many of whom are pacifists, themselves. In our Juicy Fruit segment we _finally_ talk about [Orange Is the New Black](https://www.facebook.com/OITNB). And Jaison gives us an update on [Marco McMillan's murder](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/03/marco-mcmillian-murder_n_3701583.html) (McMillan was a black gay man running for mayor in Mississippi, and a friend of Jai's). by Strange Fruit

38 min listen

Strange Fruit #57: LGBTQ People of Color in the Workplace: The idea that working hard leads to success is a popular narrative in the United States, but a new report shows it's not that simple - especially for LGBTQ people of color. [A Broken Bargain for LGBTQ Workers of Color](http://www.lgbtmap.org/workers-of-color) shows folks in this demographic are some of the most disadvantaged workers in the country, facing high rates of unemployment and poverty. This week we spoke to Preston Mitchum from the Center for American Progress, a co-author of the report. Preston helped us break down some of the main trouble areas - hiring bias, unequal pay, educational barriers, on-the-job discrimination, etc. - and we talked about possible solutions, and what to do if you've faced racism or homophobia on the job. Check out the whole report [here](http://www.lgbtmap.org/file/a-broken-bargain-for-lgbt-workers-of-color.pdf). In our Juicy Fruit segment this week, we talked about Minnesota college professo by Strange Fruit

30 min listen

Strange Fruit #37: Alvaro Vargas Llosa on Immigration: Judging by political rhetoric alone, you might think immigration is a bigger issue now than ever before. But in his book, [Global Crossings: Immigration, Civilization and America](http://www.independent.org/store/book.asp?id=103&gclid=CNOQ8OLjrLgCFYui4AodsAYARw), Alvaro Vargas Llosa argues that immigration rates have stayed fairly steady throughout the centuries. His book broadens the historical context of the immigration debate, and seeks to answer some contentious questions about why people risk their lives to come to America. We spoke to Vargas Llosa this week about some commonly-held immigration myths. We also asked him about what marriage equality means for international couples, and how the status quo fosters tension between immigrants and African Americans. by Strange Fruit

32 min listen

Strange Fruit #51: Racist Halloween Costumes & Butch Queens Up in Pumps: If you've never been to a ball, you don't know what you're missing - but Dr. Marlon Bailey's book, [Butch Queens Up in Pumps](http://www.amazon.com/Butch-Queens-Pumps-Performance-Triangulations/dp/0472071963), is probably the next best thing. He takes us inside the ballroom scene in Detroit with an ethnography that examines how ball culture redefines ideas about gender, performance, and community. We spoke to Dr. Bailey this week about his work and what drew him to it, and he told us about his first time at a ballroom event and how it challenged all his previous assumptions about black gay culture. In our Juicy Fruit segment, it's Halloween week, and that means a lot of white folks will be out and about in blackface. We talk about what causes people to think that's okay, and why it never is (also check out Ohio University's campaign, [We're a Culture, Not a Costume](http://www.ohio.edu/orgs/stars/Poster_Campaign.h by Strange Fruit

30 min listen

Strange Fruit #81: Freedom Rides and Food Banks in Ferguson, Plus Throwing Shade at the Dictionary: It's been two weeks now since a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old named Michael Brown, and the community is still experiencing the aftermath. The school year in Ferguson was supposed to start on August 14, but it was delayed due to the unrest, leaving students who rely on school meals with fewer options. And business closures have left some residents out of work and short on money. This week we check in with a St. Louis food bank to see how they're responding to folks in their community who need help putting food on the table. UofL student Brina Joiner traveled to Ferguson, and stops by our studio to tell us what she saw there that we aren't seeing on the news—and to share some much-needed optimism with us and our fruitcakes. Joiner tells us it's important for young people to make the trip, because history is unfolding there. "I have to go to Fer by Strange Fruit

30 min listen