Strange Fruit #225: 'Black Elitism' And Anti-Blackness On TV

$Strange Fruit #60: Keith McGill Directs Comedy on Sex in Middle Age; Trans Leaders on Katie Couric: Louisville comedian Keith McGill has been one of our favorite people since he was first on the show last year to talk about his work in a local production of TopDog/Underdog. That play explored themes of black masculinity through the fractured relationship of two brothers struggling with instability and poverty. Now McGill is working on another local production, this time as the director, vastly different in tone.[Sex Again](http://wfpl.org/post/louisville-writers-new-play-debunks-myths-about-womens-sexuality) is a comedy by Louisville playwright Heidi Saunders that looks at sexuality during middle age. We spoke to Keith this week, in part, because we wondered how a gay black man approaches work about the waning marriages of straight white folks, and what made him want to direct the piece. "I really think it has a lot to say to _everyone_," he explains. "There's a lot of truth in the pla$

Strange Fruit # 61: Poet Laureate Frank X Walker on Social Justice Through Poetry: [Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evars](http://www.ugapress.org/index.php/books/turn_me_loose) has garnered Kentucky's Poet Laureate, Frank X Walker, a nomination for an [NAACP Image Award](http://www.naacpimageawards.net/nominees/literature/). He calls this book of 49 poems his finest work to date, and says it has an educational component along with its poetry. "The initial motivation was based on having a conversation with my students and finding out that they had no idea who Medgar Evers was." We spoke to Walker on this week's show about his life, his work, and what it means to be [Affrilachian](http://www.affrilachianpoets.org/). Our Juicy Fruit segment this week looks at the man who got in trouble for paying [too much child support](http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/01/texas_man_pays_child_support_debt_yet_still_headed_to_prison.html), the chef who wants to [ban babies](http://www by Strange Fruit

26 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 #67: Longtime LGBTQ and Feminist Activist Urvashi Vaid to Speak in Louisville: LGBTQ and feminist activist [Urvashi Vaid](http://urvashivaid.net/wp/) will deliver the [Minx Auerbach Lecture](http://events.louisville.edu/event/minx_auerbach_lecture#.UxYb1vldV8E) Tuesday night at the University of Louisville. She joined us this week to share a little about her speech, called “Winning the Future: A Critical Look at the LGBT Movement," and to answer our questions about her work, and the future of social justice activism. The Minx Auerbach Lecture takes place tonight at 5pm in Comstock Hall, at 105 W. Brandeis Ave., and is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jan Rayburn at (502) 852-8160. In our Juicy Fruit segment this week, we talk about Spike Lee's recent announcement that he's [making a sequel to School Daze](http://www.eurweb.com/2014/02/back-in-session-spike-lees-school-daze-sequel-on-the-way/), Arizona's controversial so-called "religious freedom" by Strange Fruit

34 min listen

Strange Fruit #78: "The New Black" film looks at Maryland's fight for marriage equality: Last week we were invited by the [Muhammad Ali Center](http://www.alicenter.org/) to host a talkback panel after a screening of The New Black, a film looking at how LGBTQ activism, the black church, homophobia, and queer people of color affected the fight for [marriage equality in Maryland](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/looks-like-maryland-is-making-a-historic-choice-on-marriage-equality/2012/11/07/ed73f59c-27d8-11e2-b2a0-ae18d6159439_story.html). The film was great (if there's [a screening near you](http://www.newblackfilm.com/screenings/), check it out), and our conversation after was quite lively, so we're bringing that to you this week in lieu of a feature interview. This week's Juicy Fruit: Friend to the show [Yaba Blay](http://yabablay.com/) has [won a first-place Independent Publishers Book Award Gold Medal Award](http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1791) by Strange Fruit

47 min listen

Strange Fruit #65: KY's Landmark Same-Sex Marriage Ruling; Essay Explores James Baldwin's Paris: As we were going into the studio to record this week's episode, news came down that [a court ruling had been announced](http://wfpl.org/post/kentucky-must-recognize-out-state-same-sex-marriages-federal-judge-rules), possibly shaping the future of same-gender marriage in Kentucky: District Judge John G. Heyburn wrote that refusing to recognize same-sex marriages from outside the state violates the U.S. constitution's equal protection clause. WFPL Political Editor Phillip M. Bailey joined us to talk about what exactly the ruling said, and what it could mean for marriage equality going forward. In our feature interview this week, we spoke to author and professor Ellery Washington, who recently wrote [an essay for the New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/travel/james-baldwins-paris.html?_r=0) about his experience retracing the steps of James Baldwin in Paris. We spoke with Ellery a by Strange Fruit

40 min listen

Strange Fruit #58: Filmmaker Michael Wolfe on Muslims in America: Documentary filmmaker [Michael Wolfe](http://www.upf.tv/index.php) is probably not the image that comes to mind when most people think "Muslim." In fact, he's a middle-aged white guy from Ohio. But he is a convert to Islam and has spent his career telling the stories of Muslims in America—a story that goes back further than you might think (there were Muslims in the USA during George Washington's lifetime, and of course, many enslaved Africans were Muslims). Stereotypes about Islam abound, and often intersect with other forms of bigotry, especially since 35% of American Muslims are African American. Wolfe was in Louisville recently, courtesy of the Pakistani-American Alliance for Compassion & Education, to speak about major Christian figures like Jesus, Moses and Mary and the role they play in Islamic theology. He stopped by our studios to tell us more about his work, including his film [Prince Among Slaves: The Cult by Strange Fruit

36 min listen