32 min listen
Strange Fruit #164: Marley Dias and the Search for #1000BlackGirlBooks
FromStrange Fruit
ratings:
Length:
30 minutes
Released:
Mar 20, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Sixth grader Marley Dias loves to read. But the books she was assigned in school never seemed to have protagonists who looked like her. So she started a nationwide book drive to collect 1,000 books featuring black girls as main characters. By the time her self-imposed deadline came around (February 1st), Marley had amassed a book collection she says is important not just for black girls, but for everyone. "We all know that America is er very, very, very diverse," she says, "but we're not really seeing it in the literature that we're pushed to read." Marley says reading books about black girls' lives makes her feel like her own experiences are part of a bigger, more universal story. "I know who I am," she says, "but you still want to see it in other places, so you don't feel like something that's rare and that's never really been around." In our Juicy Fruit segment this week, we talk about how a lynching postcard made its way into the table decor at a Joe's Crab Shack in Minnesota (and how referring to a lynching as a "public execution" ignores the historical context of the act). And we also send love to a young gay couple, Marquez Tolbert and Anthony Gooden, in Georgia. They're recovering from injuries sustained when Gooden's mother's boyfriend poured boiling water on them as they slept. Georgia doesn't have a hate crime law, so their assailant Martin Blackwell won't be charged with a hate crime, though he allegedly told them, "Get out of my house with all that gay," after the attack. According to a police report, Blackwell told officers, "They were stuck together like two hot dogs … so I poured a little hot water on them and help them out […] They’ll be alright. It was just a little hot water.” In fact, they suffered severe burns that required skin grafts and are still in physical therapy and counseling. Gooden was placed in a medically-induced coma for several weeks, and Tolbert has to wear compression garments for two years to help him heal. The couple has a GoFundMe page to raise money for their medical treatment.
Released:
Mar 20, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Strange Fruit #40: Don Lemon Says Don't Litter!: While we spent the week celebrating Jai's birthday and recovering from [EOY](http://www.eoy.net/), CNN's Don Lemon was busy making people mad and [agreeing with Bill O'Reilly](http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/07/27/nr-lemon-no-talking-points.cnn.html). In our Juicy Fruit segment this week, we deconstruct his list of advice for black folks. The video is worth a watch, but if you're pressed for time, it boils down to pulling up your pants and not having babies out of wedlock. It was a disappointing reminder that just because someone's family doesn't make them immune to the lure of respectability politics. But as Doc said, he's certainly no [Boykin](http://keithboykin.com/) (and we did agree with him that littering is gross). Also this week we bring you part two of our chat with Louisville activist Carla Wallace, and author Chris Crass. Chris was in town recently to celebrate the release of his book, [Towards Collective by Strange Fruit