29 min listen
Strange Fruit #58: Filmmaker Michael Wolfe on Muslims in America
FromStrange Fruit
ratings:
Length:
36 minutes
Released:
Dec 16, 2013
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Documentary filmmaker Michael Wolfe 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 Cultural Legacy of Enslaved Africans, which was screened at the Frazier History Museum. In our Juicy Fruit segment this week, we have an update on George Zimmerman. We told you last week he was arrested for threatening his girlfriend; she has decided to stay with him and has asked prosecutors to drop the charges against him. While many states will proceed with domestic violence prosecutions without the victim's cooperation, victims are often the only witnesses as well, so those cases can be hard to prove. We also talked about representations of black lesbians on reality TV, and a recent article called 11 Things You've Always Wanted to Know About Lesbian Sex But Were Afraid to Ask. Dr. Story also drew some parallels between the racist and sexist reactions to the so-called Obama selfies, and a viral episode of What Would You Do featuring a black man and his white girlfriend in a Harlem barbershop. Both stories suggest that black women see white women as a threat to their relationships, which Dr. Story says is a made-up media narrative and a tool of white supremacy and patriarchy. "Because if they're so fighting over the black men," she explains, "they aren't going to be working on feminist stuff or moving gender forward."
Released:
Dec 16, 2013
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
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 by Strange Fruit