Black Culture and Experience

Black Culture and Experience: Contemporary Issues offers a holistic look at Black culture in the twenty-first century. It is a collection of work that creates a synergy among authors and leads to a valuable resource on contemporary issues. Part One examines institutional, societal, and political issues like identity politics; the Rooney Rule; prosperity gospel; inequality in the criminal justice system; the American dream; the future of Black and Africana studies; and President Obama’s double consciousness. Part Two investigates social, cultural, and community issues such as the Affordable Care Act; Black women and obesity; Black men’s experience in marriage and relationships; sexual decision making; interracial relationships; and cultural racism. Part Three explores media, pop culture, and technology issues including the rise of urban fiction; hip hop and feminism; race in Super Bowl commercials; the construction of Black Diasporic identities; Whiteness in Black-oriented films; Black masculinity in Django Unchained; and the power of Black Twitter. This anthology contains work from leading scholars, authors, and other specialists who have been brought together to highlight key issues in black culture and experience today. The goal is to help readers understand where we are and where we still need to go, what is working and what we still need to work on, what is right and what is still wrong.

Venise T. Berry is Associate Professor of African American Studies and Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. She is published widely in academic and creative circles with numerous articles and books in the areas of media, African Americans, and popular culture. To learn more visit: www.veniseberry.com. Anita Fleming-Rife, PhD, a retired Professor, is a diversity consultant. She taught at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), Penn State, Clark Atlanta University, and others before returning to her alma mater, UNC, in 2008, as the inaugural Special Assistant to the President for Equity and Diversity. Her research in international communications, minority representations in the media, framing analysis of public policy, and politics has been published in academic journals. Ayo Dayo has worked in the Prince William Public Library System in Prince William, Virginia, for more than twenty-five years. She is currently the manager of cataloguing, interlibrary loan, and physical processing services. Her master of library science degree is from the University of Texas at Austin and she has a master of arts from the University of Iowa.