Sunday in #nerdland, we will continue to analyze and discuss the fallout from the grand jury decision in Ferguson. One thing that stood out to many who reviewed Darren Wilson’s testimony before the grand jury was how he described Michael Brown as, among other things, intensely aggressive and “a demon.”
On Saturday’s show, Khalil Gibran Muhammad shared some of the history to these types of depictions of black men in American society. We will pick up with this idea and explore how widely-held beliefs, like that black children feel less pain than white children, are tied not only to history, but to behavior in our modern world. Our panel includes:
- Dorian Warren, professor of Political Science, Columbia
- Jasmine Rand, civil rights attorney working with Parks & Crump
- Mychal Denzel Smith, contributing writer, The Nation
- Michael Skolnik, Editor-in-Chief, Global Grind; political director for Russell Simmons
- Philip Atiba Goff, Director, Center for Policing Equity, professor of Social Psychology, UCLA
And with Thanksgiving in the rear-view mirror, the holiday shopping season is off and running. While this year’s “Black Friday” shopping day saw less in-store traffic than years past, retailers registered record online sales. This development comes amid news that third quarter GDP growth for the nation outpaced projections, clocking in at a healthy 3.9 percent. With all of this seemingly promising economic news, why is consumer confidence on the decline? Former Biden economist Jared Bernstein will join us in #nerdland to help explore this paradox.
Then, former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is eligible to be signed by an NFL team after winning an appeal of his indefinite suspension on Friday. Rice was initially suspended just two games by the league after being charged with aggravated assault, but that suspension was extended and Rice was released after footage of the attack by Rice against his then-fiancé Janay Palmer sparked public outrage. Now, Janay Rice is breaking her silence, both in a lengthy first-person narrative as told to ESPN’s Jemele Hill and in an interview with the Today Show’s Matt Lauer that will air Monday and Tuesday. We have Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation magazine, with us to discuss. Read his latest, on this topic.
Then, She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry. The new documentary chronicles the history of feminist movements as they developed throughout the 1960s and 70s. Director and co-producer Mary Dore will be on set to tell us about the film.
Plus, Marcus Franklin’s The Fatherhood Project blog looks to recast stale and stereotypical images of black fatherhood through photography. He sits down with host Melissa Harris-Perry to talk about his project and about how relevant it is in a moment where representations of people of color are central to our national dialogue.
Be sure to tune in for Melissa Harris-Perry Sunday at 10am ET on msnbc! And don’t forget to let us know what you thing on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #nerdland.
Jamiles Lartey