Photo by Zipporah Jones<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe panel for the first section of the discussion included, RaShell Smith-Spears, C. Leigh McInnis, and Joshua Cotton, instructors and professors at JSU.<\/p>\n
These staff members discussed the connection that the media has on the perception of blackness.<\/p>\n
McInnis highlighted the need for black people to create their own content.\u00a0\u00a0He also discussed how black people should not look to other races for the approval of their content.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is our strategy going to be to create our own institution, our own sovereignty?\u201d McInnis asked.<\/p>\n
The panelists provided information and stressed the importance of black comic books, movies, and science fiction novels.\u00a0\u00a0They all agreed that having these things were vital to black society.<\/p>\n
Smith-Spears explained how important pieces like \u201cBlack Panther\u201d are to the black community.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeculative fiction gives us our world, just through a different lens,\u201d Smith-Spears said.
\nCotton brought these ideas home when discussing the history of black stories, referencing the folktale of \u201cAnansi.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cRepresentation matters because representation is how we see ourselves,\u201d said Cotton.<\/p>\n
Current and former students were given the floor for the second part of the program.<\/p>\n
Ariel Wade, an English undergraduate student, began the conversation by discussing the portrayal of blacks in art.<\/p>\n
Arrison Martin, another English undergraduate student, continued this conversation by breaking down the character of Killmonger from \u201cBlack Panther.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nHe also provided examples as to why Killmonger was such an important and appropriate character for this era in America\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
Jordan Jackson closed the discussion by pointing out that even though blacks have been featured in media and comics throughout history, they have often been stereotyped.<\/p>\n
The final section of the read-in featured work from students in the art department. Kwame Braxton, Nicholas Armstrong, Brandi Knott, and Jarrick Jackson were the featured student artists.<\/p>\n
The work, ranging from graphic art to paintings, depicted black characters of all shapes in forms.<\/p>\n
Students expressed how they enjoyed what they learned from attending the event.<\/p>\n
Karissa Patrick, a junior English education major from Jackson, Miss., explained what she liked about the first panel discussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll three panelists framed the movie of \u201cBlack Panther\u201d in a different light that allowed me to consider more themes than what I learned by just watching the movie on my own. The panel was informative and enjoyable,\u201d Patrick said.<\/p>\n
Others felt that the conversations brought important attention to those who were minorities.<\/p>\n
Tyler Hurley, a sophomore English major from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., discussed why he felt the panel was so important.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned that representation matters, especially for those who are marginalized. I also learned that in order for black people to move forward we have to not only address racism, but also issues like sexism and homophobia within our community,\u201d Hurley stated.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Zipporah Jones Staff Writer\u00a0 Jackson State University held its annual African-American Read In on Monday, February 4. The theme was: \u201cWakanda Forever: Positive Representations and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_plus_post_options":"{}","editor_plus_copied_stylings":"{}","_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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