does the words of richard wright . he was describing a true story.on september 30, 1919, two white men were killed when guards stopped them from breaking into a meeting of black sharecroppers from the area who wanted to demand fair payments for their crops with the progressive farmers and household union of america. mobs of white people responded in elaine, arkansas with three days of anti-black violence, backed by hundreds of u.s. soldiers. historians estimate hundreds of black people were killed, and much of their land was stolen. the anti-lynching journalist ida b. wells investigated the 1919 elaine massacre, and wrote -- "negros were in a fair way to become independent and it was not to the interest of white landowners to let them do so." this is elaine, arkansas, resident charlie mcclain. >> a couple of years before the massacre, the price of cotton i think was seven cents a pound at one point, it was $.14 a pound. another year or 2 -- it shot up almost a dollar a pound. when things started moving, from a sharecroppers perspective, the way they

and another essay about the dynamics with richard wright to meet everybody and all that we are to beonstantly unfolding complicated heritage that is our experience. to memb it is the rallying cry and visible for generations to come. >> thank you so much. and then went to talk about that with you. so that we went to bring everyone else to the roundtable so the next member of the roundtable and i would like to introduce her quick so author of "the new york times" bestseller a black feminist and also author of the award-winning the intellectual thoughts and co-author of a guide to crushing girlhood. and associate professor and sexuality and studies from rutgers university. thank you so much for joining us i know we are looking forward to be a part of the roundtable. >> thank you everybody for that wonderful introduction and for these provocative thoughts.m but that opening three paragraphs it's all love black literature and i just cannot imagine. and it's all that we know. so it's just the way in early 2000 of the discourse of sexuality of how black literature and they think about those

richard wright wrote in a review. miss hurston can write, but prose is cloaked in that facile that has dogged -- expression since the days of the sweetly. it was less a review than denunciation. wright goes on to say that ms.. hurston voluntarily continues in her novel that tradition, which was forced upon the -- in theater. that is a minstrel technique that, makes the white folks laugh while writes misapprehension of her work and her ambitions probably hurston. she was furious when she read a review of the novel her friend and mentor alain locke. he described the book as folklore fiction, best and it dismissed hurston for her failure to produce what he thought like. richard wright should be the the most powerful strain in black literature, which was a social protest novel. it really was very devastating for us in the locke was more than a mentor. he was someone she really and hurston didn't give praise easily. she didn't have collect mentors readily. so it was devastating her to read locke's critical review. she'd alw

richard writes, elaine luck, richard wright wrote in a review ms.ersen can write better process closed his dog negro expressions since the days it was the enunciation that goes on to say voluntarily continues in her novel the tradition which was forced upon the negro in theater that is the technique that what makes the white folks laugh. while right apprehension of her work and her ambitions probably rankled she was furious when she read a review of the novel by her friend and mentor described the book as a focal or fiction at best. dismissed her of her failures who thought should be the most powerful in black literature it was the social protest novel. was it very devastating he was more than a mentor. he was someone she really admired and he did not give praise easily. she did not collect mentors readily produce devastating for her to rethink critical review. she'd always been such a good student was faithful to him in that way. negative reaction from luck. but an elephant called the book a blight of calculated burlesque. did not deter her persona

malcolm x and eyes are watching god, it helped me to contextualize, and i got as much out of richard wright baldwin, and i made a conscious decision, one, i have to save my life as a black person,as an african person and before they used anti-racism and anti-white person and trauma. and kevin powell you had just gone through some traumatic stuff by your mama and daddy, they got from their parents and from the beginning. i didn't know that, and said it best, art, literature is about making sense of the chaos of this world. i'm paraphraing him. so i agree with ladee, i'm writing for myself. i'm a black writer, not a writer who happens to be back, but it's as important as my therapy sessions for 30 years, the spiritual work, christianity, islam, yoga practices, praying meditating because i'm trying not to die. if that makes any sense. i'm trying not to die. when i say die not just physically die, but die underneath the chaos that we as black people have to deal with every single day in this place called america and secondly i realize i have a responsibility because i come from a literary tradi

i got as much out of reading zora and lang and richard wright. i did reading. baldwin and you know, whoever else wrote essays, you know, but i made a conscious decision. one, i have to save my life as a as a black person, as an african person, i am now carrying. i began to understand before we can use terms, like anti-racism and white supremacy and trauma. i understood at 18, 19 years old, kevin powell, you have gone through some traumatic stuff that was passed to you by your mama and your daddy that they got from their parents. so on a lot right from the very beginning. so i didn't know that i had to make sense it. in baraka, amiri baraka said it best art literature is about making sense of the chaos of this world. you know, i'm paraphrasing him and so i agree with lady. i'm writing for myself. first and foremost, i'm clear that i'm a writer, not a writer who happens to be black. but i realize that writing has been as important to me as going to my therapy sessions for 30 years, as my spiritual work, be it christianity, islam, yoga practices. it's been as impo