Under The Blacklight
INFORMATION
Hosted by Executive Director Kimberlé Crenshaw
AAPF created the Under the Blacklight series in March 2020 as a means to spotlight the intersection of pre-existing social inequalities and opportunistic disease. We hoped to foster understanding in the moment of crisis that was the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. Soon the focus of the series broadened to examine anti-Black racism, police violence, and other pressing socio- political issues. Now, Under the Blacklight has become a powerful public education vehicle for AAPF’s response to the democratic crisis typi fi ed by January 6 and the attacks on Critical Race Theory and anti-racism. Since its creation in March 2020, Under the Blacklight has engaged a cross-generational and transnational audience across platforms with informative conversations. With thousands of regular viewers across the globe, Under the Blacklight provides a free critical forum for all engaged in the fi ght for a more just and equitable world. The series has delivered a diverse range of episodes related to the disproportionate impact of the Covid pandemic, the racial uprising of 2020, Black women’s precarity, Black political participation, the Supreme Court, the crackdown on anti-racism in education, the legacies of the January 6th insurrection, and more. With this broad scope, Under the Blacklight serves as a central public education tool for AAPF. As Under the Blacklight has taken on issues around the attacks on anti-racism, education, and multiracial democracy, AAPF has stood steadfast to our promise to de fi ne and reclaim, rather than de fl ect. That is to say, Under the Blacklight has been a powerful means to assert our right to teach and learn, to not cede territory to disinformation and bad faith. In this way, Under the Blacklight has represented a return to AAPF’s
the series—presented as live events, and later edited as podcasts on the Intersectionality Matters! podcast feed— has featured a long list of prominent guests including Sherriyn I fi ll, Jelani Cobb, Cornel West, Osita Nwanevu, Jill Abramson, Paul Butler, Alexis McGill Johnson, Rashad Robinson, Viet Thanh Nguyen, David Blight, Bryan Stevenson, Barbara Arnwine, Carol Anderson, Alicia Garza, Eddie Glaude Jr., Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, State’s Atty. Kim Foxx, Kiese Laymon, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Naomi Klein, Marc Lamont Hill, Ibram X. Kendi, Arundhati Roy, N.K. Jemisin, and Saidiya Hartman, among many others.
roots as the movement home of Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality.
In recognition of its distinctive voice in the online media sphere, Under the Blacklight earned a Webby nomination in the area of public service and activism. The series has received high praise for facilitating cross-cultural dialogues, providing intersectional insights, and promoting fresh, cross-sectoral thinking among elected o ffi cials, thought leaders, scholars, authors, activists, and stakeholders. This year we look forward to continuing to o ff er a mixed in- person and virtual format for our Under The Blacklight episodes from locations across the country. And as the series continues to grow, we will look to utilize the platform to deepen our connections with partners who often look to us as subject matter experts. All Under the Blacklight episodes can be watched in their entirety for free on AAPF’s YouTube channel. More information and links to all episodes, please visit aapf.org/blacklight.
AAPF
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