Within Earshot
How listening amplifies meaning in African American literature
Discussing her book, (University of Iowa Press 2018), in February, showed two different artists performing the Beatles鈥� 鈥淏lackbird鈥� 鈥� and , a black singer who has won late-career fame.
Furlonge argues that black writing 鈥� Zora Neale Hurston, Sterling Brown, Ralph Ellison 鈥� is sonic. She proposes 鈥�ethical listening.鈥� (Photograph: TC Archives)
In Race Sounds, Furlonge, Director of TC鈥檚 , echoes theorist Robert Stepto that black writing is sonic, demanding the 鈥渃ommunal relationship鈥� of 鈥減reachers and congregtions.鈥� Pondering Zora Neale Hurston, Sterling Brown and Ralph Ellison, she proposes 鈥渆thical listening.鈥�
Her audience noted McCartney鈥檚 gentle 鈥淏lackbird,鈥� a paean to America鈥檚 civil rights movement. Of LaVette, singing raw-voiced in the first person 鈥� 鈥淚 have only waited for this moment to be free鈥� 鈥� one black listener said: 鈥淢y mother sang that to me, but I never knew it came from Paul. So when I heard Bettye 鈥� yes, this is what my mother was telling us.鈥�
Furlonge nodded. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the context you bring as much as what you hear.鈥�
Education鈥檚 New Ground Zero
Why big national donors are muscling in on school board elections
Why are Michael Bloomberg, Eli Broad, Alice Walton and Reid Hoffman backing local school board candidates? 鈥淣ational and local actors鈥� are increasingly forming 鈥渁lliances around competing visions of what schools should be,鈥� report TC political scientist Jeffrey Henig and Michigan State University鈥檚 (Ph.D. 鈥�07) andin (Harvard Education Press 2019).
Henig and co-authors report that 鈥渘ational and local actors鈥� are forming alliances around 鈥渃ompeting visions鈥� of education. (Photograph: Erick Raphael)
The wealthiest 0.01 percent of voters made 40 percent of all campaign contributions in 2012 (nearly triple their 1980s share). In education, they are targeting predominantly nonwhite, high-poverty districts, often championing school choice, test-based accountability and mayoral control. They don鈥檛 always win; teacher unions, too, have muscle and connection to local voters. But highly polarized, ideologically infused national debates may infiltrate local politics, obscuring other issues about, and reducing the room for, pragmatic problem-solving.