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Mark ReynoldsAbout Mark Reynolds Mark Reynolds has written extensively about African-American culture and celebrity since the late ‘80s. He began his print journalism career with the weekly Cleveland Edition, and was a longtime contributor to its successor, Cleveland Free Times. He has also written for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and various publications in Cleveland and Philadelphia. His national credits include reviews and features for the college-distributed entertainment magazine Hear/Say, and reporting on the travel industry for the trade magazine Black Meetings & Tourism. His media criticism was honored in 2004 by the Society of Professional Journalists, Ohio chapter. Features
The Long and Short of Long-Form JournalismPrevailing wisdom is a funny thing, and the sense that people don’t have the time or patience to work through a complicated work of journalism has taken hold among many of the people and institutions that used to win awards for it. [23 October 2009] He Got the Money, I Got the Good LooksBut Michael Jackson and his brothers opened up and represented the possibilities of a wide, wonderful world for me at a most impressionable moment in my youth. [7 July 2009] When I Say “Debt” You Say “Relief”: Live 8 in PhiladelphiaLive 8 in Philly made for a very good party -- just not for those in need. [7 July 2005] Columns
Ride This Time Machine Down a Road Less TraveledJump into that ’59 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz with the maxed-out tailfins, contemplate what an original Barbie doll could fetch on eBay, and enjoy this roll call of Reasons Why Everything Changed in 1959. [4 September 2009] (more Negritude 2.0) The Audacity of Certain Black BallersThe distance we’ve come from Jackie Robinson hawking Chock Full o’Nuts coffee in the ‘50s, and black A-list jocks hawking virtually anything under the sun today, is astounding. [17 July 2009] (more Negritude 2.0) Herb Kent: Another Reason Why Black History Month is Still RelevantThroughout the late ‘50s and ‘60s, every city with a significant black population turned to a black-formatted radio station for the hottest sounds and pulse of the street. [27 February 2009] (more Negritude 2.0) Three Icons and the Worlds They Left BehindMiriam Makeba, Odetta and Eartha Kitt both fully represented and completely transcended their moments in time [13 January 2009] (more Negritude 2.0) The Politics Inside Black PopWill black pop artists still see themselves as outsiders now that a black person is President? Will they use their cultural platform to criticize him if need be, just as they did to help elect him? [12 December 2008] (more Negritude 2.0) The Limits of CelebrityEven Oscar-winning worldwide superstars such as Jennifer Hudson aren’t immune from sh*t jumping off in the ‘hood, where jobs disappeared long ago, and warzones are populated by local gangs -- not Al-Qaeda wannabes. [4 November 2008] (more Negritude 2.0) Retelling the Story of Black Music: When Black Pop Blew Up the First TimeBlack cultural activity exploded during the 1920s. By the end of that decade, modern black pop had established itself as a cornerstone of American culture. [1 October 2008] (more Negritude 2.0) Retelling the Story of Black Music: Bert Williams, Godfather of the Black Stage & StudioBert Williams in blackface started a conversation about representing blackness within a mainstream context that has continued through virtually every crossover moment in black American life. [25 September 2008] (more Negritude 2.0) Retelling the History of Black Music: The Beautiful Music All Around John Work IIIWork recorded the soundtrack of people’s lives, and captured the earliest stirrings of much of the music we’ve enjoyed since World War II. [8 August 2008] (more Negritude 2.0) Retelling the History of Black Music: Everything You Know about the Blues Is WrongFor the most part, blacks were not involved in the heroic work of rescuing the black acoustic blues legacy from the passage of time. [3 July 2008] (more Negritude 2.0) Retelling the History of Black Music: Adventures in Retro-ismRightly or wrongly, black audiences have always tended to chase musical innovation, not musical reverence. [7 March 2008] (more Negritude 2.0) Ask an AfricanAfrica will play an increasingly pivotal role in world affairs this year, and not just because a guy whose dad was Kenyan is running for President of the United States. [11 January 2008] (more Negritude 2.0) Deconstructing the False Good Rapper/ Bad Rapper DichotomyIn this corner: Common, in that: 50 Cent. In this corner: Dr. Martin Luther King, in that: Malcolm X. In this corner: W.E.B. DuBois, in that: Booker T. Washington. Standing outside of the ring: Dilated Peoples. [29 October 2007] (more Negritude 2.0) The NAACP’s Mock Burial of Its RelevanceOur enemy is not the "N-word" itself; it’s whatever propels people to use it. We need healers, not language nannies. [30 July 2007] (more Negritude 2.0) Is Obama the Last in a Long Line of Firsts?It doesn’t even matter if your achievement isn’t something a lot of people might want to emulate; you’ll go to your grave eulogized as the “first black (fill-in-the-blank)”, and every Black History Month someone will remember your name. [12 April 2007] (more Negritude 2.0) Vibe: Hard to Let it GoVibe once nailed down the sweet spot between hip-hop swagger and Madison Avenue polish. But no longer needing to prove hip-hop’s worth to the broader audience, it morphed into a gooey valentine to hip-hop’s ghetto fabulousness. [5 March 2007] (more Negritude 2.0) Standing in the Shadows of DreamgirlsEntrepreneurs of color owe an enormous debt to Berry Gordy, whose path from hit-chasing songwriter to world-renown business mogul is, as much as if not more than those beautiful ladies on the movie screen, the stuff of dreams. [29 January 2007] (more Negritude 2.0) Re-Seizing the TimeFor all the gains we’ve made in electoral politics and community leadership, there has yet to be a successor to the Black Panther Party as a nationally organized, politically oriented body speaking out and working on the vanguard in the name of black progress, directly confronting and challenging the powers-that-be. [15 January 2007] (more Negritude 2.0) Gerald Levert and the Black Pop Nobody Knows, but ShouldTo paraphrase the dead prez: Black pop is way, way bigger than Oprah, or Cosby, or LeBron James. Why, black pop is even bigger than hip-hop. [4 December 2006] (more Negritude 2.0) Looking for the Perfect Off-BeatThis one is for the Afro-punks and black rockers and everyone else who doesn't see their hearts and minds reflected in what passes for mainstream black music nowadays. [22 November 2006] (more Negritude 2.0) Walking Away From It All: The New Great American FantasyWalking away from it all to pursue a quieter, less complicated life is an oft-recurring theme in American culture, from Henry David Thoreau's 1854 Walden to the 1932 Scarface and countless other sagas of the underworld – right up to the present day's Dave Chappelle and Aaron McGruder. [11 October 2006] (more Negritude 2.0) If You Love Tupac, Help Find His KillerBecause Tupac and Biggie were -- and are -- so famous, a massive cry for breaks in the cases would signal to the world that the Hip-Hop Nation, that amorphous band of young people blamed for all the ills of urban life from drugs in the streets to questionable taste in fashion, does in fact care about something bigger than bling. [14 September 2006] (more Negritude 2.0) Coming Out of the Hazy PastEven as black America continues to battle crime, violence, and death from within and hostile political and economic policy from beyond, it can be useful to occasionally look back through the haze and marvel at the richness of our individual stories. Two such stories: Floyd Patterson and Fats Domino. [5 June 2006] (more Negritude 2.0) Modern Day HottietotsThere is much to be made of / on / about a black woman's backside. [10 March 2006] (more Negritude 2.0) Martin and Coretta are Both Gone Now. It Is Not Their Battle No MoreWith the passing of another leader from the civil rights era, it's up to us, whose songs of freedom come with a hip-hop beat, whose advocates preach online instead of on street corners, who live in a world multicolored beyond just black and white, to assume our awesome legacy and move the mountain some more. [16 February 2006] (more Negritude 2.0) In the Time of B.K. (Before Kobe)They didn't command big bucks and they'd never know the level of celebrity of today's counterparts, but the early black players transcended the sport and were vital to creating this legendary black cultural institution; otherwise known as basketball. [9 January 2006] (more Negritude 2.0) Good Night, Annie Lee Moss, and Good LuckShe knew the community and she knew the dynamics of life and activism in those perilous, McCarthy-era, pre-Rosa Parks days. What else did Annie Lee Moss know? [8 December 2005] (more Negritude 2.0) The Holy Grails of JazzWith reissues of music past, so much of history lives on to be rediscovered, over and over again. Yet one can't help but wonder how much has been forever lost. [17 November 2005] (more Negritude 2.0) Today the Hill District, Tomorrow the World: August WilsonAugust Wilson now takes his place in the pantheon of black arts and letters for the dignity he gave the blues singers, mill workers, rooming house owners, ex-cons, neighborhood eccentrics, and 300-year-old matriarchs among us. [17 October 2005] (more Negritude 2.0) Ebony Then, Now and LaterWith its founder, John H. Johnson passed, can Ebony adapt to the new era of black publications -- and live on? [1 September 2005] (more Negritude 2.0) Cleaning Up After the Train WreckWhen (witting and unwitting) celebrities make train wrecks of their lives, the crowd will be sure to be there to cheer them on. But in the aftermath, they're alone with nothing but a broom and one helluva mess. [14 July 2005] (more Negritude 2.0) I’m Not a Social Policy Expert, But I Play One on TVWhen all the righteous Cosby-induced bluster has blown, all that's left the poor is caught up in tree branches and clogging the gutters, same as before. [6 June 2005] (more Negritude 2.0) One Diaspora Under a GrooveAt an African concert set in Philadelphia, Reynolds experienced the rare feeling of being a distinct minority in a virtually all-black setting in America. He considers the divide between Africans in America, and African-Americans. [12 May 2005] (more Negritude 2.0) Diary of a Mad White Film CriticIn defense of Roger Ebert, Reynolds notes that it's not at all necessarily racist to say that a black film isn't very good. Earnestness, sensitivity to a community's culture, and good intentions don't automatically make a solid work of art. [13 April 2005] (more Negritude 2.0) Ossie Davis, A Celebrity of the PeopleDavis' true art was in his representation of all that was noble and heroic about being a black man. He gave dignity to our workaday struggles, and ceremony to our highest joys. [9 March 2005] (more Negritude 2.0) 10 Good Reasons to Celebrate Black History MonthBlack History Month is subject to a lot of commercial hype, trotted out once a year, as it is. February alone cannot contain such history. But 2005's Black History Month is a good opportunity to look at the history lessons brought to us in just the past year. [2 February 2005] (more Negritude 2.0) Let the Good Times Roll… AgainUp in the Pop Culture Attic, where all those wonderful things that get trampled by the new and exciting eventually end up, radio DJs worthy of their stuff pull out and dust off some '50s R&B for the holiday season and for the joie de vivre this music brings. [22 December 2004] (more Negritude 2.0) Barack Obama, the Great Fill-in-the-Blank HopeEverywhere Barack Obama went, people flocked to get a glimpse of the politician who stole their hearts with just one speech. [8 December 2004] (more Negritude 2.0) Will the Real Harlem Please Stand Up?Harlem's current renaissance has less to do with the art and culture that flowed freely during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, and more to do with good old-fashioned commerce. The new gentry went looking for a new ground floor, and found it right in their own mythic backyard. [3 November 2004] (more Negritude 2.0) The High and Low of Black LiteratureWhat's happening now in black literature is similar to the smooth jazz/serious jazz dichotomy; urban fiction is getting more 'play' to the public, and fine literature is experienced only by the cognoscenti. [20 October 2004] (more Negritude 2.0) Role Model at Bat?It's not that a black child can't appreciate the talents of a white baseball star; it's just that a black athlete's accomplishments mean more to that child because the athlete looks like him/her, and therefore, that black athlete is a role model. [29 September 2004] (more Negritude 2.0) Back Down the Chisholm TrailBefore Michael Moore, there was Shirley Chisholm. [12 August 2004] (more Negritude 2.0) Fighting the Power For RealAt the first US hip-hop political convention, generations of black activists struggle with translating good ideas into real activism. [7 July 2004] (more Negritude 2.0) Whatever Happened to Mumia Abu-Jamal?One could argue that, until the current Bush administration and the Iraq war, Mumia Abu-Jamal was the only thing that came remotely close to galvanizing the far left and its myriad individual causes, from Puerto Rican independence to anti-imperialism. Such is the state of the left in America that for years, Abu-Jamal's case was the only thing that aroused unanimous passion. [2 June 2004] (more Negritude 2.0) TV, Validation, and the Three SistasSomewhere in the country, a Black woman who has no use whatsoever for the Bush administration's approach to global politics watched Rice on the witness stand and chanted, 'You go, girl.' Political and economic progress be damned, we still live vicariously through our celebrities. [21 April 2004] (more Negritude 2.0) Modern Day HottietotsThere is much to be made of / on / about a black woman's backside. [1 January 1995] (more Negritude 2.0) Reviews
The Year before the Flood: A Story of New Orleans by Ned SubletteNot a Katrina book or a post-Katrina book, but a pre-Katrina book: a hip, sardonic, and knowledgeable street-level view of New Orleans, its people, its problems, and its parades. [25 September 2009] 
Gods and Soldiers: The Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African WritingPerhaps the strongest theme here is that there’s no singular “voice of Africa”, no overarching cosmology to unify the continent’s literature -- and that’s a great thing. [25 June 2009] 
Record Makers and Breakers by John BrovenBroven's well researched book offers detailed, historical proof that the pattern of hungry upstarts with moxie seizing on opportunities the big boys missed is hardly an Internet-era phenomenon. [8 June 2009] 
It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop by M.K. AsanteAsante sounds more like an ambitious undergrad learning how to translate book-learned concepts into fully developed ideas and then into action, than a professor with distance and perspective. [8 January 2009] 
Sellout: The Politics of Racial BetrayalNotable figures from Diana Ross to Barack Obama have been slapped with the "s-word" at some point or another for any number of real or imagined offenses. [22 July 2008] 
The World That Made New Orleans by Ned SubletteSublette, who thinks like a historian and writes like a pop critic, relates the origins of New Orleans unlike any other on the globe as a convoluted, carefully detailed yarn that’s even more entertaining because it’s true. [1 May 2008] BlogsConsuming Consumables: Stax/Volt Revue: Live In Norway 1967 [$14.98] [14 December 2007]Consuming Consumables: Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story [$14.99] [7 December 2007] |
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