University of Southern California
Todd Boyd is a Katherine and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race & Popular Culture at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He is the author of several books, including Young, Black, Rich & Famous: The Rise of the NBA, the Hip Hop Invasion and the Transformation of American Culture and Basketball Jones: America above the Rim. Boyd is co-writer and producer of The Wood, a film about growing up in Inglewood in the 1980s.
Pulitzer goes to Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar Rapper and Compton-native Kendrick Lamar won the the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for his latest studio album “DAMN.” He’s the first non-jazz or classical musician to win the prize.
Trump and black athletes While white personalities knock Trump, he seems to go out of his way to attack black athletes.
Sports… politics and patriotism Colin Kaepernick took a knee instead of saluting the flag. Will he ever play again in the National Football League? Gregg Popovich has called President Trump a " soulless coward ." Will he still be coaching in NBA basketball? It's often claimed that "sports are separate from politics," but that's a far cry from reality — especially in this era of hyper-partisanship. Men and women athletes, fans and owners — from sold-out stadiums to high school fields and gymnasiums — are all getting in on the action. Today, team owners with players behind closed doors at NFL headquarters in New York City. Now, the owners are meeting separately by themselves.
The Relevance of the 'Roots' Remake Nearly four decades ago, the ABC miniseries Roots was a cultural sensation. Half of all households with televisions tuned in for the finale. Airing a decade after the Civil Rights Movement, for many whites it was the first time they really understood slavery on a visceral level, and the lasting effects it had. A new version of Roots is airing this week on the A&E’s History channel. How does the remake compare with the original? How does it depict slavery differently from the 1977 original?
Watts Riots: Watts in Pop Culture All week, we’ve been sharing stories about the 50th anniversary of the Watts riots. In the years after 1965, what happened in Watts seeped into pop culture. Today we look at how the riots have been reflected on the big and small screens starting with the 1973 documentary Wattstax. The film focuses on a massive music festival that took place at the Los Angeles Coliseum for the seventh anniversary of the riots. It intercuts performance footage with scenes of everyday life in Watts.
Stolen Emails and Racism in Hollywood "Hollywood is full of racism, but it has been able to hide behind its liberal reputation." That’s a tweet from Dr. Todd Boyd as personal emails from Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal were spreading across the Internet and into the mainstream media. Dr. Boyd holds the Katherine and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race and Popular Culture at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. We get perspective from him and from Sharon Waxman, Editor in Chief of The Wrap .
From Gangsta Rap to Bwy Theater: Cultural Touchstones of the LA Riots (L-R) Warren Olney, Gary Phillips, Anna Deavere Smith and John Singleton
Lakers Lose in Post-Season, but What about Next Season? The "threepeat" is a dream of the past, and Phil Jackson , the most successful coach in NBA history, said he would retire long before yesterday's four-day sweep by the Dallas Mavericks was finally over. Todd Boyd is Professor of Critical Studies and USC's School of Cinema and Television. One of his many books is Basketball Jones : America Above the Rim.
USC Slapped with Sanctions over Gifts to Players First, it's been a historic day for the PAC-10 Athletic Conference in more ways than one. Perennial football champion USC has been banned from bowl games for two years, and the league itself is expanding to include the University of Colorado, with other powerhouses likely to join in the near future.
The LA Times Apologizes for Tupac Story Last Wednesday’s Los Angeles Times ran a story that first appeared on its website two days before. It implied that hip hop artist Sean "Diddy" Combs was behind the shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur —an even that triggered a deadly feud. Ultimately, Shakur and another rapper, Notorious B.I.G. , were killed.
The 'Kramer' Incident and the 'N' Word Michael Richards was a supporting actor on Seinfeld , but he's the main figure in the latest celebrity scandal. The web sites YouTube and TMZ are still running the cell-phone video of his race-baiting rant at West Hollywood's Laugh Factory --even after Richards apologized on David Letterman's TV show and the Rev. Jesse Jackson's radio program . Today in Los Angeles, Jackson and black comedian Paul Mooney joined Congresswoman Maxine Waters in demanding that nobody--not even rappers--use the "N" word again. We hear two views.
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
