NYC & DC Readings This Week

First, sorry that I have barely been blogging of late. The combination of coming off of sabbatical, having a new book come out, and being down with the flu three times in 45 days has really slowed me.

But to prove I'm still alive, I will be reading in NYC and DC/Maryland this week:

Manhattan
Wednesday, February 28, 2006, 7pm
Book Talk: Mat Johnson presents The Great Negro Plot
In 1741, a young indentured servant claimed to have information about a black conspiracy against the white people of Manhattan. This news threw the city into a violent uproar; while some citizens took their anger out on innocent victims, others questioned the truth behind the accusation. Join us as author Mat Johnson reconstructs this dramatic moment in history - one that still reverberates today. Free ($5 suggested donation). Melville Gallery (213 Water Street between Fulton & Beekman). For more information call 212.748.8568.

Prince George County
The Great Negro Plot: An Urban Historical
Thursday, March 1 7 pm Oxon Hill Branch
In 1741, New York City was thrown into an uproar when a sixteen-year-old Mary Burton, a white indentured servant, testified that she was privy to a conspiracy against the white people of Manhattan. Authorities promised her freedom if she would uncover the plot. Mary reported that the black men of the city were planning to burn New York City to the ground. As the courts ensnared suspects and violence swept the city, 154 black New Yorkers were jailed, 14 were burned alive, 18 were hanged and more than 100 simply disappeared. Four whites wound up being executed and 24 imprisoned. Even as the madness escalated, however, officials started to realize that Mary Burton might not be telling the truth. The Great Negro Plot is a brilliant reconstruction of a little-known moment in American history that reverberates today. Expertly written by the acclaimed author of Drop and Hunting in Harlem, Mat Johnson currently teaches at Bard College.

If you're in the area, come out and say hi. I will be extremely grateful. To the point of embarrassing both of us.

Best,

MJ

Shakespeare Update

John Amaechi

I'm running around trying to promote my book and still manage all of life's demands, but I just wanted to pause to give a shout out to John Amaechi, who just became the NBAs first openly gay former player.

It seems I am perhaps one of the only Americans who was a fan of John Amaechi before this latest revelation. Amaechi is a black Brit and his entry into the NBA corresponded with my return from London, so I followed his career with interest at the time. John Amaechi, in various interviews, proved himself to be intelligent, cultured, and sophisticated as well, the British equivalent of the late Bison Dele (a.k.a. Brian Williams). Before Bison's untimely death, he was also rumored to be gay because he did unmanly things like read poetry (gasp!) and drank wine. I'm sure there will be those in the league who look back on John Amaechi's refinement and see that as latent proof of his sexual preference, erroneously.

These were gladiators that intellectuals could empathize with. Unlike Tim Hardaway, who took this historic moment to publicly wallow in his own ignorance, these were brothers that made me proud to be one as well.

Bravo, John Amaechi. You might get flack for waiting until your retirement to come out of the closet, but your actions have made it that much easier for the first active player that will.

UPDATE: Slate.com has an excellent review of Amaechi's new book. Here's an excerpt:

In Man in the Middle, Amaechi comes out as an intellectual—a creature almost as alien in the NBA as a gay man. He frequents art galleries on his off days, loves poetry, and is one of the first pro athletes to author a blog. The guy is smart enough that he can make something as dull as a fondness for Twinkies—"I loved their spongy richness and I devoured them by the dozen"—into a thoughtful disquisition.

Check out the rest here.

New & Notes Interview

I'm a fan of NPR's News and Notes, so I was particularly excited to talk to them about The Great Negro Plot. My only regret was missing the lovely Farai Chideya.

Give it a listen.

Bastards of the Party

If you have HBO, and a brain, you have to watch the new documentary Bastards of the Party. It gives the topic of gang warfare in Los Angeles the historical context that was missing in three decades of media hype around the phenomena. It shows what happens when a government destroys a generation of community leadership, a nation abandons its unskilled workforce, and a community gets carried away by its own nihilistic mythology. Even more than that, it shows how poorly we are served by a consumer media more concerned with scare tactics and sensationalism than in identifying the true stories behind our society's most difficult questions.

The Bard Speaks

Go pay Shakespeare.

I Am Famous

Who is this man?