#18 - Nell Irvin Painter

In our season finale, we welcome leading American historian and author Nell Irvin Painter. We start by discussing the current political climate, why so many Americans voted for Trump, American exceptionalism, gentrification, political mobilization, and disenfranchisement. Nell reflects on the connection between being an artist and a historian, her encounters with Malcolm X, religion, and the meaning of race. Also, we talk about the impact of the summer BLM protests, capitalizing ‘White,’ hope for the future, and so much more.

Episode links:

Painter’s NYT article, It Shouldn’t Be This Close. But There’s Good News, Too:
 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/opinion/election-voting-violence.html

Painter’s Washington Post article, Why ‘White’ Should Be Capitalized, Too: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/22/why-white-should-be-capitalized/

Painter’s book, Creating Black Americans:
https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Black-Americans-African-American-Meanings/dp/0195137566
http://www.nellpainter.com/publications/creatingreviews.html

Painter’s book, The History of White People:
https://www.amazon.com/History-White-People-Irvin-Painter/dp/0393339742
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/books/review/Gordon-t.html

Painter’s artist book, American Whiteness Since Trump:
https://jamesfuentes.online/nell-painter-american-whiteness-since-trump

Painter’s artist book, From Slavery to Freedom:
http://www.nellpainter.com/art/slaverytofreedom.html

Biden’s ‘you ain’t black’ comment in interview:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/22/politics/biden-charlamagne-tha-god-you-aint-black/index.html