3 chapters across the catalog
The segment profiles Charlotte Osgood Mason, a wealthy philanthropist who supported Harlem Renaissance luminaries like Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Mason viewed herself as a "Black God" and a "psychic physician" meant to heal the "washed out" West using "primitive" Black energy. The hosts critique her controlling nature, noting she required her proteges to call her "Godmother," mirroring the control record labels exert over artists today.
The discussion focuses on author Fanny Hurst and her blockbuster novel "Imitation of Life," which was adapted into two major films. The hosts reveal that Zora Neale Hurston provided the idea for the book during a road trip where she acted as Hurst's driver. The segment critiques the patronizing relationship between the two women and the film's focus on "passing" and the "contemporary race problem" in America.
A YouTube clip from Black Public Media explores why "black folks don't vote Republican," citing a lack of trust and the influence of "extreme conservatism" since Barry Goldwater. Participants in the clip describe black Republicans as "closeted" or "cray cray." The hosts argue that this shows the success of political programming and the social stigma attached to breaking the Democratic monolith.
