Put a Ring On It?: Marriage in Modern Black Pop Culture (w Dr. Aneeka A. Henderson)

My guest for this episode is Dr. Aneeka Ayanna Henderson, Associate Professor of American Studies at Amherst College. Dr. Henderson and I discuss the historical, political, and cultural context of Black marriage in the U.S. primarily through the lens of Black popular culture. We focus heavily on her first book, Veil & Vow, in which she critically analyzes how marriage is framed in the popular fiction of Black women writers like Terry McMillan and Sister Souljah, Black films, and popular from the late '90s & early 2000s.

We also talk about marriage in more contemporary pop culture, including the Black Housewives reality TV shows and Black social media gender discourse.

• The book: Veil and Vow: Marriage Matters in Contemporary African American Culture

• Dr. Henderson's Amherst faculty page: amherst.edu/people/facstaff/ahenderson

Listen to full episode:

Episode Notes:

• Ebony

• Essence

• Jet

• Terry McMillan books

  • Disappearing Acts (tv film)

  • Waiting to Exhale (film)

• The Women of Brewster Place (book)

• The Women of Brewster Place (tv mini series)

• The Cosby Show

• A Different World

• Good Times

• Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Registry

• MLK & Coretta Scott-King

• Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974

• Moynihan Report

• Steve Harvey

• Iyanla Vanzant

• Sister Souljah

  • The Coldest Winter Ever

  • Public Enemy

  • “Hoyneymoon in L.A.” A Different World

  • Sister Souljah’s appearance on Donahue panel “The Issue Is Race - A Crisis In Black and White”

    Bill Clinton’s comments on Sister Souljah (1992)

• The Best Man

• E. Lynn Harris

• Pariah

• The Color Purple (film)

  • Tony Brown

  • Ralph Wiley

  • James Baldwin on The Color Purple in 1986 National Press Club talk

• One Life to Live

• Guiding Light

• All My Children

  • Michael B. Jordan

  • Susan Lucci

• Mary J. Blige

• “Percolator” – Cajmere

• “The Pressure Cooker”- MDIII

• “Crush on You” – Lil' Kim ft. Lil' Cease

• “Ladies Night Remix” – Lil' Kim ft. Missy Elliott, Da Brat, Left Eye, Angie Martinez 

• “I’ll Be” – Foxy Brown ft. Jay Z

• Real Housewives of Atlanta

• Betty Draper (Mad Men)

• June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver)

• “Bag Lady” – Erykah Badu

• Vibe Magazine

• Double dutch

• French roll hairstyle