Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Dive Into the Archive: leftofblack.org
What does it look like to not only survive, but to thrive, in a society that surrounds you and your community with hostility and detriment? For many, this is the most relevant burning question right now as we are seeing a seismic shift in the way the United States does business at home and abroad. But this same quandary was ever-present in the midst of the Civil Right Era. The titanic figure of Rev. Albert Cleage Jr. stood tall in the city of Detroit with his founding of the Shrine of the Black Madonna, which combined Afrocentric Christian practice with radical social ideas to change the self-perception of its congregants. Celebrated author Aaron Robertson joins host Dr. Mark Anthony Neal to discuss his much lauded new book, "The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America," published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Praise for "The Black Utopians"
• One of The New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2024
• One of the Washington Post's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024
• A Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History
• A New York Public Library Top Ten Book of 2024 | A Boston Globe Best Book of 2024
• A New Republic Best Book of the Fall | A Time Must-Read Book of the Year
• A 2025 Michigan Notable Book | A Booklist Best History Book of 2025
• Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker | Literary Hub | Essence | Elle | Chicago Public Library
Learn more about Mr. Robertson here: aaroncrobertson.com
Find his new book here: us.macmillan.com/books/9780374604981/theblackutopians
"Left of Black," Duke University's intrepid web series on Black Studies and the Black Arts, begins its milestone fifteenth season! "Left of Black" is the 2024 Gold Davey Award-winning and 2023 Webby Award-nominated series featuring interviews with Black Studies scholars, along with musicians and artists, created and hosted by the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of African and African American Studies, Dr. Mark Anthony Neal.
Directed, produced & edited by Eric Barstow, M.F.A.
Dive Into the Archive: leftofblack.org
What does it look like to not only survive, but to thrive, in a society that surrounds you and your community with hostility and detriment? For many, this is the most relevant burning question right now as we are seeing a seismic shift in the way the United States does business at home and abroad. But this same quandary was ever-present in the midst of the Civil Right Era. The titanic figure of Rev. Albert Cleage Jr. stood tall in the city of Detroit with his founding of the Shrine of the Black Madonna, which combined Afrocentric Christian practice with radical social ideas to change the self-perception of its congregants. Celebrated author Aaron Robertson joins host Dr. Mark Anthony Neal to discuss his much lauded new book, "The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America," published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Praise for "The Black Utopians"
• One of The New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2024
• One of the Washington Post's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024
• A Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History
• A New York Public Library Top Ten Book of 2024 | A Boston Globe Best Book of 2024
• A New Republic Best Book of the Fall | A Time Must-Read Book of the Year
• A 2025 Michigan Notable Book | A Booklist Best History Book of 2025
• Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker | Literary Hub | Essence | Elle | Chicago Public Library
Learn more about Mr. Robertson here: aaroncrobertson.com
Find his new book here: us.macmillan.com/books/9780374604981/theblackutopians
"Left of Black," Duke University's intrepid web series on Black Studies and the Black Arts, begins its milestone fifteenth season! "Left of Black" is the 2024 Gold Davey Award-winning and 2023 Webby Award-nominated series featuring interviews with Black Studies scholars, along with musicians and artists, created and hosted by the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of African and African American Studies, Dr. Mark Anthony Neal.
Directed, produced & edited by Eric Barstow, M.F.A.
