Jared Ball: Critically examining impact over optics to support black liberation
Dr. Jared Ball is a Professor of Communication Studies at Morgan State University and the founder and curator of imixwhatilike.org (Twitter: @imixwhatilike; Instagram: @imixwhatilike), which is a multimedia hub of emancipatory journalism and revolutionary beat reporting. He is also the author of The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power.
In this podcast episode, Dr. Ball sheds light on how the state and corporate worlds have shaped our educational institutions and the subject areas getting the most funding; how the myth of Black buying power has been used to blame Black communities for their own poverty based on squandered economic opportunity; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Dr. Ball and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
Musical feature: Trust The Sun by Fight for You by Raye Zaragoza
“I care much less about the diversity of representation than I do about the distribution of wealth and resources being created in society.”
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological regeneration, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app, and support Green Dreamer on Patreon so we can keep the show going and accessible to a wider audience!
On the state's influence on Historically Black Colleges and Universities:
"In the post-Black Power era of the 60s and 70s, the funding to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) came with a decided hard sciences bent, influence, and bias behind them.
In other words, all of the humanities and social sciences fields where critical thinking and oppositional concepts might develop and be fostered were defunded—in favor of the hard sciences, with a lot coming from the Defense Department.
To this day, we see a lot of Defense Department funding coming in, even at times to Communications Studies, in attempts to, I would argue, co-opt or incorporate the work we do into military strategy.
In fact, one of the first heads of the Africa command was General Kip Ward, who was a graduate of Morgan State University. So we're even producing the very military leadership that paradoxically, in this case, helps militarize and control the militaries of the entire African continent."
On going beyond the optics of diversity to achieving materialized racial and social justice:
"The way I maintain focus for myself, in an attempt to argue with others, is to look at the material conditions of the people in whatever society or whatever group is being discussed.
So, I care much less about the diversity of representation than I do about the distribution of wealth and resources being created in society."
Final words of wisdom:
"One thing I always say when I sign off with the work I do is, like Fred Hampton said, 'Peace to you… if you're willing to fight for it'.
So peace, and I'll catch you all in the whirlwind."
