Episode description

Eddie Glaude and Imani Perry consider the question through the work of James Baldwin and Richard Wright. Plus: How our country could enter a period of “post-traumatic growth.”

The two professors of African-American Studies at Princeton talk with each other about the impact of James Baldwin and Richard Wright’s work — on their own intellectuality and creativity, and that of the Black American zeitgeist at large and the harrowing relevance of their work as it echoes into the issues of today. 

Later, a conversation with psychologist, minister and artist Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis as we prepare to navigate the traumas of this past year, and what it really takes to move forward individually, and as a whole. 

And we offer our annual reading of Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”, as performed by award-winning actor John Douglas Thompson.

Companion listening for this episode:

On This Occasion… (Series Collection)Some of our favorite shows come from holidays and commemorations that get us thinking about history -- and our places in it. Here’s a sampling.

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Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.