This is the second part of our conversation with Jesse Hamilton McCoy about more historical references in Lovecraft country. Don't worry this is a high energy, fun look into what makes these characters tick.
Recorded January 3 , 2021
We are back for part 2 of our review of HBO's Love Craft Country and it's Black history references with our favorite Professor Jesse Hamilton McCoy Click here for Bio .
In this episode, we dig into the show's characters, their literary and historical significance, and additional black history references. Here are a few brief snippets of what we discussed:
Hippolyta - Seems to be the black version of the Hippolyta character in Shakespeare's Mid-Summer Night's dream.
Atticus - Hat tip to Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mocking Bird? Among so many other things Atticus's storyline highlights the historical theme of Afro-Korean relationships.
Ruby - Through exploring the world as a white woman her storyline sheds light on the disparity between what it means to be black vs white in America. Did y'all know that in the Jim Crow days black people weren't free to eat vanilla ice-cream in public? No? Me either.
Diana Freeman - Diana's storyline forces us to think of how racism affected black children: Terrorism of Black children, the Emmett Till funeral as an attendee, and a harrowing experience fighting off the jig-a-boo. We could do a whole separate episode on how we currently fight off the jig-a-boo.
There is soo much in this episode you really have to listen to get the rest.
Quotes:
Tulsa was a Black Wall Street Town, Black banks, Black businesses, Black everybody. [The residents] said if we aren't willing to die for what we have here, there is no need for us to go elsewhere. - Jesse
Black people fought against the Klan and the government to their deaths to protect what they'd build in Tulsa. - Jesse
The lesson goes away because "they" don't want any one black to learn about insurrections in America. - Jesse
I think Lettie carries this show. .... My love for Lettie just increased every episode because she showed how strong she was. - Rhumel
Guest notes:
Book: Illiumatic by J. Hamilton McCoy
Please support our podcast:
Have a question or topic you want us to talk about? We want to hear from you!!