Episodes

  • American International Politics and WW1
    Jul 1 2026

    In this episode, Dr. Vaz and Professor Tomengo continue their discussion of Woodrow Wilson's international policies as they relate to Latin American countries. The conversation includes issues related to the aftermath of WW1 (both domestic and international) and the forming of the League of Nations.

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    25 mins
  • Woodrow Wilson and his International Policies
    Jun 23 2026

    In this episode Dr. Vaz and Professor Tomengo discuss the Red Summer of 1919 and the ascent of Woodrow Wilson to the United States Presidency. Central to this conversation are Wilson's expansion of the Federal Government and his international policies that were based on Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. Special attention is given to the United States' evolving relationship with Haiti and Latin American countries.

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    40 mins
  • Meta Warrick Fuller's Mary Turner
    Jun 17 2026

    In this episode, Professor Tomengo and Dr. Vaz discuss Meta Warrick Fuller's sculpture Mary Turner. Professor Tomengo recounts the circumstances by which he came to teach African American Humanities twenty-four years ago and, by extension, Fuller's Mary Turner. Central to their conversation is how the history of the work has impacted the many students who have taken both their classes down through the years.

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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Meta Warrick Fuller's The Talking Skull
    Jun 10 2026

    Professor Tomengo and Dr. Vaz discuss Meta Warrick Fuller's 1939 sculpture, The Talking Skull. They analyze its metaphoric potential and examine the significance of those metaphors for Black people then and now. The conversation also addresses the Administration of Theodore Rooselvelt, his Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine and his handling of the Brownsville Affair of 1906.

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    1 hr
  • Meta Warrick Fuller's The Awakening of Ethiopia
    Jun 1 2026

    In this eposode Dr. Vaz and Professor Tomengo analyze Meta Warrick Fuller's classic sculpture, The Awakening of Ethiopia. They begin the conversation by continuing an earlier discussion of United States political parties and both of their personal voting strategies as Black men. The discussion then segues into an analysis of Fuller's sculpture and its importance to establishing a metaphysical Black identity, one rooted in pride and humanity.

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    50 mins
  • Policies of the F.D.R. Adminstration and Black Americans
    May 25 2026

    Dr. Vaz and Professor Tomengo discuss how the policies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt impacted Black Americans negatively, even though their goal was to benefit Americans in general. Special attention is given to policies of The New Deal, particularly the Agricultural Adjustment Act and the Federal Housing Adminstration, both of which contributed to the Racial Covenants that would prevent Black land ownership and their subsequent accumulation of resources and wealth. They also discuss the origin of the Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) and the Fair Labor Standards Act,

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    36 mins
  • A History of the Political Parties
    May 19 2026

    In this episode Professor Trent Tomengo and Dr. Neil Vaz discuss the history of the political parties and their relationship to Black people in the United States of America.

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    54 mins
  • The Art of Augusta Savage (Part 2)
    May 11 2026

    In this episode, Professor Tomengo and Dr. Vaz continue their conversation on the artwork of Augusta Savage, this time giving specific attention to her sculpture Realization. They discuss the importance of her approach to portraying Black people during the Harlem Renaissance and how that approach differed from that of Aaron Douglas.

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    46 mins