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We Who Are Dark

Trent Tomengo

This podcast is a conversartion in history and humanities as they relate to the African Diaspora with a heavy focus on Black American creative output. It is primarily a conversation between history scholar Dr. Neil Vaz and humanities scholar and artist Trent Tomengo.

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23 episodes
weekly
Avg 48 min
English

Episodes 23

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#2
Yesterday · 41 min
An Interview with the Former Student - Tara
In this episode Dr. Neil Vaz interviews one of his and Professor Tomengo's former student, Tara. They talk about everything from the importance of travel to her involvement in the wine business.
S3 · E10
Thursday · 1 hr 1 min
Conversation on 9/11
This episode is a continuation of last week's conversation on the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. This philosophical conversation touches on the dichotomy of "Freedom vs. Security." Professor Tomengo and Neil Vaz delve into Osama Bin Laden's connections with the CIA, the mysterious collapse of Building 7, and the Patriot Act.
S3 · E9
September 20 · 24 min
911 Remembered
In this episode, on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 (2001) attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, Dr. Vaz and Professor Tomengo discuss the historic event and its aftermath. They recount what they were doing when the Twin Towers were bombed and the impact it had not only on their private lives but also on American culture in general.
S3 · E8
September 18 · 41 min
Has Any Teacher Ever Doubted You?
In this episode, Professor Trent Tomengo and Dr. Neil Vaz discuss their experiences in school with educators and others in positions of authority who doubted their abilities to succeed or who discouraged them from from learning all they could learn.
S3 · E7
September 10 · 1 hr 5 min
Special Guest: Demetrius Smith
In this episode, Professor Trent Tomengo has an insightful conversation with his colleague Professor Demetrius Smith. Professor Smith discusses everything from his upbringing in Central Florida to his teaching philosophy.
S3 · E6
August 31 · 55 min
Dr. Neil Vaz Goes to Ghana (Part V)
In this episode, Dr. Vaz wraps up his report on his recent trip to Ghana. He discusses how the current country of Ghana was founded, how it got it's name, and the efforts of its first president, Kwame Nkrumah, to establish a "United States of Africa" in 1957. Giving details on why that initiative failed, he also discusses the current political challenges facing countries on the African continent.
S3 · E5
August 25 · 51 min
Dr. Neil Vaz Goes to Ghana (Part IV)
In this episode Dr. Neil Vaz shares with Professor Trent Tomengo what the Africa trip did for him and why the knowledge of self begets security and stability in one's self-esteem.
S3 · E4
August 24 · 1 hr 16 min
Special Guest: Former Student, Eddie Bouey
In this episode Professor Tomengo's former student, Eddie Bouey, was invited on to discuss the impact of his courses on Mr. Bouey's life. They discuss everything from Greek mythology to the impact of Black professors on Black college students in the classroom.
S3 · E3
August 17 · 45 min
Dr. Neil Vaz Goes to Ghana (Part III)
In this part 3 episode of Neil Vaz's trip to Ghana, the professor continues to share with Professor Trent Tomengo his experience. Answering Professor Tomengo's questions pertaining to how the trip transformed Vaz's psychology, Vaz delves into the nuances of Ghanaian history and the Asante participation in the transatlantic slave trade.
S3 · E2
August 8 · 1 hr
Dr. Neil Vaz Goes to Ghana (Part II)
In this episode Dr. Neil Vaz discusses his trip to Ghana with Professor Trent Tomengo. They delve into the history of the transatlantic slave trade and the arrival of the Portuguese on the Gold Coast. They also touch on the various Akan polities, the transformation of their societies, and their participation in the transatlantic slave trade.
S3 · E1
July 31 · 46 min
Dr. Neil Vaz Goes to Ghana
In this video Dr. Neil Vaz discusses his recent trip to Ghana with Professor Trent Tomengo. Dr. Vaz dives into his childhood motivations that compelled him to a point of interest in the Akan culture of Ghana.
S2 · E14
July 20 · 39 min
Archibald Motley's "Saturday Night" and "Blues"
In this final episode of Season 2, Professor Tomengo and Dr. Vaz analyze two of Archibald Motley's paintings, namely "Saturday Night" (1935) and "Blues" (1929). In discussing these works, the conversation addresses the new stereotype reserved for Black women in popular culture at the time, the oversexualized Black woman. It also includes commentary on other popular stereotypes and how their use today denotes an ignorance of the real history behind their development. Further discussion of the Harlem Renaissance and Motley's aesthetic conventions solidifies the place his works hold in understanding Black popular culture during the early part of the 2oth century.
S2 · E13
July 14 · 25 min
Archibald Motley's Painting "Jockey Club" (1929)
In this episode, Professor Tomengo and Dr. Vaz have a spirited discussion about Archibald Motely's painting Jockey Club (1929). The conversation includes information about the various racial categorizations for Black people (Octoroon, Quadroon, Mulatto) and how those people associated with these categorizations navigated Early America.
S2 · E12
July 7 · 51 min
The Art of Archibald Motley
In this episode, Professor Tomengo and Dr. Vaz discuss the art of Archibald Motley and its role within the context of the Harlem Renaissance. Key to their discussion is the impact that colorism had on Black American life and culture, including U.S. policies concerning "race" in America. Using Archibald Motley's Octoroon Girl of 1925, they discuss the effects of the "one drop rule" and its influence on American societal structures.
S2 · E11
July 1 · 24 min
American International Politics and WW1
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.
S2 · E10
June 23 · 40 min
Woodrow Wilson and his International Policies
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.
S2 · E9
June 17 · 1 hr 11 min
Meta Warrick Fuller's Mary Turner
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.
S2 · E8
June 10 · 1 hr
Meta Warrick Fuller's The Talking Skull
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.
S2 · E7
June 1 · 49 min
Meta Warrick Fuller's The Awakening of Ethiopia
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.
S2 · E6
May 25 · 35 min
Policies of the F.D.R. Adminstration and Black Americans
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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