Dr. Sheena Howard: What we can learn from Black Panther’s portrayal of culture and nationalism?

Our next guest is Dr. Sheena Howard. Sheena is an award- winning author, filmmaker and scholar. In 2014 Sheena became the first Black woman to win an Eisner Award for her first book, Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation (2013). The Eisner Awards are considered the ‘Oscars of Comics’. She is also the author of several critically acclaimed books and comics books. In 2017, Sheena published the Encyclopedia of Black Comics, which is the first book of its kind, profiling over 100 Black people in the comics industry. The Encyclopedia of Black Comics was named the 2018 American Library Associations’ Outstanding Reference Source. Sheena was born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia. She now has one child, is a Professor at Rider University in the Department of Communication and Journalism. Outside of her full-time job, Sheena spends time writing and speaking to organizations and educational institutions on a variety of topics including social justice, diversity, and representation.

In episode number 225 of the Fraternity Foodie Podcast, we find out why Dr. Howard chose Iona College for her undergraduate studies, tips on how independent scholars can raise their profile and gain major media coverage, what is so special about comic books as a form of media, the findings from her documentary called “Remixing Colorblind”, what is special about working as a professor at Rider University in the Department of Communication and Journalism, what we can learn from Black Panther’s portrayal of a culture virtually untouched by white supremacy, what we can learn from T’Challa’s nuanced identity and eventual shift from nationalism to globalism, how Sheena finally took control and set out on her journey of self-empowerment after being in an abusive relationship, and what she learned from her mom.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VT_oy7_blw