State Of Play Sharon Pratt

The Institute of Politics Policy and History at the University of the District of Columbia presents an examination of the work of musician and poet Gil Scott-Heron. Featuring Founding IPPH Director and former Washington DC Mayor Sharon Pratt, IPPH Fellow, literary activist, and writer E. Ethelbert Miller, poet Kenneth Carroll, artist and composer Kim Jordan, poet and critic Aldon Nielsen, and music critic and archivist with the University of the District of Columbia’s Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives.

The panel discusses causes for and possible solutions to the wealth divide between African-Americans and the rest of the US population. Features in-depth interviews with and bonus discussions Shawn Rochester (author of The Black Tax), Heather McGhee (author of The Sum of Us), and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Why is America an outlier in the world when it comes to gun violence and passion for gun ownership? What is the true origin of the second amendment? Find out the answer to these questions and more on this week's State of Play featuring interviews and bonus discussions with historian Dr. Carol Anderson author of The Second; Jocelyn Kiley of the Pew Research Center; Allison Anderman, Senior Counsel at the Giffords Law Center; Kourtney Redmond, President of the 761st Gun Club; and, anti gun violence advocate, Pastor Michael McBride.

The digital divide is just the beginning of the problems faced by black people because of the technology industry. Find out more about the consequences of and potential solutions for the technology gap. Interview guests include Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Dr. Ruha Benjamin, Dr. Allison Scott, and Dean Devdas Shetty

Black Voters Matter co-founder, LaTosha Brown asks Mayor Pratt and her co-hosts about the fight for voting rights and the fight for D.C. Statehood

Mayor Pratt speaks with Kevin Merida, ESPN Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of the sports blog The Undefeated and Bijan Bayne, award-winning Washington-based freelance columnist, critic, author and IPPH Resident Fellow in Sports. They discuss the tradition of protest in America (Boston Tea Party) and how that protest has been leveraged in sports.