How Alpha Kappa Alpha Shaped Kamala Harris; Plus, Bill T. Jones
Digest
This episode of the New Yorker Radio Hour features two insightful interviews. The first interview is with Jasmine Hughes, a writer for The New Yorker, who discusses the significance of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority in the life of Kamala Harris. Hughes highlights AKA's commitment to uplifting black women, its emphasis on comportment and excellence, and its strong network of support. She explains how AKA shaped Harris's identity and career, particularly during her time at Howard University. The second interview is with Bill T. Jones, a renowned choreographer, who discusses his dance piece "Still Here." This piece explores mortality and the meaning of life through workshops with individuals facing terminal illnesses. Jones describes the intensity of these workshops, the process of turning them into choreography, and the evolution of the piece over time. He reflects on the initial criticism the piece received for its focus on personal experience and identity, but ultimately celebrates its recognition as a landmark in contemporary performance. The episode delves into themes of identity politics, the role of art in society, and the universal human experience of mortality. It offers a nuanced perspective on the power of community, the importance of artistic expression, and the enduring search for meaning in the face of life's inevitable end.
Outlines
Alpha Kappa Alpha and Kamala Harris
This chapter explores the significance of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority in the life of Kamala Harris. It highlights AKA's commitment to uplifting black women, its emphasis on comportment and excellence, and its strong network of support. The chapter discusses how AKA shaped Harris's identity and career, particularly during her time at Howard University.
Bill T. Jones and "Still Here"
This chapter delves into Bill T. Jones's dance piece "Still Here," which explores mortality and the meaning of life through workshops with individuals facing terminal illnesses. Jones discusses the intensity of these workshops, the process of turning them into choreography, and the evolution of the piece over time. He reflects on the initial criticism the piece received for its focus on personal experience and identity, but ultimately celebrates its recognition as a landmark in contemporary performance.
Keywords
Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA)
A historically black sorority founded in 1908, known for its commitment to community service, sisterhood, and uplifting black women. AKA has a strong network of members and has played a significant role in shaping the lives of many prominent black women.
Kamala Harris
The first black woman and first South Asian woman to be nominated for Vice President of the United States. Harris's membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha is a significant aspect of her background and identity.
"Still Here"
A dance piece by Bill T. Jones that explores mortality and the meaning of life through workshops with individuals facing terminal illnesses. The piece is considered a landmark in contemporary performance and has been praised for its sensitivity and originality.
Bill T. Jones
A renowned choreographer, dancer, and director. Jones is known for his innovative and socially conscious work, which often explores themes of race, sexuality, and mortality.
Mortality
The state of being subject to death. "Still Here" explores mortality through the lens of personal experience, challenging audiences to confront their own fears and anxieties about death.
Identity Politics
A political approach that emphasizes the importance of group identity and shared experiences. "Still Here" and Kamala Harris's membership in AKA both raise questions about the role of identity in shaping individual and collective experiences.
Q&A
How did Alpha Kappa Alpha shape Kamala Harris's experience at Howard University and beyond?
AKA provided Harris with a strong network of support, instilled in her a commitment to excellence and community service, and shaped her understanding of her identity as a black woman.
What was the purpose of Bill T. Jones's survivor workshops for "Still Here"?
The workshops allowed Jones to explore the nature of mortality and the meaning of life through the lens of personal experience, drawing on the stories and movements of individuals facing terminal illnesses.
How has the reception of "Still Here" changed over time?
While initially met with some criticism for its focus on personal experience and identity, "Still Here" is now considered a landmark in contemporary performance, praised for its sensitivity, originality, and exploration of universal themes.
What does Bill T. Jones believe is the role of art in society?
Jones believes that art should be engaged in a discussion that is bigger than the beauty of form or technique, and that it should strive to explore the meaning of life and death.
How does Bill T. Jones feel about the idea of art that transcends personal experience?
Jones is skeptical of art that claims to be completely detached from the artist's identity and life experiences, believing that such art can be dishonest and lacking in authenticity.
Show Notes
One aspect of the Vice-President’s background that’s relatively overlooked, and yet critical to understanding her, is her membership in the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. “In one of the bylaws,” the writer Jazmine Hughes tells David Remnick, “it says that the mission of the organization, among many, is to uplift the social status of the Negro.” Far from a Greek party club, A.K.A. "is an identity” to its members. When Donald Trump insinuated that Kamala Harris had “turned Black,” in his words, for political advantage, “a lot of people pointed to her time at Howard, and her membership in A.K.A., [as] a very specific Black American experience that they did not see from someone like Barack Obama.”
Jazmine Hughes’s reporting on “The Tight-Knit World of Kamala Harris’s Sorority” was published in the October 21, 2024, issue ofThe New Yorker.
Plus, Kai Wright, who hosts WNYC’s “Notes from America,” speaks with the choreographer Bill T. Jones. This week, the Brooklyn Academy of Music is re-mounting Jones’s work “Still/Here,” which caused a stir when it débuted at BAM, thirty years ago: The New Yorker’s own dance critic at the time, Arlene Croce, declared that she wasn’t going to review it. Now “Still/Here” is considered a landmark in contemporary dance, and Jones a towering figure.
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