My sister, Dr. Tara Betts, dropped the Luke Cage syllabus over at Black Nerd Problems. It is a must read. I wanted to add to this wealth of knowledge by offering my own “special features” companion piece to Cage. I will present the following without description as I do not want to taint anyone’s experience. This is only a small amount if what is actually out there. I mentioned other books in my reflections on the series. You can read it here.
Film:
- Across 110th Street (1972)
- A Great Day In Harlem (1994)
- Small Wonders (1995)
- Hell Up in Harlem (1973)
- The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940)
- Homegoings (2013)
Books:
- The Sanctified Church by Zora Neale Hurston
- Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America by Jonathan Gill
- The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art by Frances Gateward and John Jennings
- Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity by Monica Miller
- The “Kenyatta” Series by Donald Goines: Crime Partners, Death List, Kenyatta’s Escape, Kenyatta’s Last Hit
- There Goes the ‘Hood: Views of Gentrification from the Ground Up by Lance Freeman
Music:
- Gang Starr (For those of you who don’t know, every episode of Luke Cage is titled after a Gang Starr song.) “Moment of Truth,” “Code of the Streets,” “Who’s Gonna take the Weight,” “Step in the Arena,” “Just to Get a Rep,” “Suckas Need Bodyguards,” “Manifest,” “Blowin’ Up the Spot,” “DWYCK,” “Take it Personal,” “Now You’re Mine,” “Soliloquy of Chaos,” and “You Know my Steez” is one hell of a Gang Star mixtape.
- Big L Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous (1995)
- The Notorious B.I.G. Ready to Die (1994)
- Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
- The Delfonics La-La Means I love You: The Definitive Collection (1997)
- The Cadillacs “Gloria” single (1954)
- Mary Lou Williams The First Lady of Piano (1953)
Misc:
Get to learnin’.