Jay Smooth: Bio and Interview

August 21, 2010

Here is a nice little bio and interview provided by the illustrious Feministing.com, one of the better interviews I've gotten to do.

Feministing Profile: Jay Smooth

Jay Smooth, as longtime readers of Feministing will know, is one of our favorite commentators and male allies. Jay is the founder of New York City’s longest running hip hop radio show, WBAI’s “Underground Railroad,” which has been around for twenty years now. You can also hear him on NPR’s “Morning Edition” every week, talking music and culture.

But what really got our attention, and what secured Jay’s inclusion in the ranks of Salon’s Sexiest Men Living in 2008, is the commentary he does about the intersection of race, gender, politics and pop culture. At his website, Ill Doctrine, he does trenchant, funny and thought-provoking commentary on everything from the phrase “no homo” to the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Most recently, Jay has garnered attention for his video “How to Tell People they Sound Racist,” a fascinating guide to having a productive conversation about the most divisive issue in American culture and politics. The video, which should be shown to every incoming college freshman (and every pundit, and every one of your friends, and everyone who wants to be included in our national discussion about race), is three minutes of desperately-needed genius, and with it, Jay has done us a real service (seriously, watch it).

It was a genuine pleasure to be able to pick Jay’s brain for half an hour, to hear how his experiences of race have shaped his views on gender and to find out exactly which Feministing editor he wants to take to a desert island...

click here for full interview

Posted by jsmooth995 at 5:52 PM | Comments (0)