Finding Myself Through the Blues
Document Type
Video
Publication Date
2018
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Disciplines
Communication
Abstract
In this unique talk, Brian Foster explores the relationships and the music that define him. I grew up in Shannon, Mississippi, a town with one flashing light, a grocery store, and tradition as deep as the red in the dirt roads—roads that led to houses and gravesites, histories and openness. I grew up a lover of music and words. My soundtrack was late-90’s era Memphis rap, from Playa Fly to Three Six Mafia to La Chat. My writing was mostly poems and short stories, strange compositions about coming of age in Mississippi. Today, as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they have stayed the same. I’m still growing up, though I suppose now I’m a little bit further along. I still write about being black in the South. And, I still bump old Memphis rap—yes, I’m going to do this—like it’s 1999. I earned a Bachelor’s degree in African American Studies from the University of Mississippi in 2011 and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
Relational Format
video recording
Extent
0:13:05
Recommended Citation
Foster, Brian, "Finding Myself Through the Blues" (2018). TEDxUM. 7.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/tedx/7