Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads

Black Market Reads is a menu for Black literary consumption and all of its spin-offs. Featuring Black artists who love to read and write and engage in arts and culture.

To listen to episodes and find great additional content about our authors and their work, visit our website (https://blackmarketreads.com/).

Join the conversation! Follow us on Facebook (@GivensFoundationforAfricanAmericanLiterature), rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and share us with all your friends.

PRODUCER: The Givens Foundation for African American Literature
PRODUCTION SERVICES: iDream.tv

SEASON TWO - FOUR: Hosted by Lissa Jones

SEASON ONE: BMR was originated by Tana Hargest on behalf of The Givens Foundation, HOSTED BY Erin Sharkey and Junauda Petrus of Free Black Dirt, and other guest hosts as introduced, MUSIC: Sarah White - Through People [M¥K Remix]

Black Market Reads is made possible through the generous support of our individual donors, Target Foundation, and the voters of Minnesota, through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

For more information about the Givens Foundation, visit their website. (http://www.givens.org)

  1. All Episodes
  2. Episode 106 - Michael Richards, Are You Down?

Episode 106 - Michael Richards, Are You Down?

Apr 25, 2026

Recorded live at Franconia Sculpture Park, this episode of Black Market Reads brings listeners into a powerful, place-based conversation about the life, work, and legacy of artist Michael Richards. Host Lissa Jones is joined by curator Esther Callahan and book editors Alex Fialho and Melissa Levin to explore Are You Down?, Richards’ monumental sculpture created during his 2000 residency at Franconia. Grounded in the physical presence of the work and shaped by reflections from Richards’ own artist statement—read by his cousin and steward Dawn Dale—the conversation weaves together art, history, race, and responsibility, asking what it means to engage with and carry forward the voice of an artist whose story continues through his work.

GO DEEPER visit our website at www.BlackMarketReads.com

Black Market Reads is a project of The Givens Foundation for African American Literature produced in partnership with iDream.tv. Our production team for this episode includes co-producers Lissa Jones and Edie French, technical director Paul Auguston, camera/YouTube editor Angelo Gbeve, the voice Yo Derek, and our artist of inspiration Ta-coumba T. Aiken.