Monday, September 21, 2020, is World Gratitude Day. I'm taking a moment to briefly reflect on what I'm thankful for in my profession. I'm thankful that I have the extraordinary privilege of writing as a part of my job. I'm thankful that I have my scholarship published and circulated beyond the doors of my office. I'm thankful that I have the honor of participating in the production of knowledge. Finally, I'm thankful for the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity and Dr. Kerry Ann Rocquemore's vision.

"Black Popular Culture special issue, edited by Angela Nelson,Popular Culture Studies Journal, vol. 8, no. 2, Fall 2020.

Black Popular Culture special issue, a co-sponsorship between Africology: Journal of Pan African Studies edited by Eric Jackson and The Popular Culture Studies Journal edited by CarrieLynn Reinhard, includes an introduction by the special issue editor and nine essays covering contemporary Black popular culture.

73 years ago today on September 12, 1947, Mahalia Jackson recorded the double-sided recording of W. Herbert Brewster’s “Move on Up a Little Higher” (Apollo 164) for Apollo Records. The song was released in December 1947. In the early months of 1948, the song had already reportedly sold tens of thousands in Chicago and was receiving heavy radio play. The record not only became a bestseller but it was reportedly black gospel’s first million-seller. “Move on Up a Little Higher” garnered Jackson’s first critical evaluation on December 6, 1947, in Billboard, the music trade publication. (Source: Mark Burford, Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field, Oxford University Press, 2019.)