Abby Phillip photographed in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Iris Mannings)
From presidential campaigns to punchlines, this week’s WABE Arts spotlights CNN anchor Abby Phillip and comedian Roy Wood Jr. — two voices shaping America’s political and cultural conversation in new books.
This week’s WABE Arts spotlights two voices approaching American life from different angles. CNN anchor Abby Phillip revisits the legacy and lessons of Jesse Jackson’s 1980s presidential campaigns in her new book, “A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power,” ahead of her Nov. 5 conversation with Ambassador Andrew Young at the Atlanta History Center. Comedian Roy Wood Jr. takes the stage the same night at the Buckhead Theatre, performing stories from his “The Man of Many Fathers” tour that blend humor, reflection and family history.
“It’s also an attempt to contextualize those races in the ’80s,” Phillip toldWABE Arts. “We really needed time to pass to fully understand what the impact of Reverend Jackson was. In the ’80s, it wasn’t clear that his campaigns would have much of a lasting impact beyond what they were able to achieve at that time.”
“In the ’80s, America wasn’t ready to elect a Black president,”
CNN news anchor Abby Phillip
Phillip said Jackson’s two runs for president — in 1984 and 1988 — broke new ground even as the media struggled to grasp their significance. “In the ’80s, America wasn’t ready to elect a Black president,” she said. “But even more than that, the media didn’t really know what to do with a figure like Jesse Jackson … so much of what he did and what he ran on just simply never really got reported on.”
She was also struck by Jackson’s unpredictability. “He was very unpredictable as a political figure — for the people covering him, for people following him, I think very exciting,” Phillip said. “And I think it’s very reminiscent of the way in which someone like Donald Trump really shook up the political scene when he came on the scene in 2015 and 2016. But Jesse Jackson did that decades earlier.”
Cover of Abby Phillip’s book, “A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power.” (Courtesy of Flatiron Books)
Phillip calls her upcoming Atlanta appearance a special one, in part because she will be in conversation with Ambassador Andrew Young. “Reverend Jackson and Ambassador Young are two of the last remaining people of that generation,” she said. “Both came out of a movement driven by trying to get Black Americans basic human rights, and then they had to make this transition into how to wield power and influence.”
Jackson’s ties to Atlanta run deep, Phillip explained. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was headquartered here, and Jackson often visited to meet with a circle of Black thought leaders known as “The Family” to discuss running a Black man for president.
“This book is for anyone who thinks they know Reverend Jackson,” she said. “You’ll learn a lot more. There were parts of what he talked about that are really important for our politics today, especially as both parties are in a very pitched battle over who can appeal to and speak to working-class voters of all races.”
Phillip joins Ambassador Andrew Young in conversation about “A Dream Deferred” on Wednesday night at theAtlanta History Center.
Roy Wood Jr. explores fatherhood at the Buckhead Theater
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. attends Hulu’s Hularious stand-up comedy celebration at The Stand on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in New York. (Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Comedian and writer Roy Wood Jr. is bringing a new kind of storytelling to the stage. His “The Man of Many Fathers” book tour combines stand-up comedy and conversation, exploring the father figures who shaped him — including his late father, journalist Roy Wood Sr.
“You know my pops died when I was 16, and it’s a bunch of short stories I learned from other men along the way in my life,” Wood told WABE Arts. “So, we got some comedy for sure.”
The tour’s upcoming stop at the Buckhead Theater promises to blend laughter with reflection. “I’m going to come out and do a little bit of standup, and I’ve got some dope moderators that are going to come out, and we’re just going to talk a little bit about the book,” Wood said. “We’re gone talk a little bit about masculinity.”
“This is a little different from a regular 90-minute standup show that you might go to,”
Comedian Roy Wood Jr.
Wood, a veteran of “The Daily Show” and a nationally touring comic, said the performance goes deeper than a typical set. “This is a little different from a regular 90-minute standup show that you might go to,” he said. “It’s going to get a little deep. It’s gone be a little awkward at times, but it’s going to be funny all the way through.”
The show is also homecoming. Wood’s Atlanta roots run three generations deep. “Atlanta is a stop every time around,” he said. “[It’s] one of my second comedy homes. When I started standup, I used to do open mics at the old Uptown Comedy Corner. My first comedy special, ‘Father Figure,’ I shot that in Atlanta at Center Stage. I’ve never been shown more love … my pops is OG Atlanta. He was born there.”
