Philadelphia Freedoms

Michael Awkwards Philadelphia Freedoms captures the energetic contestations over the meanings of racial politics and black identity during the post-King era in the City of Brotherly Love. Looking closely at four cultural moments, he shows how racial trauma and his native citys history have been entwined. He introduces each of these moments with poignant personal memories of the decade in focus and explores representation of African American freedom and oppression from the 1960s to the 1990s. Philadelphia Freedoms explores NBA players psychic pain during a playoff game the day after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination; themes of fatherhood and black masculinity in the soul music produced by Philadelphia International Records; class conflict in Andrea Lees novel Sarah Phillips; and the theme of racial healing in Oprah Winfreys 1997 film, Beloved. Awkward closes his examination of racial trauma and black identity with a discussion of candidate Barack Obamas speech on race at Philadelphias Constitution Center, pointing to the conflict between the nations ideals and the racial animus that persists even into the second term of Americas first black president.