This week on Strange Fruit, we're joined in the studio by Dan Canon and Laura Landenwich, two of the attorneys who litigated Kentucky's recent marriage equality case. They gave us some background on the case and told us more about the addition of unmarried plaintiffs (including friend-to-the-show Bojangles Blanchard and his husband) and what might happen next. We appreciate them, not only for the work they do, but for explaining some of the legal intricacies in language we didn't have to go to law school to follow along with.
In our Juicy Fruit segment, we discuss the recent controversy over Nicki Minaj using a photo of Malcolm X on her new single cover, and how it harkens back to her mentor, Lil Wayne, using imagery of Emmett Till in his lyrics.The trial of Michael Dunn for the death of teenager Jordan Davis was also on our minds this week. Dunn opened fire on the SUV Davis was in, after asking them to turn their music down. He later claimed Davis had a shotgun, though no weapon was ever found.Last week a jury found him guilty of attempted murder of the other three people in the car, but they were unable to reach a verdict in the murder charge for the death of Davis, resulting in a mistrial on that count. As friend-to-the-show Dr. Brittney Cooper wrote, "This is not just about Dunn getting jail time. This is about whether our legal system is capable of defending black life against irrational forms of white fear."We also wish a happy birthday to Audre Lorde, and chat about an online article that supposedly instructs us on the proper way to perform certain bodily functions. Only on Strange Fruit, folks.
