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Author Shirley Neal

in conversation with Dr. Gina Paige

Join us when author Shirley Neal and Dr. Gina Paige visit to discuss Neal's book, AfroCentric Style: A Celebration of Blackness & Identity in Pop Culture.

About the author:

Shirley Neal is a journalist, author, and documentarian, whose works have mainly focused on Pop Culture, Africa, and Black Identity. Her cover story for Forbes Africa highlighting Oprah Winfrey’s works in South Africa is among the franchise’s most in-demand issues. Shirley has served as a contributing writer and editor for Ebony. She is a graduate of Boston University, with a B.A. in Liberal Studies and earned her professional certification as a literary Ghostwriter from California State University Long Beach. Neal lives in Los Angeles.

Timely and timeless, AfroCentric Style educates, celebrates, and elevates readers' knowledge about the powerful influence of Afrocentric Style on mainstream pop culture and America’s increasingly diverse society.

The top memes, movements, and milestone moments dominating today’s social media have focused on Beyoncé, Rihanna, Hip-Hop, Usher, Black Enterprise crews, Abbott Elementary’s rise, and Oprah’s slim down. Driven by Black millennials, these trending topics demonstrate the influence and power of Black artistry and celebrity in American popular culture and around the globe. As Shirley Neal argues, this is more than just a fleeting style. It is a profound display of how pop culture is being used as a conduit for the revival of Black identity, culture, and history.

The impact of Blackness in pop culture has never been as significant as it is today. African-themed searches have grown exponentially, and the surge of interest in Black pop culture crosses generations. Beautifully designed, Afrocentric Style explores the connection between Black identity and mainstream culture, interweaving more than 100 full-color and archival black-and-white photographs with thought-provoking commentary that offers parallels between the top Afrocentric stories that have trended on social media and their historical roots.

Shirley Neal will be in conversation with Dr. Gina Paige, co-founder of African Ancestry, Inc (AfricanAncestry.com) and in doing so, pioneered a new way of tracing African lineages using genetics, and a new marketplace for people of African descent looking to more accurately and reliably trace their roots. Paige travels the world demystifying African roots to inform on the importance and empowerment of Black identity through the lens of Africa and our African ancestors.

Books will be available for purchase courtesy of Mac's Backs - Books on Coventry.