Alfred Martin

Happy Wiz Day! May your turkey be as juicy as the one Aunt Em ‘nem made. And reach out to talk to me about why you love THE WIZ. My DMs are open!

Are you a fan of the 1978 film THE WIZ? I would LOVE to chat with you about your fandom for a book on THE WIZ. You only need to be 18 years old or older and love the film. DMs open and please share.

SIG members, don't forget that our event with @alfredmartin.bsky.social is a week from today. Al will be talking about his new book, FANDOM FOR US, BY US. Please register here to get the Zoom link: tinyurl.com/fandomforus

Lukewarm take: My least favorite academic writing tic is, without question, “the ways in which.”

Everyone’s always like “Uncle Phil this, Danny Tanner that," meanwhile Carl Winslow was out here holding Chicago together while a teenage inventor literally destroyed his house every week. Give that man his flowers.

This a deeply disappointing “take” and headline from NPR…

Hot take: the opposition to drag has nothing to do w/drag. It has EVERYTHING to do w/the queers having seized the means of drag production. So, rather than heterosexual men getting rich playing dress up, (mostly) gay men and trans folks are getting rich doing it. THAT is why they’re mad.

People don’t know what the federal government is doing in Chicago. Share this article far and wide. Not just here but to your friends and family elsewhere

In Portland, Oregon, masked ICE GOONS abducted and vanished US citizen Gonzalo Catalan last week. Tragically, his family remains unaware of his whereabouts and has not received any communication from him as of today.

Explain to me, like I’m a 5-year-old how the USDA can tell stores under capitalism how to price their products. Am I missing something (other than the innate cruelty)?

Carlos Jimenez, a 24-year-old U.S. citizen, was on his way to work at a food bank when he was shot by ICE officers in what a DHS spokesperson calls “defensive shots.” On Thursday morning at approximately 6:30 a.m., ICE officers were at Vineyard Avenue in Ontario when Jimenez, who was not in the target vehicle, attempted to pull in front of the officers. According to Javier Hernandez, executive director of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, Jimenez was trying to assist and provide aid to the person who was being stopped by ICE officers. After Jimenez was shot in the shoulder, the LA Times and LA Taco reported that he drove to his brother’s house so he could take him to the hospital.

ICE shot an American citizen and food bank worker who tried to block them arresting an immigrant by pulling his car in front of them.
After being released from hospital: "He is now facing charges for assault on a federal officer."
www.calonews.com/featured-top...

Things I miss: Black celebrities (like Ali, Baldwin, Angelou, Morrison, Kitt, etc.) used their enormous platforms to really demonstrate that they were both not necessarily “the people” because they were celebrities in some way, but also with “the people.”

I love the Evelyn at like 29th and Lex (a little further south than midtown but I find it super convenient for train travel)

“Population ⬇️” stories serve the same function as stories from the 80s, 90s, & 00s about the growth of Asian “model minorities” and that Hispanic/Latinos would ⬆️ white folks. As if numbers were the only thing keeping slavery going. The goal is for white people to have kids to save Empire & racism

arXiv will no longer accept review articles and position papers unless they have been accepted at a journal or a conference and complete successful peer review.

This is due to being overwhelmed by a hundreds of AI generated papers a month.

Yet another open submission process killed by LLMs.

But what about ACTUAL health? We get so obsessed with the “visual” (also see: representation matters) that we don’t check under the hood. I had a friend who was just over 50, went to the gym daily, and died of a sudden heart attack. The visual is not always an indicator of being “good” health wise.

Which means college is going to get even more expensive and a space only for the elite to enshrine their privilege?

Things I “love” about the western world: The inability to understand that class warfare and hostility to those not born privileged results in folks not wanting to have kids.

I’m watching @abbottelementary.bsky.social and when someone (Janine?) said, “I’m April tired and it’s October” that shit hit. HARD!

102nd: @alfredmartin.bsky.social outstanding book Fandom for Us By Us a must read for media scholars and those in fan studies. Lively, informative and grounded in interviews and personal experiences the book will reshape the fields and how we think of black audiences. #booksky

Thanks for reading, Brian!

Now available: @alfredmartin.bsky.social and Taylor Cole Miller discussing The Golden Girls: Tales from the Lanai on @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast.

newbooksnetwork.com/the-golden-g...

Selfing holding a copy of the book The Golden Girls: Tales from the Lanai next to my face

I’m in a book!! Head on over to my #GoldenGirls blog to read all about The Golden Girls: Tales from the Lanai plus behind the scenes interviews with editors @tvdoc.bsky.social and @alfredmartin.bsky.social!!

goldengirlsfashion.com/2025/08/25/t...

There is nothing more American than poisoning a low income, community of color on behalf of a major business corporation.

Black Fandoms and the Politics of Representation: A Q&A With Alfred L. Martin, Jr., author of "Fandom For Us, By Us" - NYU Press You interviewed 75 people for this book. What was that experience like? Did anything stand out to you in the interviews? Writing this book was unlike any writing experience I... READ MORE

"I want this book to be understood as a joyous love letter to Blackness and Black reception practices." -Alfred L. Martin Jr, author of Fandom for Us By Us: The Pleasures and Practices of Black Audiences

Nothing quite as anti-Black as a Met Gala theme focused on Blackness where rich Black people show up in clothes not designed by Black designers.

Words cannot describe celebrating the release of my @nyupress.bsky.social book FANDOM FOR US, BY US in my hometown. Looking out on a room full of people that included people I’ve know for most of my life was a particular kind of treat. Two days later, I’m still high from all the love & energy!

Last night, I celebrated my new @nyupress.bsky.social book @ Books & Books. Thanks to Craig Seymour for being my conversation partner & all the folks who came out, but especially my Renaissance High homies Rita & Julian. I’m really grateful to have colleagues who show up to support my work.

I’m endlessly fascinated that this administration’s attacks are not being framed as class warfare.