CZM Book Club: "Ark of Bones," by Henry Dumas with Dr. Treasure Shields Redmond (Part 2)
Summary
Dr. Treasure Shields Redmond joins the Coolzone Media Book Club to discuss Henry Dumas’s surrealist short story, "Arc of Bones." The episode explores the narrative’s roots in hoodoo, the Mississippi River, and the syncretic history of African and Christian spirituality. Redmond also shares the personal legacy of stewarding her father’s connection to Dumas, who was murdered by police in 1968, and reflects on themes of ancestral memory and revolutionary optimism.
Topics discussed
Intro and NBC News ad
Las Culturistas intro and QB Mayonnaise ad
HomeSense ad and iHeart True Crime Plus promo
Guest introduction and river naming discussion
Indigenous views of the Mississippi and Child to Wheatley Q
Story analysis: Surrealism, YA, and Afrofuturism
History of Christianity and slavery in the South
Hoodoo, Juju, and syncretic spiritual practices
African origins of divinity and global religious parallels
Secret society themes and Henry Dumas' political life
Dumas' connections to Sun Ra and African religions
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Themes of memory, community accountability, and bone boats
Impact of the slave trade on shark migration patterns
Ghost imagery, lynching, and the spirit dog
EHE program and Dumas' death in 1968
Funeral, Toni Morrison, and publishing the novel
Survivor's guilt and the weight of finishing Dumas' work
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Systemic change vs. individual leadership
Dr. Treasure's poetry and Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer's activism and cooperatives
Dr. Treasure's novel and hoodoo banishing practice
Critique of police and closing remarks
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