Christopher Ouma doesn’t begin by talking about himself when asked about becoming the next host of Left of Black. Long before Ouma joined Duke—or even moved to the United States—he was familiar with Neal’s work. Image Christopher Ouma (left) sits with acclaimed author and Duke Professor Jarvis McInnis (right) during a recent Left of Black conversation. Mark Anthony Neal launched Left of Black in 2010 and spent the next 15 years building it into one of the most recognizable platforms for conversations about Black scholarship and culture. At the same time, he argues, centering Black life doesn’t exclude larger conversations about capitalism, the environment, modernity, or the nation-state.