0.28: LaToya Ferguson, Alanna Bennett, & Ira Madison III on Race in the Buffy & Angelverse

The absolutely brilliant LaToya Ferguson, Alanna Bennett, and Ira Madison III host today's conversation on race within the Buffy and Angelverse! This is the first in a larger series that will be produced and hosted by BIPOC Buffy fans here on the Buffering the Vampire Slayer and WOW — what a way to begin. These three TV geniuses bring their encyclopedic knowledge of both series to the table with questions like: What would have happened if Leonard Roberts played Riley? Why in the hell was Drusilla able to kill Kendra — an immensely powerful Slayer — with one filed f*cking fingernail? How would it have impacted the arc of the show if Bianca Lawson had been cast as Cordelia? This. Episode. Fucking. Rules.

Today’s conversation was curated, produced, and edited by LaToya Ferguson. You can follow LaToya at @lafergs on Twitter and you should also *immediately* tune into her podcast about The Vampire Diaries (YEAH THAT’S RIGHT) called The AMPire Diaries over at theampirediariespod.com

Alanna Bennett is a culture writer and screenwriter who you can follow over at @AlannaBennett on Twitter and Instagram! Currently Alanna is writing for The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico

Ira Madison III would love if you’d just please leave him alone (he’s busy!), but if you INSIST he can be found at @ira on Twitter, @irathethird on Instagram; he also was a writer on Netflix’s Daybreak and is currently writing on Netflix’s forthcoming Q-Force

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Massive thanks to Mackenzie MacDade and Alba Daza who are working with us as consultants and facilitators! Here’s more on their work:

Mackenzie MacDadeis a 31 year old, queer woman of color, teaching artist, feminist, part time poet and general rabble rouser. She got her start in feminism from a book of feminist nursery rhymes, and her start in pop culture analysis from 9 years of homeschooling (translation: 9 years of TV and movie watching). A firm believer in queering the collective consciousness, she strives to inspire people to redesign their idea of normal and step out their comfort zone. She takes inspiration from Gertrude Stein, Buffy, Angela Davis, Faith and bell hooks. Someone once described her as “The love child of Angela Davis and Ru-Paul” and she thinks that just about sums it up.

Alba Daza is a 27-year-old emerging Latinx writer/director/podcaster based in Montreal, Canada.  At 13 years old she discovered (through Buffy) that she wanted to be a screenwriter and hasn’t let go of that dream since. Her stories focus on telling and celebrating the stories of marginalized voices, giving them space to breathe and thrive. Through her work, she plans to decolonize pop culture and Slay white supremacy, just like Buffy taught her. Check out her podcast, “My Mama So…” which centers around appreciating the greatness of motherly figures: bit.ly/mymamaso

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You can learn more about this new series and our other initiatives here at Buffering the Vampire Slayer at bufferingthevampireslayer.com/justkeepfighting

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