“So Ruff, So Tuff”: Legacies of Black Midwestern Art and Struggle

Dr. Nicole R. Fleetwood emerges from her current book project, Between the River and the Railroad Tracks, part memoir and part cultural history of growing up in Hamilton, Ohio. Her exploration of her hometown is a lens to meditate on the cultural life and labor of the Black Midwest through its music, art, and community practices. The title is taken from the hit song “So Ruff, So Tuff” by her family’s funk band Zapp featuring Roger Troutman.