Harry Belafonte and the Art of Activism
Harry Belafonte’s life and work loom large over this moment when artists of color are exercising their activist voices.
Negritude 20
Hip-Hop: How We Got from a South Bronx Birthday Party to a Global Force
Even though it took time and intervention for hip-hop to expand beyond the South Bronx, that may have been for the better in the long run.
Was the Blues Born on a Vaudeville Stage?
Black creative and economic self-determination within the music industry didn’t begin with Chance the Rapper, or Prince, or even Motown.
‘Muslim Cool’ Puts Its Faith in Hip-Hop, and Hip-Hop in Its Faith
Where Chance the Rapper injects spirituality into hip-hop, Muslim Cool injects hip-hop into spirituality.
Culture and History for the Age of Trump
History doesn't always tell us how to get it right. It sometimes warns us of the cost of getting it wrong. Art steeped in that history, like John Lewis' graphic novel trilogy, March, can remind us, if we're paying attention.
The Long, Hot Summer of 2016: How We Got Over
Simone Manuel’s winning a gold medal in this particular Olympic swimming event in this particular summer gave the especially besieged among us a chance to take a break from the siege.
Perhaps Prince Really Did Die 4 Us
On what would have been the groundbreaking musician's 58th birthday, a reflection on his final chord.
Kanye and Mingus: Gifted, Complicated and Proud of It
Charles Mingus and Kanye West represent an extreme form of the complicated-and-proud-of-it black man, within a society that prefers its black men as uncomplicated and untroubling as possible.
Defending Chicago’s ‘Defender’
It's possible to trace much of 20th Century America’s history through the pages of the Defender, a local paper with a national impact.
For Jazz and Gospel Artists and Audiences, Music Is Their Faith, and Faith Is Their Rock
Black music's spiritual aspect may be a given, but two new books, A City Called Heaven and Spirits Rejoice! go deep into explaining how that actually happens.