Liberation on the Dance Floor
Motown’s foray into gay liberation music may have been short-lived, but it made an outsized impact on queer culture.
What is Dance Activism?
An aesthetic of resistance and a form of protest against racist ideologies, dance activism has become a meaningful part of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Elvis and American Karate
Presley’s embrace of martial arts resonated with working- and middle-class Americans who felt alienated from the US justice system.
The Los Angeles Renaissance
Black composers Bruce Forsythe and Claudius Wilson transcended barriers to create concert and classical music during this West Coast art movement.
How Black Radio Changed the Dial
Black-appeal stations were instrumental in propelling R&B into the mainstream while broadcasting news of the ever-growing civil rights movement.
The Living Newspaper Speaks
Scripted from front-page news, the Federal Theatre Project’s Living Newspaper plays were part entertainment, part protest, and entirely educational.
All Male Cats Are Named Tom: Or, the Uneasy Symbiosis between T. S. Eliot and Groucho Marx
Class and religious differences, among other factors, thwarted the would-be friendship between two cultural titans, suggesting opposites attract, but may not adhere.
From Screaming to Singing
How one German choir changed the way we think about, practice, and perform choral music.
Dance Marathons
In the early twentieth century, dance marathons were an entire industry—and a surprisingly hazardous business.