I Hear America Singing
Japanese American poet Garrett Hongo is a guiding spirit to a glorious cacophony, an exuberant collective thrum made of different tongues and peoples.
Historian J.T. Roane Explores Black Ecologies
Considerations of climate change and environmentalism have for too long paid no mind to where Black people live and in what conditions.
The Indelible Lessons of Erasure
A Percival Everett fan weighs in on the novelist’s approach to racial satire and considers the translation of Erasure to the big screen in American Fiction.
How Portuguese Slave Traders Changed Ethiopia and Congo
Portuguese trading of enslaved Africans affected two major African powers in very different ways.
Musicians Fought the Law, and the Law Won—Sometimes
De La Soul are known for the effect their use of samples had on their music sales and availability on streaming sites. They’re finally streaming. Why now?
Ode to Samuel Delany
Composed half-a-century ago, The Ballad of Beta-2 was a science-fiction vision of the future that speaks directly to our present.
Plant of the Month: Guinea Grass
The West African grass was imported to sustain Caribbean sugar plantations, but it has turned against them, becoming a symbol of resilience and independence.
Octavia Butler’s Roots in Black History
The Parable books seem different yet familiar, their plots framed by a world shattered by racism, economic inequality, and climate change.
Harvey Milk’s Gay Freedom Day Speech: Annotated
Five months before his assassination in 1978, Harvey Milk called on the president of the United States to defend the rights of gay and lesbian Americans.
Comparing Editions of David Walker’s Abolitionist Appeal
Digitization allows researchers to trace editorial and authorial changes in archival content. Both are central to the study of this famous abolitionist pamphlet.