James McCune Smith

For James McCune Smith, Racism Was All Over Anthropology

What if the creation story of anthropology isn't exclusively about white men classifying people as primitive?
Marcus Garvey is shown in a military uniform as the "Provisional President of Africa" during a parade on the opening day of the annual Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World at Lenox Avenue in Harlem, New York City, 1922

Marcus Garvey’s Journey Began in Central America

Marcus Garvey left Jamaica unemployed, an anti-colonial trade unionist who British authorities considered dangerous.
Black Swan record label of Alberta Hunter recording, 1921.

The History of Black-Owned Record Labels

Decades before Motown ruled the radio, labels like Black Swan and Black Patti put out records that didn't stereotype African American music.
Stokely Carmichael, 1973

Stokely Carmichael, Radical Teacher

The civil rights leader who changed his name to Kwame Ture encouraged students in the Mississippi Freedom Schools to think critically.
A portrait of Audre Lorde from the cover of the July/August 1988 issue of WomaNews

Ten Poems by Audre Lorde

The esteemed poet is author of Sister Outsider, one title on the Schomburg Black Liberation Reading List. Read free related content on JSTOR.
Engraved portrait of George Washington Williams

George Washington Williams and the Origins of Anti-Imperialism

Initially supportive of Belgian King Leopold II’s claim to have created a “free state” of Congo, Williams changed his mind when he saw the horrors of empire.
Jessie Maple (left) and Louise Tiranoff (right)

Black Camerawoman Jessie Maple’s Fight to Join a Union

Her climb into filmmaking began with programs designed to train African Americans. But to succeed, she needed to break into a mostly white male union.
From the cover of Volume 12, Issue 7 of Muhammad Speaks

Muhammad Speaks for Freedom, Justice, and Equality

The official newspaper of the Nation of Islam—published from 1960-1975—combined investigative journalism and Black Nationalist views on racial uplift.
Terracotta memorial portrait (nsodie) of an Akan ruler from present-day southern Ghana

The “Deviant” African Genders That Colonialism Condemned

European travellers and anthropologists found that their gendered worldview didn’t easily map onto the societies they encountered.
Adolph Reed Jr.

Adolph Reed Jr.: The Perils of Race Reductionism

The political scientist Adolph Reed Jr. on the Black Lives Matter movement, the “rich peoples’ wealth gap,” and his Marxism.