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.
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 Hidden History of Black Catholic Nuns
The lives and roles of African-descended women who joined predominantly white Catholic convents was deliberately hidden by congregational historians.
The Scholars Who Charted Black Music’s Timeline: Tony Bolden
Tony Bolden explores the spiritual principles that inform the foundation of Afrofuturist music.
The Cosmopolitan Culture of the Gullah/Geechees
Emphasizing the isolation enforced by Lowcountry geography erases the agency of Gullah/Geechee communities in the preservation of African culture.
How an Unrealized Art Show Created an Archive of Black Women’s Art
Records from a cancelled exhibition reveal the challenges faced by Black feminist artists and curators in the 1970s.
The Scholars Who Charted Black Music’s Timeline
Portia K. Maultsby documents the course of African American music, tracing the histories of the sounds alongside the histories of the people who made them.
The Groundbreaking Work of Jackie Ormes
The first Black woman to have a regularly published comic strip, Ormes gave form to the political and social concerns of Black 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.