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James Baldwin.

James Baldwin’s Ideas and Activism during the 1980s

Baldwin's often overlooked final years of activism during the 1980's.
by Aderson François via Black Perspectives on September 20, 2018
The cover of Behold, a Pale Horse by Milton William Cooper.

The Conspiracist Manual That Influenced a Generation of Rappers

How "Behold a Pale Horse" found its way to the Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep’s Prodigy, Busta Rhymes, Tupac Shakur, NAS, and more.
by Mark Jacobson via Vulture on August 22, 2018
Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin Was the Defining Voice of the 20th Century

No one else sang as well as her, and no other singer changed popular music as much as her.
by Jack Hamilton via Slate on August 16, 2018

The Forgotten Story of Pure Hell, America’s First Black Punk Band

The four-piece lived with the New York Dolls and played with Sid Vicious, but they’ve been largely written out of cultural history.
by Cassidy George via Dazed on August 8, 2018
Leon Bridges singing on stage.

'They Put Us in a Little Box': How Racial Tensions Shape Modern Soul Music

While white Americana singers have infused more soul into their sound, black artists still feel restricted by limited expectations.
by Jon Bernstein via The Guardian on June 13, 2018

The Soviet Anthology of “Negro Poetry”

In the 1930s, Soviet leaders decided that black American authors could teach Russians “to write social poetry.”
by Jennifer Wilson via The Paris Review on May 15, 2018

King's Death Gave Birth to Hip-Hop

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. led directly to hip-hop, an era that is often contrasted with his legacy.
by Vann R. Newkirk II via The Atlantic on April 8, 2018
Smiling man in front of a microphone

Fats Domino: Rock'n'Roll’s Quiet Rebel Who Defied US Segregation

The groundbreaking musician who inspired Elvis and The Beatles.
by Brian Ward via The Conversation on October 26, 2017

The Racist Legacy of NYC’s Anti-Dancing Law

The cabaret law—and its prejudicial history—is one of the city's darkest secrets.
by Eli Kerry, Penn Bullock via Vice on March 8, 2017
Photograph of Redd Velvet (born Crystal Tucker) who started her career as a classically trained singer.

Keeping The Blues Alive

Is blues music a thing of the past? A festival in Memphis featuring musicians of all ages and nationalities shouts an upbeat answer.
by Touré via Smithsonian Magazine on August 26, 2016
Dave Prater and two others

You Don't Know What You Mean To Me

Who was Dave Prater?
by Jonathan Bernstein via Oxford American on February 2, 2016

Will the Real Henry “Box” Brown Please Stand Up?

New information on Henry Box Brown, an enslaved man who would turn escape into an art form.
by Martha J. Cutter via Commonplace on September 1, 2015
Fats Domino's restored white piano in a museum in New Orleans.

An Object Lesson: What The Restoration of Fats Domino's Piano Means to New Orleans

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, the legend’s showpiece symbolizes the city's resilience.
by Mary Niall Mitchell via The Atlantic on August 26, 2015

So You Think You Know the Banjo?

If you think that the banjo can teach us nothing about American history, Southern culture and modern race relations, then you certainly don't know the banjo.
by Jenna Strucko via The Bitter Southerner on January 20, 2015
Musicians and producers around a soundboard listening to a recording.

How Stax Records Set an Example for America

Nelson “Little D” Ross talks soul and significance with music historian Robert Gordon.
by Robert Gordon, Nelson Ross via The Bitter Southerner on February 11, 2014
Photograph of blues singer Robert Johnson, playing guitar, 1936.

Searching for Robert Johnson

In the seven decades since his mysterious death, bluesman Robert Johnson’s legend has grown.
by Frank DiGiacomo via Vanity Fair on October 1, 2008
James Baldwin

The Making and Unmaking of James Baldwin

On the private and public lives of the author of “The Fire Next Time” and “Giovanni’s Room.”
by Hilton Als via The New Yorker on February 9, 1998
Poet-playwright and political activist Imamu Amiri Baraka recites his poem, "Its Nation Time," at the National Black Political Convention.
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The Black Political Convention

Black Journal interviews with Imamu Amiri Baraka, poet-playwright and co-chairman of the National Black Political Convention.
by Black Journal via American Archive of Public Broadcasting on March 28, 1972

Lady Soul Singing it Like It Is

In 1968, Time Magazine searched for the elusive definition of "soul."
via TIME on June 28, 1968
Toni Morrison

To Free Someone Else

A recent book on Toni Morrison's career in publishing makes the case that the great American novelist should also be seen as a pathbreaking editor.
by Marina Magloire via The Nation on October 6, 2025
Harp and banjos.

Rhiannon Giddens and Kristina Gaddy “Go Back and Fetch It”

The pair’s new book recovers the sound of early Black music.
by Rhiannon Giddens, Kristina R. Gaddy, Christian Leus via Oxford American on September 16, 2025
James Baldwin and Lucien Happersberger in bed.

The Lives and Loves of James Baldwin

Once dismissed as passé, since recast as a secular saint, Baldwin’s true message remains more unsettling than readers in either camp recognize.
by Louis Menand via The New Yorker on August 11, 2025
Juneteenth celebrations.

Before Juneteenth

A firsthand account of freedom’s earliest celebrations.
by Susannah J. Ural, Ann Marsh Daly via The Atlantic on June 17, 2024
Women posing as if drinking from beer bottles.

How Prohibition Forever Changed Women’s Cultural Relationship with Alcohol

On the hostess Langston Hughes called the “Joy Goddess of Harlem.”
by Nicola Nice via Literary Hub on April 24, 2024
Basketball players taking a knee on the court and wearing "Black Lives Matter" shirts.
partner

How the NBA Learned to Embrace Activism

A changing NBA fan base drove the league toward an embrace of Black culture, and social justice politics.
by Adam Criblez via Made By History on April 19, 2024
Marvin Gaye walking on a basketball court, with players and the crowd behind him.

Marvin’s Last Protest

In 1968 Gaye shifted his musical vision to give voice to impoverished Black urban communities and the rising dissent against involvement in the Vietnam War.
by Mark Anthony Neal via Medium on April 1, 2024
“The Caring Hand,” by Eva Oertli and Beat Huber, sculpture of a hand holding a tree.

Bryan Stevenson Reclaims the Monument, in the Heart of the Deep South

The civil-rights attorney has created a sculpture park, indicting the city of Montgomery—a former capital of the domestic slave trade.
by Doreen St. Félix via The New Yorker on March 25, 2024
A collage of dance performances.

Dance, Revolution

George Balanchine and Martha Graham trade places.
by Juliana Devaan via The Drift on March 12, 2024
Black and white photo of the outside of a bar, with "CB GB: OMFUG" written on an overhang, and graffiti and posters on the walls and windows

Real Estate Developers Killed NYC’s Vibrant ’70s Music Scene

In the 1970s and early ’80s, NYC’s racially and ethnically diverse working-class neighborhoods nurtured groundbreaking rap, salsa, and punk music.
by Kurt Hollander via Jacobin on February 11, 2024
Shirley Horn in a publicity shot, 1960.

How to Take It Slow

Following the rhythm of Shirley Horn.
by Lauren Du Graf via Oxford American on December 5, 2023
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