1622 Search results for "black love"

The “Anti-DEI Crusade” is Hurting Black women
By Jenn M. Jackson April 24, 2024 In recent months, Black women’s educational credentials and professional qualifications have been a central topic in the news media following the public attacks on Dr. Claudine Gay, the first Black woman to be President of Harvard University, and the ongoing political debates about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) […]
Kendrick Lamar’s Unapologetic Blackness at Super Bowl LIX
Kendrick Lamar dominated the news cycle in 2024 not only with his ongoing feud with Aubrey “Drake” Graham, but also with the announcement that he would be headlining the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. With the Kansas City Chiefs vying for a record-breaking three consecutive Super Bowl victories and Philadelphia Eagles’ running back Saquon Barkley […]
We were Transformed, but was the World? Reflecting on a Decade of Black-led Movement
by Asha Ransby-Sporn A full decade ago this summer, I arrived at a retreat center in the Chicago suburbs with about a hundred other Black organizers, and community leaders from around the country brought together by Cathy Cohen’s Black Youth Project. Not long into former President Barack Obama’s second term, the goal of the gathering […]
Black Life Everywhere
Black Life Everywhere Black Life Everywhere (BLE) works with creators to preserve and present nuanced representations that are expressive of Black life. We see music, film, animation, photography, poetry, interviews and writing as integral to how we communicate and tell stories. For us, these varying forms of expression are legitimate and necessary instruments to produce […]
Anti-Blackness knows no borders: How nation-centric understandings of Blackness fails us
Dalvin Aboagye Near the end of May, the more melanin-infused parts of the internet were set ablaze by a questionable scene in the second season of She’s Gotta Have It, the Spike Lee-produced Netflix series based on his 1986 film of the same name. Within what many already saw as a weak portrayal of Black […]
Black military men’s bodies are the cost of their patriotism
by Donnie Moreland My grandfather—my mother’s father—participated in the first sit-ins in Greenville, South Carolina. My grandfather is a military veteran. He patrolled the tomb of the unknown soldier, was employed as a manufacturer with the Department of Defense and was a supervisor, in the Pentagon, when Flight 77 made contact with the building at […]
How Black Mirror’s “Striking Vipers” episode failed bisexual men & trans women
Editor’s Note: June is LGBTQ Pride Month. At BYP, we will be exploring gender, sexuality, transgender issues and queer theory, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. We want to hear from you! Send us your pitches at info@blackyouthproject.com This essay contains spoilers for Black Mirror […]
I want Black time travelers to be a threat to the status quo
This essay contains spoilers for See You Yesterday, Siempre Bruja, Mortal Kombat 11, and Kindred, as well as discussions of sexual violence and anti-Black state violence. I was eighteen, a freshman in college studying film and visual arts, and deeply interested in the history of both. A film studies professor asked the class one […]
We are more than just good or bad: How the God of the Binary fails Black people
By Itoro Udofia I grew up under the tutelage of The God of the Binary. He was forever in opposition to a ubiquitous outside force. He was the Good opposed to Evil. The Strong opposed to Weak. Right opposed to Wrong. There I stood, an eager and inquisitive girl child, making mistakes and looking for […]
Why we need to stop excluding Black populations from ideas of who is “Indigenous”
*Editor’s note: This piece has been deeply informed by conversations with my friend and colleague Preston Anderson through the years, among other things. A few months ago, I posted a Facebook status regarding a viral meme featuring Disney’s cartoon version of Pocahontas and John Smith, arguing that it promoted white supremacist ideas of interracial relationships […]
How theology based on a “one true god” cuts Black people off from necessary indigenous practices
By DJ Ferguson My mother, no stranger to emotional blackmail, had no hesitation in using it on behalf of her god in an attempt to reconvert me. “Don’t you think God (Yahweh) ever mourns?” she asked, hoping to get me to feel sorry for the possessive West Asian shepherd god whom I no longer worship. […]
How my experience as a Black man working with children was tainted by racism
Editor’s Note: This month at BYP, we will be exploring Education & Schooling, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. What are the implications of charter and private schools in communities of color? How do we counteract anti-Black textbooks and teachers in our childrens’ education? How did you heal from bullying […]