2916 Search results for "doe"

by Juahl Ganaway In a scene ripped from The Sugar Shack, the character Pearline (played by the stunning Jayme Lawson) stalks across the stage purring the lyrics to “Pale, Pale, Moon,” the Brittany Howard-penned song that feels more like an invocation than a performance.  “I wanna sing Like I hear the crickets do I wanna […]

by DeLisha Tapscott, Ed.D. I learned to be useful long before I understood what labor was. Long before I had language for work, worth, or expectation, I understood that being helpful mattered. Being capable mattered. Being low-maintenance mattered. Those traits were praised early, offered as signs of maturity and goodness, folded into what it meant […]

by Amber Butts My maternal grandmother, Audrie, who was a second mother to me, was my first entry point in witnessing mutual aid in practice. She became a widow before the age of 21, followed by a long bout of alcoholism and depression. She experienced her share of heartbreak. She and my maternal grandfather were […]

by Tayler Simon In the 2024-2025 school year, more than 4,000 unique titles were banned in the United States. Titles like All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison were among the most challenged books, reflecting a trend of targeting books by Black and/or LGBTQ+ authors. While all […]

by Jari Bradley During the peak of the pandemic in 2020, there were numerous online poetry readings being held for the public to attend. I was just finishing my Master of Fine Arts program after three years on the East Coast, and with all the calamity that the world felt comprised of at that time, […]

Week One: Penelope French Introducing Penelope French (she/ he/ they) — the gypsy soul healer and Soul Empress whose music carries a lineage shaped by Black struggle, memory, and imagination. Raised in Lansing, Michigan, French grew up surrounded by the sounds of Motown, gospel quartets, and soul traditions that have long carried the emotional and […]

Creative expression did not begin with writing. It began with voice — with stories spoken across rooms, songs carried across distance, rhythms tapped into tabletops and knees when words alone could not hold what needed to be said. Long before notebooks, microphones, or publishing platforms, Black communities were shaping experience into sound and gesture so […]

The Price of Presence: Notes From Atlanta’s Strip Economy Notes From An Urban Feminist A year ago I landed in Atlanta, Georgia without my three children, my husband or community. I arrived with four luggages in tow, and although I considered myself a fully realized feminist whose identity could stand alone, I felt like something […]

Breathe, from Gira Soul’s album The Clay, reflects the kinds of questions that run through much of her music: how do we remain present with ourselves and each other while living through difficult and uncertain times? The track unfolds slowly, allowing space for reflection rather than rushing toward a conclusion. In that quiet pacing, breath […]

Directed by Cai Thomas, Change the Name follows Black girls on Chicago’s West Side as they organize to rename a school that still bears the legacy of an enslaver. Through Thomas’s attentive lens, we don’t just see a campaign—we witness strategy, tenderness, and clarity from young people who are shaping the city in their image. […]

by Desmond King On Thursday I found myself with a bleeding tongue Warm water washed over my soapy hands, blood filling my mouth  I did not speak when he said “We’re almost there” My tongue is used to being bit open, to keep the peace To keep secrets  What does “Friday’s Eve” even mean? Constantly […]

by Miranda Goosby Chicago holds memory like a drum—echoing, constant, never still. This summer, the South Side sang in every register: fireworks cracking through the night sky, children shrieking with joy, organizers building futures block by block. Since Juneteenth, every weekend has felt like a pageant of presence. Brown skin shining like mirrors to the […]