177 Search results for "black laughter"

Seems like every year I learn some new factoid about how plantations operated during the time of chattel slavery of African peoples in the Americas. I inevitably come across another unfortunate piece of knowledge that I wish I never had to know. At the same time, I always understand how it’s of vital importance that […]

by Donnie Moreland There is an old adage, from Black folk, which goes as follows, “We laugh to keep ourselves from crying.” It is strange that such a crudely simple sentiment could provide such a weighted testament to the trepidations, and fears, of an entire people. And yet I can think of very few words […]

A Virginia jury found former Portsmouth Officer Stephen Rankin guilty on a charge of voluntary manslaughter after shooting an unarmed William Chapman last year. The jury had the option to charge him with murder, but elected for a lesser charge after deliberating for two days, according to CBS News.

Across this series, people gather in fields, warehouses, studio spaces, and public events, carrying with them the practices that sustain everyday life. Children move between arms and laps, conversations continue while hands adjust weight and fabric, and small gestures — a hand on a shoulder, a shared glance, a phrase worn on a shirt — […]

Black Magic is here—the first drop from Black Life Everywhere’s upcoming freedom mixtape. It’s Chicago’s legendary Step Music, carried forward and reborn by the BLE Chicago Music Collective.It’s the sway of our elders, the laughter in basement parties, the slow glide across dance floors that have always been ours. This track is music and memory […]

by Benji Hart       1. I’m a teenager, attending the annual Kwanzaa celebration at Amherst College, the small private school where my dad is a professor. A modest band of Black students and faculty have gathered for dinner in the Octagon. The plaster building, lemon meringue in both color and texture, was reclaimed […]

by Donnie Moreland The first time I held a gun, I was afraid. The scenario was all too awkwardly cinematic to not be memorable. It was on a vacation with my mother to my grandparents’ South Carolina home. Sitting in their entertainment room, my grandfather entered with two guns. A magnum revolver and shotgun. He […]

By Sherronda  J. Brown Seems like every year I learn some new factoid about how plantations operated during the time of chattel slavery of African peoples in the Americas. I inevitably come across another unfortunate piece of knowledge that I wish I never had to know. At the same time, I always understand how it’s […]

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 […]

by Gloria Oladipo Black joy is revolutionary. Full stop. Oftentimes, white people misinterpret Black liberation movements as movements only about pain, movements only about anger, only about violence and death. And, of course, they involve those things. But joy is foundational. Joy is fundamental. Joy is what we’re fighting for. Joy is what we’re fighting […]

A host of popular Black shows from the 90s and early 2000s are finally being made available to stream this year, and many of us are rejoicing. As we should. There has been a glaring gap on popular streaming platforms lacking Black shows from this era and it’s nothing less than egregious. We deserve to […]

by Donnie Moreland The first time I held a gun, I was afraid. The scenario was all too awkwardly cinematic to not be memorable. It was on a vacation with my mother to my grandparents’ South Carolina home. Sitting in their entertainment room, my grandfather entered with two guns. A magnum revolver and shotgun. He […]