68 Search results for "blues"

by Donnie Moreland  This essay mentions domestic violence.  August Wilson once noted, “The blues are important primarily because they contain the cultural expression and the cultural response to blacks in America and to the situation that they find themselves in.” I believe this to be true, in so far as the Blues may no longer […]

The recent deaths of police officers have spurred a legal backlash in many states, with so called “Blue Lives Matter” legislation that would qualify negative interactions with police by civilians or protesters as a hate crime. This legislation has recently come to Chicago, with a proposed expansion to the Hate Crime Ordinance which would treat […]

A blues band claims their performance was cut short at a bar in Chicago because there were “too many black people” in the audience. The band performed at McNally’s Traditional Irish Pub in Beverly, and was told by Mike Cummings, who booked the band for the establishment they were done for the evening. 

Dear Robin #Thicke, Let me begin by congratulating you for having the song of the summer. “Blurred Lines.” Despite the many problems with the lyrics and accompanying video, “Blurred Lines” is a bona fide (Hello, Jon B.) hit. It’s catchy, it exhibits deft use of a sample and your falsetto. It’s being used to sell […]

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 […]

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 […]

by E’mon Lauren   Chicago, a crafty caucus, we cocooned in. a kid’s folded cot and cubby. we the poster childs. the classes, the pastels and pastillage. we be born here. we burn the bridges, the borders. the blues, crossing and cutting, our lines, a Van Gogh. our skyline, a Monet we walk through. we […]

By Monika Estrella Negra The majority of the Black punks I have talked to were drawn to (or got lost in) the Punk scene in order to escape the rigidity and heteronormative idealism of traditional Black political organizing. This is not to infer that all Black punks identify with far leftist views, nor does it […]

by Vernon  Jordan, III She sat in the back of the joint, eyeing him. From over the shoulder of his bass, he noticed her fingers around the rim of a glass, miming the bass notes. He was the player, but so was she. Rooted, was their first glance, she minded him the way trees mind […]

*Please note that below this essay on colorism is a list of dark skinned Black folks’ GoFundMes you can contribute to today.* Adults, older girls, shops, magazines, newspapers, window signs – all the world had agreed that a blue-eyed, yellow-haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl child treasured. – The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison  The […]

by Ayika Tshimanga Ariana Grande recently released a music video for her song, “7 Rings”, a repetitive pop-trap&B tune with all the necessary ingredients to bring out your innermost bad bitch. The bouncy trap beat, braggadocious lyrics, and an attempt to ooze the kind of confidence radiating from pop stars like Beyoncé on “Apeshit”, or Rihanna […]

by Josie Pickens Most Black folks of a certain age, who slowly crept towards adulthood in the nineties, have a soft spot for writer, director, producer and actor Spike Lee.  I needed Lee’s movies, and his contemporary representation of Black life. The film She’s Gotta Have It aided me in understanding who I was becoming […]