41 Search results for "pandemic"

It took a global pandemic, but the original spirit of Pride is finally being honored
CW: murder, antiBlack violence, transphobia When coronavirus started making its presence known in the U.S. by March of this year, it quickly became apparent that life as we knew it would have to make a major shift. One of those shifts is the postponement, if not cancellation, of various, large gatherings, including the traditional Pride […]
Exclusive Interview: Black Queer Artist HAILES details her new EP and creating music during a pandemic
By Jared Alexander Let me tell you, chatting with HAILES will immediately put a smile on your face and set you at ease. Her entire vibe is welcoming, warm and chill, even in a Zoom call while she sets up in a recording studio in Bedstuy. Although she dropped her amazing debut single Come Thru […]
Virtual affinity groups are supporting Black students during a pandemic
by Imani Brooks When I fell into depression, questioning if I was strong enough for law school, it was virtual affinity groups that saved me. Five days after graduating from Emory University, I moved to Washington, D.C. in a full U-Haul complete with my dad and dog in tow. I was looking forward to the […]
Police brutality does not end because of a pandemic, it is made worse by it
Content warning: mentions of slavery, police brutality “The buyers paraded them and made them dance. They opened their clothing to check for wounds; they pinched their limbs and flexed their muscles. They searched earnestly for scars, since scars were said to be evidence of a rebellious nature. When they finished their inspections, they posed questions […]
Why Poetry? Ten Poets and Poems To Read As We Close Out Black History Month.
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, […]
Teen Vogue and the Fallacy of Radical Political Performance
by Jenn M. Jackson, PhD In August 2017, I received a text message from a dear friend. The text read, “Hey darling, would you be interested in writing a 800 – 1000 word piece about white women’s role in white supremacy for Teen Vogue? They reached out to me about it but I’d rather pass […]
Welcome Home to the Black Youth Project
by Jenn M. Jackson, PhD Almost a decade ago, I said goodbye to my editing position here at Black Youth Project. I was 33 years old, working on the final edits of my dissertation at the University of Chicago titled “Race, Risks, and Responses: Mapping Black American’s Reactions to Policing in the United States.” My […]
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) […]
The Symptoms of Capitalism
By Amber Butts Every day I’m resentful of capitalism. And when I say capitalism, I don’t mean the binary, often well-meaning but willfully simplistic response of “Well, you have an iphone don’t you?” (I do not, but that’s besides the point). I mean the ways capitalism and its siblings (environmental and medical racism, antiBlackness and […]
Nobody is checking for your Interracial Relationship
Nobody is checking for your Interracial Relationship by JeCorey Holder As another year washes over me in a haze of social instability and I spiritually prepare myself for the Saint Valentine’s Clearance Candy Harvest, the same thing inevitably happens. I notice an uptick of some of the most annoying interracial couples in the world aggressively […]
Juneteenth Reflections: Grief Work is Freedom Work
by Julia Mallory “…but in them days they wasn’t no time for mournin.’ ” —Mary Reynolds, Texas Slave Narratives Volume XVI Part III Juneteenth began as a day of celebration commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1866. Since then, it has offered Black folks an opportunity to remember […]
African Traditional Religions prepared me to grieve my mother
I’ve learned it’s best not to try to control how the memories of my mother show up, or what emotions they are wearing when they enter. This one is dressed in a rare crossbreed of inconsolable laughter and a stabbing sob, and it’s seeping out of my iphone from wherever the speaker is located on […]