The History of Jazz Has Instantly Expanded
Newly released archival live performances by Ahmad Jamal, Joe Henderson, and Cecil Taylor illuminate their legacies and the art form at large.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
"In song, these men waged a noble (and decidedly patriarchal) struggle against good and evil; sex and love; and God and money."
medium.com/p/c69f17f859e8
"Like Warwick’s music before him, Vandross’ channeling of Black sentimentality (and respectability), was generally thought to be out of sync with popular Black responses to Reagan-era anti-Black social policies and the explosion of crack-cocaine in Black urban centers..."
medium.com/@tnimixtape/...
"To listen to Sad and Beautiful World is to listen as well to all the preceding decades during which Mavis [Staples] sharpened her skills as an artist living and working in a changing world. In this sense, late Mavis songs like this one never feel self-contained."
www.nybooks.com/online/2026/...
"When Michael Jackson reached the commercial apex of his career in the mid-1980s, he did so not only on the strength of his formidable talent and creative vision, but also as the most visible embodiment of the broad traditions of African American and Diasporic musicality."
medium.com/p/3a039d627797
tgiFHI | How Sex, Race, and Labor Shaped the Early French Empire with Mélanie Lamotte
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7rN...
'His wee-hours show “Night Talk” was a nationally syndicated stalwart, examining tough issues and spotlighting Black cultural and political stars.'
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/b...
#JackieRobinsonDay
"For a player who was known for stealing home...in which one must use cunning and guile, it should not be surprising that Robinson might have responded to the racism of the day in ways that went unnoticed by many."
medium.com/@tnimixtape/...
"While Kincaid established her reputation as a fiction writer, she also shows significant versatility in her nonfiction, shifting from widely read publications like Architectural Digest to more highbrow outlets like The Paris Review." -- Edna Bonhomme
www.thenation.com/article/cult...
'In the 1970s, Joan Little was a young, poor Black woman who killed a Beaufort County detention officer who she said tried to sexually assault her. Her case sparked an international movement, and now filmmaker Yoruba Richen wants everyone to know her story.'
www.theassemblync.com/news/culture...
The Hidden Health Inequality Facing Even the Wealthiest Black Mothers
Khiara Bridges took on Josh Hawley. Now she’s taking on the maternal healthcare system.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
How an Animators’ Strike Led to the Making of Song of the South
Vicky Osterweil on the Intersection of Labor Conflict, Nationalism and White Supremacy Within Disney Studios
lithub.com/how-an-anima...
Black doulas work to bridge health disparities for Black mothers
Saturday marked Global Black Doula Day and the start of Black Maternal Health Week. Pregnant and postpartum parents gathered on the West Side for a community baby shower.
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2026/04...
How did this cover of a Bob Dylan song by Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone help inspire revolutions?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfxi...
'Riverplex Megapark planned for Louisiana’s Ascension Parish threatens both the history and future of the community with the destruction of former slave cabins and the construction of a polluting ammonia plant.'
www.commondreams.org/opinion/gree...
Many thanks to my agent Tanya McKinnon and my editor, Yahdon Israel.
The GOAT.
Beautiful conversation. "Our relationships are as necessary as water."
Mark Anthony Neal. The self-described queer Black troublemaker and Black feminist love evangelist, Alexis Pauline Gumbs joined #LeftOfBlack to discuss her book 'Spill: Scenes of Black Feminist Fugitivity' (@dukepress.bsky.social) #BlackWomensHistory #WomensHistoryMonth
[kinda smart..!!]
Spill, Dub, and M Archive by @alexispauline.bsky.social are three of my favorite books and I always recommend them TOGETHER!
I was rereading Spill early last year when I was called to think about fugitivity, resistance, and marronage after the election as inauguration.
Alexis Pauline Gumbs is among my very favorite of People Bluesky/Blacksky helped me discover #OnHere. Poetic, intellectual, accessible, compassionate, transcendent…breathtaking, really.
Why A Liberal Arts Education Will Soon Be More Valuable Than Ever
In a workplace augmented by AI, the new frontier of human value lies in interpretation, negotiation and trust-building.
www.noemamag.com/why-a-libera...
On the anniversary of #PaulRobeson's birth, revisiting this conversation with my colleague Shana Redmond about her book 'Everything Man: The Form and Function of Paul Robeson' (@dukepress.bsky.social)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFj3...
How Did Black Music Take Over the World? Let Melvin Gibbs Explain.
Since the late ’70s, the bassist has worked to map a musical route that mirrored the trans-Atlantic slave trade and birthed nearly all of American popular music.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/a...
Diminished Lives: an Assault on the Humanities
More and more students are being indoctrinated into a cult of cold “efficiency,” where the training of workers for corporate employment are held to be the ultimate priorities.
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
"My own memories of the night Aaron hit home run № 715 against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Al Downing are still quite vivid. But the story began for me nearly a year earlier, when my father took me to see Aaron in person."
medium.com/p/7ee31e5e397b
"we must develop a new social contract that begins with the basic premise that artificial intelligence must serve humanity...We cannot allow technological overlords to build a society where AI “progress” is defined by their wealth rather than by our democracy."
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
The Aging Class | Trevor Jackson
Retirement, like so much of the American economy, is a broken system that benefits private interests and exploits the most vulnerable people.
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
"Part of the explanation for this is that immigrants are not only workers, but also consumers, which generates demand and helps the economy grow."
Unemployment has increased for U.S.-born workers in the face of mass deportations
www.epi.org/blog/unemplo...
Table of Contents Reveal
#SaveASeatForMe
#NotesOnAmericanFatherhood
#PreOrder
bookshop.org/p/books/save...