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'Not Only Did They Try to Bury Me, but I Was a Seed': Yusef Salaam Is Better, Not Bitter
“This is not just a story about my life, but this is a story about being Black in America.” — Yusef Salaam, Author, Activist text “The worse thing to happen to us should not define us,” said Yusef Salaam. The 46-year-old sounded like a sage, as he sat proudly in a tall chair during our…
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'If You're Weak, There's Someone Who Can Be Strong for You': Angela Bassett Honors Her Mother and Continues the Battle for Black Health
As Angela Bassett tells it, her mother, Betty Jane Bassett, was “grand in her carriage.” Our forever Queen Mother reflects on her very own Queen Mother: “The ideas that she had for her daughters,” Bassett continued. “She expected you to do it—to give your best at all times. And that’s exactly what she expected of…
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The Underground Railroad Cast Explores the Meaning of Freedom
“I think freedom is just that. It’s freedom to do what you want to do, but it also comes with a great amount of responsibility.” — William Jackson Harper, Actor, ‘The Underground Railroad’ text What does it mean to be free? While some might take their freedoms for granted, The Underground Railroad—a 10-part Amazon series…
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'I Am So Damned Proud of My Ancestors': Barry Jenkins Honors the Beauty of Black Survival in The Underground Railroad
“I’m very proud to be the descendent of blacksmiths and midwives and healers and herbalists. I am very damned proud of it. I’d rather be the descendent of those people, then the descendent of kings and queens. Kings and queens have subjects— subjects this means subjugation. I am so damned proud of my ancestors and…
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When Crack Kills: Media, Misinformation and the Truth About the War on Drugs
“I feel at this moment more and more, that the United States knows what it is, and knows what it does, and knows that it’s racist and doesn’t care.” —Stanley Nelson, Filmmaker text There are very few points in modern American history that have been as devastating to the African-American community as the crack era.…
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Meth Gets the Assignment: Taking a Walk Down Memory Lane With Cliff 'Method Man' Smith
There aren’t many people in hip-hop with an enduring legacy like Cliff “Method Man” Smith. His lyrics went from “M-E-T-H-O-D Man” to, “I came to bring the pain hardcore from the brain.” He got sentimental with, “I got a love jones for your body and your skin tone.” And was lit (pardon the pun) rapping,…
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How Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin Honor Black Fatherhood in Netflix's Concrete Cowboy
“My late dad was a great guy to me…the best advice he said to me was always try and look someone in the eyes when you’re talking to them and just read that person. Let them connect with you or don’t. But do it through the eyes.” — Idris Elba, Actor, Producer, “Concrete Cowboy” text…
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Marsai Martin's Saturdays Is a Love Letter to Brown-Skinned Girls
“I always want to make sure that young Black girls are in the forefront and see themselves in anything that they do…I’m creating stuff that I wish I saw when I was younger, and that is highlighting our beautiful Black queens.” — Marsai Martin, Actor, Executive Producer text Marsai Martin is in her bag. She…
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'Black People Have Been Cowboys': Concrete Cowboy Cast Reflect on the Legacy of Black Cowboys
“Black people have been cowboys and have been a part of the cowboy community for centuries. But we have not seen that. They have not been glorified and they have not been romanticized in film.” Lorraine Toussaint, Actor, Concrete Cowboy text When did you first learn that Black cowboys exist? For actor and producer Idris…
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Still Nickel and Dimed: Unpacking Tipping, Minimum Wage and the Fight for Equity
“What happened at Emancipation with…the idea of tipping being mutated from an extra bonus on top of the wage to becoming the wage itself—becoming a replacement for wages—really cannot be understood as anything other than a devaluation of Black lives and women’s work.” — Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage text If you’ve been…
