black writers
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Like a Mother: With a New Column and Coast, Writer-Activist Jamilah Lemieux Talks Progressive Parenting
Jamilah Lemieux is a millennial working mother—emphasis on working. The acclaimed journalist, activist, cultural critic, communications expert and “fixer” is one of the leading voices of her generation on issues of race, gender and sexuality, putting her imprint on everything from the 2012 rebranding of Ebony magazine to Cynthia Nixon’s recent gubernatorial run, where Lemieux…
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Ava DuVernay Ain't Feelin' How Game of Thrones Treated a 'Sista'
On the night of May 5, the baddest bitch of Westeros was unfortunately beheaded. On the Game of Thrones episode entitled, “The Last of the Starks,” Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) traveled to King’s Landing to try to negotiate with Cersei and instead of compromising — because, have you met Cersei?! — she simply gave her…
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Lena Waithe Heads West, Cast in Season 3 of Westworld
Lena Waithe, First of Her Name, Queen of The Chi, Breaker of Industry Chains, has landed a new acting gig! The screenwriter, producer and actress will be joining the cast of HBO’s Westworld for its third season. That’s right, she’s already tackled comedy and drama in the television world, might as well add some sci-fi…
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10 Unbiased, Impartial and Very Good Reasons Why You Should Buy Damon's Memoir, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker
If you follow VSB on any social media platforms, you know that Damon is currently in week one of his national tour for his debut book, a memoir-in-essays titled What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker, released on Tuesday and published by ECCO Books. The release of this book is the culmination of a book…
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A Word: How We Fight White Supremacy Reminds Us That ‘We’ Have the Power
What does it mean to fight white supremacy today? After centuries of trying, those of us actively committed to doing so know that grand gestures are well outnumbered by daily acts expressed in myriad ways with varying levels of visibility. This is the message of How We Fight White Supremacy, a new African American anthology…
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Us Broke a Big Box Office Record—Consider It the Umpteenth Reminder that Black Narratives Are Marketable
The movie that had one of the best marketing campaigns known to man (shout-out to the scissors and fan art, just to name a couple), was helmed by a man debuting a highly anticipated follow-up to his first feature (a huge hit!), and dominated every social media feed for the past few months since its…
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What About Us?
“What the fuck did I just watch?” If The Root’s delightfully crass language was allowed on TV spots, that would be my one-sentence review during the new promo trailer for opening weekend. And I wasn’t asking this question in a disparaging way—trust me, knowing Jordan Peele’s intention, it’s a good thing. I had the horrifying…
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28 Days of Literary Blackness With VSB | Day 6: Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member by Sanyika Shakur
Publisher Synopsis: Written in solitary confinement, Kody Scott’s memoir of 16 years as a gang banger in Los Angeles was a searing best-seller and became a classic, published in 10 languages, with more than 300,000 copies in print in the United States alone. After pumping eight blasts from a sawed-off shotgun at a group of…
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28 Days of Literary Blackness With VSB | Day 4: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Publisher synopsis: Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with…
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28 Days of Literary Blackness With VSB | Day 3: Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class by Lawrence Otis Graham
Publisher Synopsis: Debutante cotillions. Million-dollar homes. Summers in Martha’s Vineyard. Membership in the Links, Jack & Jill, Deltas, Boule, and AKAs. An obsession with the right schools, families, social clubs, and skin complexion. This is the world of the black upper class and the focus of the first book written about the black elite by…