History

Shining little Black faces look at the camera as childen sit at wooden desks in a classroom. Photo is black and white.
Kenrya Rankin  May 17, 2019 12:05PM EDT

Why We Can't Afford to Leave Race Out of School Funding Conversations [Op-Ed]

On the 65th anniversary of the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility senior fellow Roseann Liu breaks down why it’s imperative to call out racism when advocating for fair school funding.
Three Native American women, standing, full-length, facing front, holding beaded(?) bags, Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Wasco County, Oregon.
N. Jamiyla Chisholm  May 10, 2019 11:49AM EDT

Smithsonian Highlights How Transcontinental Railroad Impacted Native Americans

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center delves into how the railroad—largely constructed by Chinese immigrants—added to the destruction of Native American lands, livelihood and sovereignty.
Nailed It. A row of colorful pointed nails with gems.
N. Jamiyla Chisholm  May 6, 2019 1:33PM EDT

New Doc Peeks Inside Nail Salons' Booming Business

“Nailed It” explores the industry’s history and connection to the Vietnamese-American community.
Stonewall Inn with pride flags and plaque showing memorial.
N. Jamiyla Chisholm  May 3, 2019 2:21PM EDT

New Exhibit Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Stonewall Uprising

The Brooklyn Museum highlights the work of 22 LGBTQ artists.
three book covers side by side the first is as the fire grows by Dina Gilio-Whitacker, second Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings and third Superior by Angela Saini
catherine lizette gonzalez  May 3, 2019 11:09AM EDT

#ColorlinesReads: Get Some Perspective With These 5 Books

These engaging titles unravel myths surrounding resistance movements, settler colonialism and racist pseudoscience.
Jean-Michel Basquiat art of colorful skull head and two workers holding painting on each side.
N. Jamiyla Chisholm  Apr 29, 2019 5:29PM EDT

New Exhibit to Center Jean-Michel Basquiat's Identity and Activism

The Guggenheim Museum will mount “Defacement”: The Untold Story, which explores Basquiat’s formative years as an artist and activist in 1980s NYC.
The city of Flint Water Plant is illuminated by moonlight on Jan. 23, 2016, in Flint, Michigan. The state approved new funds for the city yesterday.
Wei Jia, Azadeh Shahshahani  Apr 26, 2019 4:54PM EDT

From Notre Dame to Flint, Our Giving Exposes Who We Are [Op-Ed]

Writer Wei Jia and Project South’s Azadeh Shahshahani explore why the cathedral is being rebuilt by billionaires, but—five years after the water crisis began—Flint still doesn’t have safe water.
Side view of a monument in a park next to city street
Tiarra Mukherjee  Apr 25, 2019 12:31PM EDT

Brooklyn's Newest Monument Honors Shirley Chisholm

Chisholm repped Bed-Stuy in Congress. Now, she finally gets her hometown props.
Tiarra Mukherjee  Apr 16, 2019 2:01PM EDT

Pulitzers Honor Work of Three Black Icons

Aretha Franklin wins a history-making honor, and works that explore the lived experiences of Frederick Douglass and Alain Locke snag the coveted prize.
Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell. Large sepia-tone image of Henson's face in profile, color image of Rockwell's full body in a tan jacket and denim shirt, smoking a cigarette
Tiarra Mukherjee  Apr 11, 2019 5:25PM EDT

On 'The Best of Enemies': Hollywood Must Stop Using Black People as Narrative Devices

Tambay Obenson writes that the film relegates Black people to “supporting roles in their own fight for freedom and recognition.”
Henry Louis Gates Jr. A Black man with a blue jacket and gray beard stands outside with green lawn behind him.
Tiarra Mukherjee  Apr 9, 2019 4:01PM EDT

Henry Louis Gates Explores Reconstruction Via New Docuseries and Book

“Reconstruction: America After the Civil War” begins with the exuberant hope that accompanied the end of the war and ends with the hard realities of Jim Crow.
Two rows of four book covers including the collected schizophrenias, pleasure activism, how we fight white supremacy, halal if you hear me, thick, we live for the we, the good immigrant and our history is the future
catherine lizette gonzalez  Apr 5, 2019 7:00AM EDT

10 Books by Writers of Color That Embrace Self-Love, Resilience and Authenticity

From poetry to memoir, self-help to commentary, let these spring reads enrich your mind and spirit.
Yoruba Richen. Black woman smiles in red jacket and black and grey blouse and green lanyard with white text in front of brown lights and walls
Sameer Rao  Feb 25, 2019 12:23PM EST

New Documentary Illuminates 'Green Book' History That Hollywood Tried to Erase

Filmmaker Yoruba Richen’s “The Green Book: Guide to Freedom” catalogs the history of Victor Hugo Green’s project, which “has been distorted and ignored” by pop culture. 
A one-level light brick and mint green house sits on a green lawn with a blue sky and green trees around it
Ayana Byrd  Feb 13, 2019 12:29PM EST

People of Color Benefit From New Public Lands Protection Bill

With bipartisan support, the Senate passed a measure that includes provisions aimed at Indigenous and African Americans. 
Chinonye Chukwu and Elaine Brown. Black-and-white images of two Black women in front of grey backgrounds in black and white clothes
Sameer Rao  Jan 31, 2019 11:46AM EST

Chinonye Chukwu to Direct Elaine Brown Biopic, 'A Taste of Power'

The former Black Panther Party leader will executive produce the adaptation of her autobiography.
Black pesron holds blue and white sign the reads, "Keep abortion legal."
Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Marcela Howell, Jessica González-Rojas  Jan 22, 2019 11:59AM EST

How the Promise of Roe v. Wade Left Women of Color Behind [OP-ED]

Roe has never been full of promise for women of color, immigrant women and women with low incomes. But if the Trump administration gets its way, we have the most to lose.
A Native woman wearing a blue hoodie stands next to a pole with signs symbolizing historic fights
Mary Annette Pember  Jan 9, 2019 11:47AM EST

Inside the Long, Hard Fight to Stop the Bayou Bridge Oil Pipeline

For more than two years, Indigenous water protectors, Black residents of “Cancer Alley,” Atchafalaya Basin landowners and others have been protesting, suing and, in some cases, doing felony-level direct action, to halt the completion of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline in Louisiana. Here’s the harsh reality of fighting the inevitable in the bayou.
Madam C.J. Walker. Sepia-toned archival photograph of Black people in formal attire on grounds and steps of white mansion
Sameer Rao  Dec 20, 2018 2:01PM EST

Madam C.J. Walker's Home Will Be Hub for WOC Entrepreneurs

New Voices Foundation aims to carry the late beauty mogul’s property and passion for women’s entrepreneurship into the future.
Rosa Parks. Black-and-white photograph of Black woman in black blazer and white shirt at desk and in front of office furniture and curtain
Sameer Rao  Dec 19, 2018 12:17PM EST

Rosa Parks Biopic Focuses on Movement Defining Direct Action

“Rosa” draws from biography “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.”
Brown and yellow house with green lawn and brown cement walkway in front of green trees and blue sky with white clouds; the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Black-and-white photograph of Black boy in formal attire in front of grey background
Sameer Rao  Dec 17, 2018 3:05PM EST

National Park Service Acquires MLK's Childhood Home

The federal agency’s foundation plans to renovate the house, which is currently part of Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.