photo essay

When it comes to style and energy, the Afropunk crowd never disappoints.

Hundreds of water protectors, allies and supporters came together for healing, ceremony, celebration—and strategizing—at the Mní Wičoni Healing Gathering at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Despite complaints about its commercialization, Afropunk Fest in Brooklyn still drew an eclectic mix of cool kids of color who danced hard, sang loud and shined as bright as the stars onstage. 

That the Supreme Court upheld a chunk of the ”Muslim Ban” doesn’t negate the powerful organizing that helped push the issue up to the highest court in the land.

Thanks in part to crossover stars such as Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper, a new generation is embracing jazz. Meet five artists of color who are making music to fight the power, tell our stories and heal our hearts in these tough times.

Chicano/Native/Yaqui artist Ernesto Yerena Montejano explores questions of identity, gender norms, politics and spirituality in his vibrant illustrations, prints and collages. Here, an intimate portrait of the man behind the ”We the Resilient” image you keep seeing at protests across the country. 

An intimate look at the some of the protectors (not protesters) living in the Oceti Sakowin camp in Standing Rock to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline.

An intimate look at how the Michigan city’s water disaster is disrupting everyday life