Sorry to Bother You: Reflecting on Modern Capitalism and Satirical Black Cinema
As part of our new "b-roll" film column, Vamika Sinha revisits Boots Riley's Afro-surrealist Sorry to Bother You, and why it offers important commentary on the intersections of race and late-stage capitalism in 2020.
Prayer
“Everything I like is like that man who first thought to take that picture of that starving black child waited for by that black vulture in that Sudan” – new prose poem by Tawanda Mulalu.
My Skin My Logo
I’m sick and tired of the dehumanization of Black people and the exertion of control placed on our bodies. Our skin is ours, and our bodies are our own. We are not a vessel for your hatred and insecurity.
Nantes is on Fire
Jordan McDonald offers a forgotten history of the African slave trade in the French city of Nantes, and its legacy today.
Going Black: The Commodification of Hip-Hop Culture
“The commodification of hip-hop leads to a watering down of its content. As corporations try to capture as much of the market as possible, they ‘tone down’ hip-hop’s radical aspects to make it as palatable for consumers as possible.”
A Black Power Emblem is Sold at Forever 21
New in style odyssey, Vamika Sinha takes us through Harlem to the Schomburg Center, and explores the beret’s history within the Black Panther movement.
gaborone #2
A mother files for a visa to see her son, a young black boy in America, from the sweaty rooms of the US embassy in Botswana.
Worms; Or, Why White People Don’t Know How to Talk About Race
"White privilege is the pathetic squeak of indignation that comes when someone suggests that something is not about us," Zoe Patterson writes in this new essay.