arts & culture
Honoring Expression Rooted in Memory and Movement
~ Rearview Mirrors ~
Some of the hardest battles you'll ever fight are the ones no one will ever see. There is a strange kind of pain in carrying a smile while something inside you is quietly falling apart. Yet somehow, you keep showing up. That isn't weakness; that's resilience.
Bob and B: One Song, Two Legacies
In 1996, Robert Lockwood Jr. stepped into the recording studio to record what would later be his Grammy nominated album, “I Got to Find Me a Woman”. Backing him were members of the legendary Robert Lockwood Jr. All-Stars and special guests, B.B. King and Joe Louis Walker.
Who will save the sinner?
After watching Sinners for the first time, I left the theater awestruck by the spectacle of the story. The movie’s unapologetic soul was the root of an aesthetic embedded in the black experience and sustained by the harrowing narrative.
If The SHoe Fits
They talk about good intentions—where?
All I see are their hands, their eyes, their whispers,
and it tells a different story.
Her Guitar, Her Voice, Her Blues: Evan Nicole Bell and the Black Women Who Shaped a Genre
The success of early Blues women faced a unique blend of gendered expectations and socially defying expression that in some cases broke barriers and in other cases hindered careers. Blues musician Valerie Turner states “…Let’s be honest—role models for contemporary women playing blues guitar are few and far between. This isn’t because they’re not out there; it’s simply because they aren’t well recognized.” (para. 1). This interview is important as it introduces younger readers to a young black woman role model who is keeping the blues alive. That woman’s name is Evan Nicole Bell.
Boots On The Ground: The Viral Black Line Dance Movement Seen & Heard ‘Round The World
On December 20, 2024, Black America got an early holiday gift with the release of viral hit, “Boots on the Ground.” The trail-ride inspired song was the brainchild of 803Fresh, a South Carolina native and Southern soul singer who grows on me by the day.
What Did We Do?
Image by: Unseen Histories
Poem By: D. Parker
What Did We Do?
I can’t help but ask,
what did we do
to make them hate us so much?
A Review of Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS
I’ve been thinking a lot about that film. It’s the first film that I’ve watched at least three times. I have my criticisms of it, but I also think that it is a masterpiece. When we compare that movie with anything produced anywhere in the world, it is an artistic masterpiece aesthetically. It is overflowing with symbolism from the “jump.” Everything from the opening scene with “Lil’ Sammy” and the introduction of the “Smokestack” twins is overflowing with rich historical and humanistic themes.
Pandemic Protests Collection By Larry Handy
The first protest I attended in 2020 here in Los Angeles took place on May 30th at Mariachi Plaza slightly east of downtown in the Boyle Heights district. LA which has a predominately Latino population showed up for George Floyd as did the rest of America
Whiteness Is the Water
They ask why we aren’t free yet.
Why justice still slips through our fingers
like water cupped in trembling hands.
Black American-Run Country Music Associations Needed to Make a Comeback—Here’s Why
On the heels of Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” release, Black country artists had their mainstream moment amongst the genre’s fans. It was long overdue since it was us who helped create and pioneer country music, though racist industry politics have blocked most of our artists from shining in the big leagues.
History Speaks: The Black Experience in Southeast Kentucky
The Black Experience in Southeast Kentucky is a series that shares the stories of African Americans living in the hills of Southeast Kentucky.