Culture
The existential struggle of being Black. By Sean Illing / Vox
The Booty-Shaking Anthem That Still Endures, 25 Years Later. By Jonathan Abrams / NYT
Kendrick Lamar drops ‘Not Like Us’ music video amid Drake feud. By Daysia Tolentino / NBC News
The Shade Room built a massive Black audience. Candidates want in. By Janay Kingsberry / Wash Post
An Insider’s Portrait of Obama-Era Hope—and Disillusionment. By Ben Metzner / The New Republic
5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Wayne Shorter. By Marcus J. Moore / NYT
Politics took center stage at the BET Awards. By Char Adams / NBC News
Documentary ‘The Debutantes’ shines a light on cotillions as a celebration of Black Girlhood. By Isabel Yip / NBC News
How Trump Went from Hip Hop’s Favorite Wealth Icon to the Culture’s Supervillain. By Cali Green / The Root
Angela Bofill, R&B balladeer with a dreamy, dynamic voice, dies at 70. By Harrison Smith / Wash Post
How Black Librarians Helped Create Generations of Black Literature. By Jennifer Schuessler / NYT
Denzel Washington wanted to ‘protect’ Whitney Houston on ‘The Preacher’s Wife.’ By Lisa Respers France / CNN
‘This Whole Idea Makes My Teeth Itch’: Morgan Freeman Doubles Down on Why He Hates Black History Month. By Nicole Duncan-Smith / Atlanta Black Star
The Harlem Renaissance Was Bigger Than Harlem. How Black artists made modernism their own. By Susan Tallman / The Atlantic
Why Nikole Hannah-Jones Is Starting a New Black Literary Salon. By Kaitlyn Greenidge / Harpers Bazaar
Chaka Khan: ‘I found ways to hang on. Substance abuse, and all kinds of other s***’ By Stevie Chick / Independent
What is the future of hip-hop? Questlove delves into the past for answers. By G’ra Asim / Wash Post
Black Music Sunday: Celebrating the Cole Porter songbook. By Denise Oliver Velez / Daily Kos
A Black farmer in South Carolina cultivates culture, history — and rice. By Caroline Hatchett / Wash Post
Looking Back on “All in the Family,” the Sitcom That Reshaped America. By Tim Brinkhof / The Progressive
American Beauty Standards May Have Black Women Tricked. By Zayna Allen / 21`Ninety
Barbershop therapy: providing a safe space for men of color to talk about their problems. By Lataya Rothmiller, Mireya Villarreal, and Jim Scholz / ABC News
How a Group of Rappers Became Trump Evangelists. By Charles M. Blow / NYT
“The Big Cigar” is “a crazy way to tell” how Huey P. Newton escaped to Cuba using a fake movie. By Nardos Haile / Salon
The Story Behind Smokey Robinson and The Miracles’ “Shop Around” and Why It’s One of the Most Important Songs in Motown History. By Jim Beviglia / Songwriter
A Black rising star lost his elite orchestra job. He won’t go quietly. By Geoff Edgers / Wash Post
