Little Africa on FireBy Cameron BarnettThis is how the story begins: a touch, a bump, a hot mouth,jostled skin in an elevator, escalation, …Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityWar & ConflictHistory & Politics
A Grammar GlossaryBy avery r. youngSocial CommentariesRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsLivingArts & SciencesLanguage & Linguistics
Callie Barr's Black BottomBy Malcolm TariqYou may find her behind Rowan Oak, a shadow of fortress where then now you find no real entry place. Social CommentariesClassRace & EthnicityLivingDeathSorrow & GrievingBlameGrief
Home EconomicsBy Chaelee DaltonConsider the market. Consider the gross domestic product of Korea. Call it Kimchi.Ferment culture in…Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityWar & ConflictRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsHome LifeAngerBlame
Poem After Betye Saar's The Liberation of Aunt JemimaBy Ama CodjoeWhat if, Betye, instead of a rifle or handgrenade—I mean, what if afterthe loaded gun that takes two handsto fire, I lay down the splintered broomand the steel so cold it wetsmy cheek? What if I unclench the valleysof my... Related Audio Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityArts & SciencesPainting & SculptureTypes/ModesEkphrasis
Small Essays on Disappearance By J. Mae BarizoMorning in the city and the performancethat is Madison Avenue wearing diamondstuds for breakfast, my…Social CommentariesCities & Urban LifeRace & EthnicityLivingParenthoodThe MindDoubt & Contemplation
Zong! #24By M. NourbeSe Philipevidence issustenance issupport isthe law...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsLivingSorrow & Grieving
a-ver-yBy avery r. younga•ver•y (ā ver'ē), n. dark(iss) ¹blk-male chile foundate(id) in luv unlimit(id) fuc(k) anthem(s). ²jee…Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsArts & SciencesLanguage & LinguisticsAngerJoy & Contentment
MoviesBy Langston HughesThe Roosevelt, Renaissance, Gem, Alhambra:Harlem laughing in all the wrong places at the crocodile …Social CommentariesPopular CultureRace & EthnicityArts & SciencesPhotography & Film
Dear John WayneBy Louise ErdrichAugust and the drive-in picture is packed.We lounge on the hood of the Pontiacsurrounded by the slow…Social CommentariesPopular CultureRace & EthnicityLivingYouthThe MindMemory & NostalgiaArts & SciencesPhotography & Film + 2 more
Social Skills TrainingBy Solmaz SharifStudies suggest How may I help you officer? is the single most disarming thing to say and not What's…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsGrief
Hattie McDaniel Arrives at the Coconut GroveBy Rita Dovelate, in aqua and ermine, gardeniasscaling her left sleeve in a spasm of scent,her gloves white, her…Social CommentariesPopular CultureRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesActivitiesJobs & WorkingArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmTechniquesConsonance + 5 more
Against Heaven ["I used to pray to a man-faced god"]By Kemi AlabiI used to pray to a man-faced god.Kept his whip beneath my bed.Set alarms for daybreak lashings.Pressed white cotton to the flay.Made flags of the bloodsoak.Raised them from my window.Called this worship.Dreamt heaven a jury small as a countywhere nobody...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityReligionFaith & DoubtLivingLife ChoicesSorrow & GrievingThe Mind
The TraditionBy Jericho BrownAster. Nasturtium. Delphinium. We thoughtFingers in dirt meant it was our dirt, learningNames in heat…NatureTrees & FlowersSocial CommentariesRace & EthnicityLivingSorrow & GrievingDisappointmentGrief
Alive at the End of the World ("The end of the world was mistaken")By Saeed JonesThe end of the world was mistakenfor just another midday massacrein America. Brain matter and broken…Social CommentariesPopular CultureRace & EthnicityWar & ConflictAngerAnxiety & InsecurityBlame
25 days after I am bornBy Remica Bingham-Rishera man is killed in Mobile, Alabama. It is 1981, nearest what some will call the last lynching in America…Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsLivingDeathRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsAnxiety & InsecurityGratitude + 2 more
Unshuttered ["8. cane, cravats, and corsets tell..."]By Patricia Smithcane, cravats, and corsets tell and retell the body’s story the shell weshroud in guile, romance…Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityLivingRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesGriefMelancholy & Despair
Unshuttered ["1. You crush me with your damning glimpses..."]By Patricia Smith1. You crush me with your damning glimpses, Anna. You,so rancorous, so wounding, and so cruelly bred…LoveDesire & PassionRealistic & ComplicatedUnrequited LoveSocial CommentariesRace & EthnicityPassion
GratitudeBy Cornelius EadyI’m here to tell you an old story. ThisAppears to be my work. I live in the world,Walk the streets…Social CommentariesClassRace & EthnicityLivingLife ChoicesThe MindRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsActivitiesSchool & LearningArts & SciencesPoetry & PoetsMetersFree VerseTechniquesAnaphoraConfessionalMetaphorAngerGratitude + 13 more
After the 1916 FilmBy Karisma PriceThe Realization of a Negro's Ambition requires melatonin & the soft dying body of a monkey face orchid.The brilliant strangeness of watching everyone not you grow comfortable with themselves.Trying to rehabilitate one or multiple racists.Learning death does not fear you.I...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityLivingSorrow & GrievingGrief