WRIIT - KOLUMN Magazine

The Rosewood Massacre: How a lie destroyed a black town | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

February 14, 2020April 9, 2020African American History

From the bruises on her body, it was clear Fannie Taylor had been beaten. The story she told to explain them away destroyed an all-black town in Florida and got several of its residents murdered. On New Year’s Day 1923, Taylor, then the 22-year-old wife of a mill worker, said a black man had assaulted […]

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Niece on Her Uncle’s Legacy and Making Her Modeling Debut | Vogue

February 14, 2020February 14, 2020African American Fashion

Jean-Michel Basquiat had a singular sense of style, and Lisane confirms that he loved fashion. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] This season, Coach creative director Stuart Vevers yet again drew inspiration from the 1980s. While the spring 2020 runway interpreted this theme more broadly, with T-shirts and tank tops featuring famous Richard Bernstein portraits of the likes of […]

Escape Route | Lapham’s Quarterly

February 13, 2020February 13, 2020African American History, African American Travel ...

How cars changed the lives of black Americans. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Between the 1920s and the 1960s, automobile ownership changed African American life. You could not be asked to move to the back of the bus—or, worse, to get off and reenter through the back door—if you drove your own car. The horsepower of an automobile […]

Mariya Russell Is The First Black Woman To Earn A Michelin Star | Essence

February 13, 2020February 13, 2020African American Chef, African American Cuisine

Russell she says she’s baffled by how long it’s taken for a Black woman to break through barriers. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Chicago is one of the toughest towns in the whole country. And the culinary arts—with all the blood, sweat, tears, and sleepless nights that come with it—can be one of the toughest industries to make […]

After 65 Years, the First African-American-owned Travel Agency Continues to Provide Travelers With Unique Experiences | Travel + Leisure

February 13, 2020February 13, 2020African American Entrepreneurs, African American Travel

The agency planned Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s trip to Oslo when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Before the current boom of black travel nomads and influencers, there were African-American pioneers who charted a course that would revolutionize the way black travelers traversed the world. More than 80 years ago, […]

Henry Louis Gates Jr. on what really happened at Obama’s ‘beer summit.’ | The New York Times Magazine

February 12, 2020February 12, 2020African American Politics

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is one of a handful of academics who have crossed over into something approaching true celebrity. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Which is apparently what happens when you’ve written and edited dozens of books of popular history; had a guiding hand in 18 major documentaries on black history, the most recent of which was […]

How Jacob Lawrence Captured the African American Experience With ‘The Migration Series’ | My Modern Met

February 12, 2020February 12, 2020African American Art, Black Art

New York City has always attracted avant-garde artists. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] From the energetic Abstract Expressionists to the pioneers of American Pop Art, forward-thinking creatives have flocked to the city that never sleeps for decades. While each and every modern movement cultivated in the Big Apple has made its mark on the history of art, the […]

We Don’t Need To Destroy Gayle King To Preserve Kobe Bryant’s Legacy | Essence

February 10, 2020February 10, 2020African American Entertainment

The treatment of Gayle King over the last 48 hours is a case study in the inability to critique Black women without tearing them down in the process. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] In the emotional days following the death of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash, Black people, in our shock and […]

Nearly 100 Years After Tulsa Massacre, City Plans to Search Cemetery for Victims | The New York Times

February 10, 2020February 10, 2020African American History, Black History

In one of the worst instances of racist violence in American history, a group of white people slaughtered black residents of Tulsa. For decades, city leaders rarely acknowledged it in public. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Archaeologists plan to excavate part of a cemetery in Tulsa, Okla., to see if it holds the remains of black residents slaughtered […]

He Was ‘Star Wars’ ‘ Secret Weapon, So Why Was He Forgotten? | The Hollywood Reporter

February 10, 2020February 10, 2020African American Cinema

Ashley Boone Jr., the first black president of a major Hollywood studio, helped make George Lucas’ quirky space opera a hit in the 1970’s — yet chances are you’ve never heard of him: “He was way ahead of his time.” [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] When thousands gathered Dec. 16 in Hollywood for the world premiere of Star […]