Explore Black Identity in America

Black authors, poets, artists, and scholars elaborate on what it means to be Black in America.

Watch:

• I am Not Your Negro: James Baldwin

  • Baldwin's incisive commentary provides us with insights into how racism is continually created and maintained, and how it feels to exist within these constructions.

• Homecoming: Beyonce

  • This musical documentary explores the power, beauty, and creativity of Black Americans through dance, song, and spoken word.

Listen:

• The 1619 Project

  • This thought-provoking podcast reflects on various aspects of Black identity and history.

• Codeswitch

  • This podcast explains American terms and issues of race relations through conversational dialogue.

• Young Black poets

  • Hear about the hopes and concerns of young people in this poetry collection.

Look:

• Amy Sherald

  • Sherald captures the multifaceted Black experience in her compelling portraits.

• Barkley Hendricks

  • Hendricks' portraits explore Black style, swagger, and aspirations.

• Deborah Roberts

  • Roberts' collages look at Black identity and childhood.

• Basquiat

  • Basquiat's evocative imagery is iconic and haunting.

• Nick Cave

  • Cave's lyrical "soundsuits" comment on Black identity as their wearers are simultaneously hyper-visible and invisible.

• Jordan Casteel

  • Casteel's paintings of city life convey the richness her subjects' inner life.

Read:

• The Hate U Give: Angie Thomas

  • This young adult novel follows Star, a young woman whose life changes when her best friend is shot by police.

• Kindred: Octavia Butler

  • This science fiction novel explores the deep connections between the past and present for Black Americans.

• The Master’s Tools will Never Dismantle the Master’s House: Audre Lorde

  • Lorde's text is key to understanding legacies of resistance and struggle in Black America.