“The violence of his era can be found in his serene masterpieces — if you know where to look.”
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Posted inEditor's Pick
Enslaved potter David Drake searched for his family. More than 150 years later, they’ve found him.
“‘He was sending these messages,’ said Daisy Whitner, whom genealogists have identified as a descendent of Drake.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Slave Money Paved the Streets. Now This Posh RI City Strives to Teach Its Past.
Between 1700-1850, the city of Newport in tiny Rhode Island launched more slave trading voyages than anywhere in North America. And in a time when conservative school boards and state leaders around the U.S. are banning lessons about race and racism in schools, Newport is confronting its past: teaching students local Black history, African heritage, […]
Posted inQuestionnaire
The Longreads Questionnaire, Featuring Ibram X. Kendi
The Stamped and How to Be an Antiracist author on the superpower he’d like to have, the outlets he likes to read, and his latest work, Chain of Ideas.
Posted inCulture, History, Nonfiction, Reading List
What We Save, What We Destroy: A Reading List on Difficult Heritage
The present we inhabit is shaped by the mixed legacies of the past.
Posted inNonfiction
Anatomy of Absolute Power
The people of Wilcox County, Alabama, remember a longtime sheriff as a god or a monster—it just depends on who you ask.
Posted inUncategorized
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This edition includes writing from Cynthia R. Greenlee, Krithika Srinivason, Noah Vineberg, Monica Mark, and Alex Pappademas.
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we are sharing stories from Janell Ross, Jude Isabella, Arthur Asseraf, Lex Pryor, and Diane Mehta.
Posted inNewsletter
The Curious Path to Psychedelic Toads
Introducing an excerpt from “The Ego Trip.”
Posted inFeature
The Mostly True Story of America’s First Black Private Investigator
He made his name in Chicago investigating racial violence, solving crimes, and exposing corruption. But America’s first Black private detective was hiding secrets of his own.
