‘To Be Polite By Ignoring the Obvious’: Jess Row on Unpacking Whiteness in Literature By Morgan Jerkins Feature “I was looking for texts that seem to go the extra mile in hiding something — texts that almost seem to be begging to be interpreted in terms of what’s not being said.”
White Looks By Soraya Roberts Feature Should white critics cover black culture? Only if they’re able to own their whiteness.
Between Jesmyn and Ta-Nehisi By Katie Kosma Highlight Author Jesmyn Ward sits down with Ta-Nehisi Coates to discuss slavery, superheroes, and how much you have to hate yourself to enjoy being famous.
Whiteness on the Couch By Natasha Stovall Feature Clinical psychologist Natasha Stovall looks at the vast spectrum of white people problems, and why we never talk about them in therapy.
In a World Full of Cruelty and Injustice, Becoming a Mother Anyway By Eliza Margarita Bates Feature A visit to Auschwitz makes Eliza Margarita Bates only more determined to have a baby, despite her painful chronic illness.
Tom Petty’s Problematic Album Southern Accents By Michael Washburn Feature In 1985, one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most beloved songwriters made a regrettable misstep with a narrow conception of Southern identity.
How I Became ‘Rich’ By Stacy Torres Feature During a rare opportunity to vacation in Hawai’i, Stacy Torres is forced to confront her status as better off than where she came from.
This Month In Books: ‘Look at the World, and Not at the Mirror.’ By Dana Snitzky Commentary This month’s books newsletter is about seeing the big picture.
Vacation Memories Marred by the Indelible Stain of Racism By Shanna B. Tiayon Feature Shanna B. Tiayon recalls an interaction with a National Parks Service bus driver that cast a pall on a family trip to the Grand Canyon.
I’ve Done a Lot of Forgetting By Jordan Michael Smith Feature When I was a kid, I wanted my antisemitic tormentors to accept me. I wanted to be their friend.
The Psychiatrist in My Writing Class and His ‘Gift’ of Hate By Rani Neutill Feature Rani Neutill recalls a literary workshop in which a white man critiqued her ability to write in “proper” English.
After a Fashion By Soraya Roberts Feature Trying so hard to set trends for the future, fashion’s institutions can’t stop stumbling over the past (and the present).
Canada’s Breeding Ground for Hate By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight How Canada’s new, educated, organized far-right has been using a video game app to try to influence mainstream politics and create a white ethno-state.
Lengua Tacos By Feliz Moreno Feature Feliz Moreno searches for an answer to the frequently asked question ‘Do you speak Spanish?’ during a trip to Mexico.
Mothering on the Borders By Yifat Susskind Feature Yifat Susskind stands at three of the world’s most militarized borders and reflects on what is revealed about these zones of separation and violence when we see them from the perspective of mothers.
Your Turn By Longreads Feature Damon Young looks back at his family’s journey toward homeownership, and what that can really mean when you’re black in America.
‘Imagine Us, Because We’re Here’: An Interview with Mira Jacob By Naomi Elias Feature Mira Jacob talks about why she wrote a graphic memoir, and why she is tired of performing her pain in order to help white people understand racism.
The Power of a Neighborhood’s Name By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight When Google Maps’ data renamed an African American neighborhood, it opened up residents to the looming forces of gentrification.
Our Words Will Save Us and Set Us Free By Jackson Bliss Feature In the wake of having his writing career belittled, Jackson Bliss becomes an interpreter for a refugee and comes to see words, translations, and storytelling as important acts of resistance.
“White” Isn’t Even Neutral When You’re Talking About Paint Colors By Michelle Weber Highlight Your systems will not protect you.
Even the Dogs By Longreads Feature In an excerpt from her memoir, T Kira Madden recalls a harrowing adventure with her parents.
The Real Danger on the Promenade By Steffan Triplett Feature After coming out, Steffan Triplett considers rekindling a broken friendship, dancing with danger and mystery in a secluded area on the edge of town.
Johnny Rotten, My Mom, and Me By Kimberly Mack Feature Kimberly Mack recalls the ways in which rock music bonded her with her African American mom, and how those fierce sounds helped them cope with the poverty, violence, and despair both outside and inside their Brooklyn home.
‘I Believe That Silence Is Ineffective’: Devi S. Laskar on Invisibility and American Terror By Ruth LeFaive Feature Laskar’s debut novel imagines an alternate ending to an incident from her real life: When law enforcement agents raided her home, and confiscated her unfinished novel, what if she had refused to comply?
Did Your Walls Keep Them Out, or Lock You In? By Michelle Weber Highlight Gabriela Garcia’s short story about a women fighting a cold war with her new neighbor is deeply political without explicitly being about politics at all.
Traveling While Black Across the Atlantic Ocean By Ethelene Whitmire Feature Following in the footsteps of African Americans traveling to Denmark in the early 20th century, Ethelene Whitmire experiences a 21st century transatlantic crossing.
When Black Male Singers Were Sex Symbols By Ericka Blount Danois Feature Teddy Pendergrass was the R&B singer women wanted and who men wanted to be. And the one whose life-sized cardboard cutout stood in one family’s living room.
There Was Nothing We Could Have Done, Because We’re Racist and You’re Black By Michelle Weber Highlight “The prevalent perception of black women as unruly bodies and incompetent caretakers overrules even the most dominant stereotype about us—namely, that we are superhuman.”
Of Blackness and ‘Beauty’ By Morgan Jerkins Feature At an art exhibit exploring black models through Western art, Morgan Jerkins finds historical evidence of the white supremacist definitions of beauty Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom identifies in ‘Thick: and Other Essays.’
At Risk, at Home and Abroad By Joy Notoma Feature As Joy Notoma grapples with uterine fibroids, harmful biases in the medical establishment, and a move from Brooklyn to West Africa she wonders where, as a black woman, she can find safety.
