Culture
How this Black theater group is using art as a tool to ‘awaken’ people. By Jeffrey Brown and Sam Lane / PBS
North Carolina Black Santas bringing diversity to Christmas. By Chris Lumsden / GMA
Bell hooks, Author, Educator and Feminist Icon, Dead at 69. By Maiysha Kai / The Root
Best jazz albums 2021: Nina Simone, Charles Mingus, Frank Kimbrough, and more. By Fred Kaplan / Slate
Two-Spirit: Everything to know about indigenous LGBTQ identities. By David Oliver / USA Today
I’m Black But Look White. Here Are The Horrible Things White People Feel Safe Telling Me. By Miriam Zinter / HuffPost
Best Black Female Performances of 2021. By Stephanie Holland / The Root
Happy birthday to Joe Williams, ‘The Emperor of the Blues.’ By Denise Oliver Velez / Daily Kos
James Brown said the CIA spied on him. The CIA won’t say. By Thomas Lake / CNN
City honors nightclub where Ray Charles sang during Jim Crow era. By AP and NBC News
Music and cultural critic Greg Tate dead at 64. By Dennis Romero / NBC News
Denzel Washington, Man on Fire. By Maureen Dowd / NYT
He put the R in rock ‘n’ roll: Remembering Little Richard. By Denise Oliver-Velez / Daily Kos
Josephine Baker is inducted into the French Pantheon. By Eleanor Beardsley / NPR
Virgil Abloh, famed fashion designer, dies of cancer at 41. By Justin Carissimo / CBS News
Is Black Twitter The New Green Book? By Alexandra Jane / The Root
Hanukkah’s darker origins feel more relevant in time of rising antisemitism, intense interest in identity. By Michelle Boorstein / Wash Post
Permission to Imagine. By Lovia Gyarkye / Dissent Magazine
Smokey Robinson stars in new Lifetime movie ‘Miracle in Motor City.’ By Julie Hinds / Detroit Free Press
Chance The Rapper, Dionne Warwick Team Up on ‘Nothing’s Impossible.’ By Ilana Kaplan / RollingStone
Don’t let the inspiring story of Josephine Baker story erase France’s pervasive racism. By Rokhaya Diallo / Wash Post
This Black Music Sunday, we’re cookin’ soul food while stuffing ourselves with the sounds of soul. By Denise Oliver-Velez / Daily Kos
Dave Chappelle Is Oblivious to His Own Racial Blind Spots in ‘The Closer.’ By Yahdon Israel / The Atlantic
Gordon Parks documentary on HBO only gives us half the picture. By Jesse Washington / The Undefeated
Melanie Charles knows the impact Black women have had on jazz. By Shannon J. Effinger / Wash Post
Passing Netflix movie: How the adaptation differs from Nella Larsen’s classic book. By Carla Kaplan / Slate
Terence Blanchard’s opera: “Fire Shut Up in My Bones.” By CBS News
1619 Project Creator Nikole Hannah-Jones Talks About Her New Book. By Alexis Okeowo / Vanity Fair
R&B Icon Johnnie Taylor’s Heirs Battle Sony Over Unpaid Royalties. By Jonathan Bernstein / Rolling Stone
Review: Diana Ross gives us a dose of hope on ‘Thank You.’ By Mark Kennedy / ABC News
