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Havey B. Gantt Center of African American Art •

The Quiet Construction of Intimacy: YoYo Lander as Artist and Emotional Architect

Good projects are born of good plans, and the makings of YoYo Lander’s mid-career survey unfold like a blueprint. At its core, this blueprint reveals a grand vision—one built upon the aspiration of a global, shared sense of humanity and raw emotional expression, as seen through the artist's discerning eye. In Lander’s world, feelings are a first skin, and we shake hands with our hearts.
EBONY •

Meet the Black Woman Stylist Redefining “Granny Glam” - EBONY

Countless young girls-turned-grown-women cherish memories of raiding their grandmother's closet, draping themselves in her pearls, tiptoeing in her “good” heels, and securing her church hats above their braided and beaded heads. But how many can say they've had the chance to repay the favor, dressing their grandmothers in contemporary styles pulled directly from their own wardrobes? This is the story of one such girl. Meet Diana “Dee” Kaumba, the stylist taking social media by storm with images...
EBONY •

Quilting Gold: How Gee's Bend Became the "Richest" Town in Alabama - EBONY

Whether you know of the quilters from Gee's Bend, Alabama, for their celebrated textile art or their remarkable history, their legacy is undeniably profound. Mary Ann Pettway was not born a quilting legend, but it was indeed her destiny. As the seventh of eight surviving children, Pettway learned how to sew from her mother—not to create textile art that would eventually be hung on museum walls or sold for thousands of dollars, but to ensure the family could sleep comfortably.

Growing up in the...
Mint Museum •

“I See You Shining: Reflections on Southern Reflections”

Through the car’s passenger window, a golden smile spreads and stretches toward a raised solo cup, three waving red-tipped fingers, and a wrist wrapped in stacks of silver bangles. The slight jingle carried in the space between them are the only notes that sound. This is a Black southern greeting in passing. This is the scene of a love story where accessories set the stage and recite the script. This is embellishment as dialogue. But what is being said?
The Root •

Nike's Yardrunners Sneaker Collection Returns With Designs By Four Black Women

It’s homecoming, y’all! Around the country, HBCU grads, hopefuls, and shoulda coulda made its are gathering on campuses all over to celebrate the legacy of historically Black colleges and universities. And while there’s apparently also some football taking place, we all know the real action is on the yard. Just in time for your Reel-fresh fit checks, Nike is back with the 2022 release of it’s Yardrunners collection, the limited edition sneaker capsule intended to promote and support HBCUs.Launch...
SELF •

20 Songs That Will Help You Feel Grounded and Self-Assured

Every year around this time, I start to feel like I’m watching the credits roll on my Black girl dramedy season finale. And much like everyone’s favorite awkward protagonist Issa Rae, who is left reflecting on her life at the end of each Insecure episode, I’m often left thinking about the last few months of my own. Summer is fun, sure, but between recklessly running the streets with my friends and drinking until the day is done, I’m not always proud of the decisions I make, but hell—that can be...
The Root •

"Last Address" AIDS Tribute Walk Honors Queer Harlem Icons

In a world that is often dim, plagued by death, we are persistently being told to center pleasure and to call in joy, leaving little space for the mourning oftentimes demanded by our own survival. To grieve is to be liberated from grief itself, but where do we go to grieve when there is no remaining occupancy on the inside? How then are we able to free it? In 2010, filmmaker Ira Sachs felt the weight of grief upon him as he thought about the mentors that he might have had while coming of age as...
THE BLOCK •

Portals To Places Only We Know: Andrew Wilson

We as Black people are born from craftsmen and craftswomen. From artists that produce not only for splendor, but for survival. In earlier times, our newborn bodies were not caught between degreed and professionally practiced hands, but by those that made magic. The owners of these hands—weavers of baskets, farmers of land, bakers of bread, and threaders of tiny needles.


In the internet age, there are memes and other internet postings that exist to confirm that all Black folks are indeed root...
Queen City Nerve •

Durag Fest is Black People's Chance to Capitalize on Culture

After having one margarita too many — it was one, I had one margarita — I scroll obsessively through my social media feeds, as I often do after a brief binge. It’s the fifth of May, and even if you speak no Spanish at all, you know that this calendar date is celebrated internationally as Cinco de Mayo.Had I forgotten between tequila sips, the holiday hashtag would have promptly aided me in my recollection. There’s a parade of sombreros down my timeline — sombreros on babies, the elderly and coll...