The Criterion Collection has removed their paywall on all narrative films and documentaries made by Black filmmakers in an act of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. A statement from the platform reads, “We are committed to examining the role we play in the idea of canon formation, whose voices get elevated, and who gets to decide what stories get told.” Additionally, the company …
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100% of the proceeds from Levi’s Pride 2020 collection will be donated to OutRight Action International—a non-governmental organization that defends the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. This oversized trucker jacket (available in traditional denim or pink, white and blue tie-dye) boasts an embroidered call to action, with “USE YOUR VOICE!” emblazoned on the back. Available in small to XXL, it’s …
Helmed by their LA editorial assistant Kat Hong who tapped resources including Black Book LA and Eat Okra, restaurant-centric website The Infatuation published a list of Black-owned eateries in and around Los Angeles. From Anaheim to Crenshaw, from DTLA to Long Beach, there are hundreds of quality spots included, and the editorial staff is continuing to update and add locations. You can send them suggestions …
The San Francisco Chronicle, with assistance from the Bay Area Organization of Black Owned Business, has compiled a searchable directory of Black-owned restaurants in the region—making it even easier to support those businesses. Included are details like whether or not they offer takeout or delivery, how to order without relying on third-party delivery services, and what types of dishes and drinks are on the menu. …
TimeOut New York lists several online directories filled with Black-owned businesses, restaurants, writers, food stylists, and beyond. EatOkra, an app, maintains an ever-growing list of Black-owned restaurants in NYC—right now, it has over 2,000 entries. Black-Owned Brooklyn signal boosts the offerings of Black-owned businesses in its borough, an effort they call “a curated guide to Black Brooklyn’s people, places and products.” Shoppe Black lists tech …
DC-based food advocate Anela Malik maintains a list of Black-owned restaurants to support and explains how food is inherently political, saying, “As individuals, one of the best ways to stand up for those at greater risk, to support communities that are neglected, discriminated against or left behind is to support them financially,” she says. From Ethiopic and Cane to new pop-up Butter Me Up, these …
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A memoir of awakening and hope, writer Amrou Al-Kadhi’s Life as a Unicorn: A Journey from Shame to Pride and Everything in Between traces their path from god-fearing Muslim child to an empowered, erudite drag queen by the name of Glamrou. Al-Kadhi has authored thoughtful pieces for the Guardian, Independent, Gay Times, and many others. They’ve also penned an episode of Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V Gordon’s …
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For every one of these bandana masks sold, RE/DONE will donate five to frontline workers across the USA. Available in nine colorways, they are crafted from upcycled bandana fabric and include a cotton lining on the back (or face) side. Washable and reusable, the shades and patterns will differ due to the repurposed and reconstructed fabric. The brand also has denim options and kids’ sizes …
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An inclusive development of the rainbow Pride flag that incorporates the necessary representation of queer people of color and transgender individuals, Daniel Quasar’s “Progress” initiative pin more accurately reflects the LGBTQ+ community. Each 11-color enamel pin is produced by hand in antique silver. 25% of the profits from Quasar’s “Progress Initiative” items, like this enamel pin, get allocated to a quarterly donation to a charity that …
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Presented in limited edition hues, queer-owned Boy Smells’ PRIDE collection includes several of the brand’s most alluring scents: Damasque, Cedar Stack, Prunus, Cameo, Angelica, and LES. These “hyper-natural” colorways have been selected to celebrate the diverse LGBTQ+ community. Despite members of the community being physically separated, Pride can and should be celebrated as loudly as ever this year. Boy Smells will donate 15% of proceeds …
This striking performance of North Carolina-born drummer Max Roach’s “Freedom Now Suite,” a medley of “Tears for Johannesburg” and the triptych “PRAYER / PROTEST / PEACE,” is believed to be recorded by a Belgian television station in 1964—the same year the Civil Rights Act deemed discrimination based on race, color, religion, and gender illegal. Referred to as “an early soundtrack to Black Lives Matter” by …
Run the Jewels’ album RTJ4 (which features previously released “Ooh La La“) was due two days from now, but the duo surprise-dropped the album today, along with the statement, “Fuck it, why wait. The world is infested with bullshit so here’s something raw to listen to while you deal with it all.” The duo (aka El-P and Killer Mike) made the album available for free …
Zoe Amira created a 56-minute YouTube video which—if you play it with advertisements and volume on—will result in 100% of advertising revenue being donated to Black Lives Matter and associated bail funds. The video’s content is spliced together spoken-word, poetry, art and music by Black artists and is worth viewing, but we implore readers to then play it over and over each day, even if …
Protesting and mobilizing together surpasses the value of social media posts in solidarity. There is work to be done offline; some of it visible, some not. Standing up for Black individuals can be effective in combatting brutality and the systemic belittling of Black bodies. New York City’s 14th Congressional District Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared the proper practices for in-person protests and marches, as they unfold …
“While publications ask black journalists—both freelance and full-time staff members—to put their lives at risk to report on racial injustices and embed themselves within the protests, they rarely provide resources for these same journalists to process the trauma incurred both on the job and in daily life,” Sonia Weiser, the organizer of the Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund, says at its launch. On the fundraiser’s …
Without a hint of percussion, “SHALLOW (PPL SWIM IN SHALLOW WATER)” by Japanese-Canadian singer and musician Saya Gray proves itself stirring and powerful. The song changes cadence often over its 3:50-minute lifespan, with Gray altering her voice from speak-singing and soft cooing to flawless falsetto, up to soaring high-pitched squeaky vocals. This self-recorded tune is the artist’s debut solo song—minimal but textured.
The music industry has planned Blackout Tuesday in an act of solidarity through silence, and will effectively cease operations on Tuesday, 2 June. The industry-wide pause “is meant to intentionally disrupt the work week,” the organizers, Atlantic Senior Directors of Marketing Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, wrote. “The music industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. An industry that has profited predominantly from Black art. Our …
As the guest of my college roommate, I watched Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “The Gates” unfurl throughout all of Central Park from the penthouse of the Pierre Hotel. A domino of saffron tumbled along the wintry landscape in an unimaginable way. The image will always be with me. The days I spent walking the park that February 2005 will, too. Long before the social, funhouse-like museums …
