Arts & Culture
At the Schomburg, 100 years of diasporic study and archiving
By Kordell Martin Kevin Matthews was pondering these times as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture approached its 100th anniversary festival saluting that world-class library. “We haven’t lost anything,” said the center’s deputy director, about being among Black institutions from which the Trump White House has blocked federal funding. Some people say we […]
In a Brooklyn brownstone, parlor jazz
By Marquis Chambers Photos by Brandon Aninipot It started with a Friday night fish fry to celebrate a beloved person who’d died. “My cousins played drums. I danced. We cooked food. We celebrated. And from there, things just started to happen,” said Debbie McClain, of what was happening in her Brooklyn backyard. Jazz lover McClain’s […]
Preserving and highlighting Harlem’s history
By Marcus Craig Harlem’s Convent Avenue Baptist is a majority Black church in a mainly Black neighborhood. But on a recent Wednesday afternoon, white people filled up most of the seats. They’d paid to hear seven singers, a pianist and a drummer perform black gospel music. I’m a soldier in the army of the Lord […]
Prison experience infuses artist’s work
By Danilo Wrightsell — Art-enthusiast Nastasia James did a few double-takes before she figured out just what kind of art she was looking at that evening in a Manhattan gallery. “When I walked in, at first, I was a bit confused [about] why I was seeing urinals,” said James, a jewelry designer, who was […]
Reopening in ‘26, a museum of hip-hop history
By Freddrell Green — As a native of the Boogie Down Bronx, Miles Marshall Lewis said he’s steeped in hip-hop music and culture. He knows how and why it was born and about its lingering impact after more than a half-century of international acclaim. “I saw hip-hop begin from outside my window,” said Lewis, an […]
Vinyl record sales keep climbing
By Matthew Adams — Ask Discog’s marketing vice president why he collects vinyl records and he’ll give a fast reply: “The music … defines who it is that I am and the music that means something to me. I want to own it.” More customers buy music downloads and streaming music but the audience for […]
Riffing Bruno to rein in physician burnout
By Shemar Forbes A group of medical students dance, sing and rap their way through hallways, operating rooms and elsewhere inside Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Practice harm reduction … Choice in reproduction … It’s people not patients we treat … Future docs, we all see. We must grant patient autonomy. Priya Makam […]
Black books, authors at Schomburg Festival
By Christoper Frazier In the countdown toward the Schomburg Literary Festival, author Tamara Payne, who was scheduled to be a panelist at that yearly gathering, talked about the power of books, especially ones by and about Black people. “Information is healing to people who’ve suffered … ” Payne said, and for those who can never […]