The exploding viewership for N.F.L. games and the league’s ever-expanding season resist all scandal and reason. Our columnist asks why.
Tag Archives: Black People
Behind the Movement to Create More Black Video Game Characters
The lack of Black representation in games stems from a failure to understand the Black gaming audience, creators say.
America’s Ugliest Confederate Statue Is Gone. Racism Isn’t.
The act of taking down a memorial — like the act of putting one up — is largely symbolic. But symbols also tell us who we are.
Failure on Voting Rights Would Be Historic
Democracy is losing.
Paul Carter Harrison, Whose Ideas Shaped Black Theater, Dies at 85
In his essays and plays, he provided a framework that linked playwrights like August Wilson to African rituals and mythologies.
Biden and the Democratic Party Failed Us Badly on Voting Rights
The American people have little respect or patience for a weak leader but support and stand with a strong one.
Trump’s Covid and Election Falsehoods at Arizona Rally
The former president falsely claimed that white Americans were being denied the Covid-19 vaccine, among other inaccuracies.
John Bowman, Comedy Writer With a Knack for Crossing Over, Dies at 64
A white writer who left a corporate job, he became known for working on series with Black stars like Keenen Ivory Wayans and Martin Lawrence.
The Life and Legacy of Sidney Poitier
How the first Black man to win an Oscar transformed not only American cinema, but also America itself.
Two High-Powered Black Attorneys Confront a Justice System’s Flaws
“Just Pursuit,” by Laura Coates, a former federal prosecutor, and “The Rage of Innocence,” by Kristin Henning, a longtime juvenile defense lawyer, detail the moral quandaries and bias they encountered in their work.
The Buccaneers’ Offense Works Because of This Man (and Tom Brady)
The offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich has customized the Buccaneers’ offense to its hodgepodge of stars, injury replacements and holdovers.
Hugh Hayden, Surrealist Sculptor, Addresses the Education Debate
His public art installation in New York’s Madison Square Park takes on the thorny issues roiling American classrooms.
Why This Liberal Mayor Doesn’t Want a Lecture From Progressives
London Breed has heard the wrath of progressives (and conservatives) on doing too much (and too little) to “clean up” neighborhoods in San Francisco struggling with substance use. She’s not backing down.
Reggie Wilson Explores the Power of Moving Together
The choreographer continues his research into African American worship and the Black Shakers in “Power” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Will Biden’s Voting Rights Speech Be Too Little Too Late?
I hope that this is a better-late-than-never situation.
It Started With a Kiss. Then Film Scholars Found More.
MoMA’s series on film restorations, To Save and Project, is highlighting Black cinema, including what may be the earliest example of African American intimacy onscreen.
As Infrastructure Money Flows, Wastewater Improvements Are Key
The new law allocates $11.7 billion for wastewater and stormwater projects. Will it get to the impoverished communities who need it most?
The Growing Fight Over Voting Rights
On President Biden’s speech, vote counting and voter suppression. Also: Donald Trump and Jan. 6; Rikers Island; Covid pathogens; exercise heals.
Poitier and Bogdanovich: The Defiant Ones
Sidney Poitier and Peter Bogdanovich were geniuses of the Hollywood system who, with great success and frustration, worked to transform it in the same era.
Biden Will Endorse Changing Senate Rules to Pass Voting Rights Legislation
In Georgia, the president will express support for altering rules around the Senate filibuster, setting up a confrontation with Republicans.
A Rising Designer Brings Hip-Hop to Homeware
Sean Brown is the creative force behind Curves, a home décor brand inspired by African American pop culture. “I always aim to celebrate Blackness,” he said.
What This Portrait of Mayor Adams’s Mother Means to New Yorkers
Dorothy Mae Adams-Streeter posed for a portrait at her 75th birthday party. Her image, floating in a brandy snifter, has a powerful resonance.
Max Julien, Star of a Cult Blaxploitation Film, Dies at 88
Black audiences flocked to see him in “The Mack,” and generations of cinephiles have paid homage to his star turn, his smooth delivery and his extraordinary costumes.
Seneca Village and the Search for the Black Utopia
Seneca Village has more stories to tell about Black lives in New York City.
Sidney Poitier Was the Star We Desperately Needed Him to Be
Without the obstacles put in his way, he could’ve been even bigger than he was. But Mr. Poitier still managed to be a giant, which, in itself, is astonishing.
My Dinner With Sidney Poitier
He was the epitome of Black dignity, Black beauty, Black pride and Black power.
The Vitality of Black Criticism
Before his death, Greg Tate spoke with four other critics at the Pop Conference about the need for Black writers to face down racist institutions and take the lead in cultural conversations.
Sidney Poitier, Who Paved the Way for Black Actors in Film, Dies at 94
The first Black performer to win the Academy Award for best actor, for “Lilies of the Field,” he once said he felt “as if I were representing 15, 18 million people with every move I made.”
LaChanze on Alice Childress’s “Trouble in Mind”
Since October, the actress has been performing the lead role of Wiletta Mayer in the Broadway debut of Childress’s 1955 play.
Caribbean-British Artists Navigating Worlds an Ocean Apart
Four artists featured in a major London exhibition about Britain and the Caribbean reflect on identity, the art world and living through changing times.
Billionaire’s Star Rises as She Takes Bold Stance on Racism in Brazil
Luiza Trajano turned a small family store into a retail giant. Now, a company policy limiting its executive training program to Black applicants is drawing praise, outrage and much soul-searching.
In the Lower Ninth Ward, an Artist Renews His Purpose
Kevin Beasley was invited to create an installation in New Orleans for a few months. Instead he bought land, and met his neighbors.
With a Pardon, Homer Plessy’s Record Is Clear, but a Painful Legacy Endures
He boarded a whites-only train with the hope of undoing racist laws. Instead, his arrest led to a Supreme Court decision that upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine used to justify segregation.
Prosecute Donald Trump for the Jan. 6 Coup Attempt?
Readers discuss an essay urging a Justice Department investigation. Also: Anthony Fauci; Covid frustration; Betty White; women’s wages; Black voters.
Corporate Board Diversity Increased in 2021. Some Ask What Took So Long.
Some executives say corporate boards have often overlooked qualified women and nonwhite people. That may be changing.
The Challenges of Keeping Schools Open
Readers discuss the teacher shortage and conditions in inner-city schools. Also: The nuclear threat; saving the free press; Meredith Willson.
Louisiana Judge Who Used Racial Slur in Video Resigns
Michelle Odinet, of the City Court of Lafayette, La., resigned on Friday, saying in a letter that “my words did not foster the public’s confidence and integrity for the judiciary.”
Sam Jones, Sharpshooting Celtics Star of the 1960s, Dies at 88
A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was named one of the 50 greatest players in N.B.A. history and played on 10 N.B.A. championship teams.
Virginia Sues Town of Windsor, Accusing It of Discriminatory Policing
The suit comes after a monthslong investigation, which Attorney General Mark Herring said uncovered a pattern of “discriminatory, unconstitutional policing.”
The Power of Watch Night, the Black Church’s Vigil for the End of Slavery
Watch Night began as a vigil commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation and has become a way to honor the past and look to the future.
Remembering the Racist History of ‘Human Zoos’
In exhibitions that were popular until the early 20th century, living people of color were displayed for the enjoyment of white audiences. The bigotry behind those shows lives on.
A Story of Love and Obsession
At home with James Fenton, the English poet, journalist and critic, and Darryl Pinckney, the African American novelist and playwright, in their obsessively, deliriously embellished house in Harlem.
Desmond Tutu Knew Justice Had to Include Forgiveness
Contemporary activists can benefit from Tutu’s ideas about restorative justice and strengthen their quest for fundamental fairness.
‘Pariah’ at 10: When Black Lesbian Characters Had the Spotlight
The Dee Rees drama made waves but studios largely returned to business as usual. A new crop of filmmakers sees signs of hope.
Sickle Cell Math Is Brutally Simple, but Not Widely Taught
An inexpensive blood test can warn couples if they face one in four odds of having a baby with the disease. No one ever told Lametra Scott and Rickey Buggs about it.
What Three Broadway Shows Tell Us About Racial Progress
The female protagonists in “Trouble in Mind,” “Caroline, or Change” and “Clyde’s” show the richness that comes from having a multitude of Black voices onstage.
Winsome Sears Wants Black Voters to Rethink the G.O.P.
The incoming lieutenant governor of Virginia was an unlikely candidate: a deeply conservative Black woman, and an immigrant, who supports Donald Trump.
Even in Retirement, Desmond Tutu Remained South Africa’s Moral Compass
The Nobel laureate retired from public life over a decade ago, but he continued to advocate social justice, gay rights and climate change.
It Was bell hooks Who Taught Me How to ‘Talk Back’
Ms. hooks understood that voice and language are how marginalized people humanize themselves to themselves.
bell hooks and the Power of Talking Back for Black Women
Ms. hooks understood that voice and language are how marginalized people humanize themselves to themselves.