Race
MLK Now
Canonization has prevented a reckoning with the substance of King’s intellectual, ethical, and political commitments.
How Slavery Inspired Modern Business Management
By “dangling the carrot” to improve worker productivity, businesses are taking a page from slavery’s playbook.
Hoverboarding While Black
In the era of digital neighborhoods, social networks embolden a new kind of racial surveillance.
White Supremacy Has Always Been Mainstream
“Very fine people”—fathers, husbands, and sons, as well as mothers, wives, and daughters—have always been central to the work of white supremacy.
Free the Beach
American beaches used to be common property. Now access to many of them is controlled by wealthy whites.
The Forgotten Baldwin
His book about the Atlanta child murders speaks best to the era of Black Lives Matter.
Baldwin’s Lonely Country
When Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, James Baldwin made a final attempt to reconcile the generational divide between the civil rights movement and Black Power.
Guns in the Family
A childhood steeped in guns shows that toxic masculinity and racism are at the heart of U.S. gun culture.
Brother Martin Was a Blues Man
Cornel West on Martin Luther King, Jr., hope, and the future of activism, in conversation with Brandon M. Terry, Elizabeth Hinton, and Tommie Shelby.