10 Times Black Artists Forced Innovation to Find Its Soul
The Architecture of Innovation
Black music has never merely adapted to the future—it has constructed it.
When we celebrate Black Music Month, it is [...]
Survivor Affirmation: For Chaka Khan, Bold Enough to Remain Herself
Chaka Khan has never moved through the world like a woman asking to be watered down.
Her voice has heat in it. Fire. Velvet. Thunder. A little chur [...]
Black Music Month, Bay Leaves, and the Pages That Hold Our Stories
Some traditions are loud.
A choir lifting a song.
A drum carrying memory across generations.
A family reunion filled with laughter.
Other trad [...]
Seeking Care Safely After Harm: Language for Survivors and Providers
Many Survivors have told me some version of this:
"I knew something felt wrong. I just didn't know what to call it."
That is more co [...]
Survivor Affirmation: For Patti LaBelle, the Beautiful Assertion
Before the world knew her as Patti LaBelle, she was Patricia Louise Holte, a girl from Philadelphia with a voice that could rise from the church floor [...]
Survivor Affirmation: For Opal Lee, Who Walked Until the Nation Had to Remember
Some people wait for permission.
Opal Lee did something older, wiser, and stronger. She walked.
She walked with history in her bones a [...]
Black Classics Reading List Created by Chelsea Yvonne
In the spirit of Juneteenth, free your mind!Â
These Black literary classics are worth a read or re-read.Â
Gratitude to Chelsea Yv [...]
Hidden Black Film Herstory: Stompin at the Savoy | Directed by Debbie Allen
Sometimes Black women’s films are praised for being “nice,” “nostalgic,” or “beloved,” while the craft gets undercounted. Stompin’ at the Savoy was no [...]
For the Hate Crimes Prevention Act: Affirmations for Black People Carrying Too Much Hate from Too Many Directions
racism chases us down for miles.....
On this day, the anniversary of The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act which was s [...]
Emotional Bandwidth: Why You Sometimes Can’t Be There for People You Love | Dr. Tracey Marks
Emotional bandwidth explained: why cognitive load and stress make empathy harder, and why low bandwidth looks like emotional unavail [...]
A Juneteenth Reflection for SurvivorAffirmations: Not a Bill. A Bridge.
Some of us grew up hearing about sacrifice in ways that hurt.
“I did everything for you.”
“After all I gave up.”
“You owe me.”
Tho [...]
10 Facts About Lift Every Voice and SING!
So my childhood was spent learning this song. We sang this and other songs like it for assemblies. I get out into the world and learn not only have ot [...]
There Are Souls Beyond the Scoreboard: A History Lesson in Hope, Radio, and Second Wind (podcast episode)
We are not living in the time of afterschool specials, radio dedications, and songs that reached through the static to touch a hurting child’s heart.
[...]
Before You Yell “Cocaine,” Learn What 1980s Black Joy Looked Like
I get it. You see the far less expensive gas, housing prices, and food prices, and from 2026, that must look like heaven on earth. I get it. In the ea [...]
Dr. Tracey Marks: People Who Drain You vs. People Who Energize You
Why do some people calm your brain while others drain it? One of our favorite psychiatrists, Dr. Tracey Marks, explains how your nervous system regula [...]
What “Find 100 Ways” Teaches Us About Uplifting the People We Love
There are some songs that do not simply play.
They enter the room.
They adjust the light.
They sit beside you with a kind of grown tenderness [...]