Five years ago, I started work on one of the hardest things I've ever had to write.
Writer, podcaster, author. I love books, fantasy, science fiction, music, classic movies, & brunch. Not in that order.
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Five years ago, I started work on one of the hardest things I've ever had to write.
Bessie Coleman (1892 – 1926) pioneering aviator. As US flying schools denied entry to her as a Black woman, she taught herself French and moved to France earning her license there. She specialised as a stunt pilot. #womensart
Santa Rosa and Escambia school districts are neighboring districts that share the same primary book banner. This person targets authors like Kelly that speak out against censorship. One person should not have this much influence over what everyone has access to in the library.
When the nonprofit Data for Indigenous Justice filed public records requests with the Alaska Department of Public Safety concerning cases it had investigated, the state rejected them.
Legal and constitutional experts worry Trump is laying the groundwork to use the Guard to seize control of any city he wants to bring to heel. On Monday, he signed an executive order that primes the Guard “for rapid mobilization,” across the country. www.democracydocket.com/analysis/tru...
When governments police museums, they are not simply policing exhibitions. They are policing imagination itself. Censorship has taken hold at the Smithsonian. I refused to play along.” —Amy Sherald
John Brown Gordon believed that slavery was “morally, socially, and politically right.” Despite being committed to racial inequality, the Trump Administration recently has restored the name of a military base in his honor.
Lee Grant was blackballed by Hollywood in 1951 after refusing to testify against her husband, screenwriter Arnold Manoff, before the HUAC. The MFERS. She didn’t return to making movies until 1964 and was in a great Colombo film ‘Ransom for a Dead Man’ in 1971. #TCMParty #BuonaSeraMrsCampbell
IKYFL
🚨BREAKING: Federal court STRIKES DOWN Alabama's state Senate map for violating VRA sec 2 by diluting Black voting power in Montgomery. Alabama must now draw a new compliant map. Status conference is set for Aug. 28 to facilitate remedial proceedings. www.democracydocket.com/cases/alabam...
Michael de Adder @deadder.bsky.social Support Michael's work at open.substack.com/pub/deadder/
Here is my 1995 cartoon about an Enola Gay exhibit at the Smithsonian that the GOP-led Congress complained depicted the Japanese as victims. Imagine that! The Smithsonian bowed to pressure and cancelled the exhibit. Sound familiar? #smithsonian #Trump #museum #revisionisthistory
"Caribbean Film Festival Joins Sankofa Day celebrations" Sankofa Day is a full-day cultural event honouring the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. newsday.co.tt/2025/08/22/c...
The only thing I can say about this paragraph is read it. Sit with it. Read it again. @michaelharriot.bsky.social
"Kids’ disability rights cases stalled as Trump began to overhaul Education Department" apnews.com/article/educ... -ONE.
Trump's authoritarian to do list: ✅ control the media
The next target of book banners? Romance books. The where, when, how, and why of romance books being the next step in the process of dismantling literacy and institutions of democracy. bookriot.com/the-next-boo...
On this day in 1959, Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson told a state-wide segregationist rally to “do what needs to be done” to fight the proposed integration of schools in the state.
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218 New Books by Black Authors Coming Out Soon. Marketing & PR support from publishers is less than it used to be, and most of these authors won't even get *that* level of support from their publisher. So if you see a book you like, support the author by preordering/purchasing.
On this day in 1619, traffickers brought the first enslaved Africans to a Virginia colony on the James River. They sold some enslaved people for food and sold others to white enslavers in Jamestown.
#InterviewWithTheVampire #iwtv #iwtvsky According to What’s on Netflix, Season 2 of ‘Interview with the Vampire’ is set to premiere on Netflix US on September 30, 2025! Find out more details here: www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/intervi...
A judge affirmed students’ First Amendment rights. In defiance of that ruling, the Gov today applauded the Commissioner’s “removal by tweet” that targeted a book based on cover alone. This problem is ongoing in Florida. We have yet to see a district stand up for our students and return the books.
If you see anyone whining about what Democrats are or aren't doing - here are some receipts you can use.
This Nicole Collier story is really bothering me & I don't feel like it's getting enough attention on here. Granted, the trending algorithms are crap, but this should be trending #1. They are literally holding this woman hostage. This cannot possibly be legal, but they're using police to do it.
Texas Rep. Collier has had enough of Republicans' BS—so she's taking a stand.
The whole confederacy is getting in on it.
PBS has been a home for independent documentaries for more than 50 years. But with the closure of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, nonfiction storytellers have to figure out a way forward.
On this day in 1916, white mobs in Florida and Texas lynched seven Black people. This terroristic violence was carried out just months before the U.S. entered WWI, in a fight to protect democracy and freedom.
Black Women Have Always Been The Blueprint In Home And Lifestyle
It’s day 13 of #SummerUnderTheStars. Our star of the day is Shirley MacLaine. My pick of the day is Sweet Charity. #TCMParty
1. A lot of people are (correctly) reporting that Trump ordered a federal takeover of the DC police even though violent crime in DC is at 30 year low. How is the Trump administration responding? They claim that DC crime data is rigged! (Sound familiar?) Let's review.
Veterinarian and Bronx native Dr. Danielle Spencer, best known for her role as "Dee Thomas" on the 1970s sitcom "What’s Happening!!," has died at age 60. Read more here: http://bit.ly/3UKFndb
"Vividly expressive, riotously queer, beautifully Black, and wildly creative”ividly expressive, riotously queer, beautifully Black, and wildly creative.” -Locus Magazine #blackbooksky #art #writingcommunity
"Parental rights" means the directives of those appointed by Ron DeSantis. That's all. You won't be shocked how unoriginal this list of "patently pornographic" books are, nor how absolutely slapdash it is.
There’s lots more music in the comments section, where I pay tribute to this weekend’s birthdays and departures: Benny Carter, Butch Warren, Joe Tex, Jack DeJohnette, Whitney Houston, Ronnie Spector, Isaac Hayes and more. Make an account and join in!
"The FBI’s surveillance of African Americans and Black rights organizations — whom the FBI called “Black Extremists” or “Black Nationalist Hate Groups” — grew out of...COINTELPRO...launched in 1956 to snuff out communism in the United States." www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/news/fbi
On this day in 2016, 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed's family filed a lawsuit against the city of Irving, Texas, after he was racially profiled and arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school.
We learned from @milliedechirico.bsky.social's Professional Sweetheart newsletter that she's programming Pam Grier's (!) SOUL FLIX, so it's kinda like the TCM Underground is back as a Roku/Plex Channel. Congrats Millie! wschronicle.com/pam-griers-n...
VS open.spotify.com/track/5jQcJ2...
The Voting Rights Act, the watershed Civil Rights era law that has prevented attempts to dilute minority votes through racially gerrymandered electoral maps hundreds of times, turns 60 Wednesday. www.democracydocket.com/analysis/why...
"The National Park Service is planning to restore and reinstall a statue of Albert Pike, a Confederate general and Freemason leader, that was toppled during Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020." www.npr.org/2025/08/05/n...
On this day in 1942, Southern Railway adopted a policy effectively denying meal service to Black passengers on its trains. The U.S. government subsequently upheld this discriminatory policy.
But I thought this was a golden age where everything was about merit now...interesting. I'm guessing legacy admissions still isn't a problem though.
Betty Acquah is a contemporary Ghanaian painter who uses the technique of pointillism for her work in oil painting and acrylic #WomensArt
This is amazing. See detailed story in alt-text:
I asked Elizabeth Way, curator at The Museum at FIT, to recite Phillis Wheatley’s “On Being Brought from Africa to America.” Her inclusion gestures to her Ann Lowe exhibition in the same space, foregrounds the presence of black feminist voices, and nods to our friendship and intellectual exchange.
I share so much bad library news. Here's good news–and there's a big caveat because we know this was possible every year–but 11 more NYC public libraries will offer service 7 days a week with their 2026 budget: www.6sqft.com/11-more-nyc-...
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time directed by Traci A. Curry. Ryan & Zinzi Coogler are exec producers. "This powerful documentary is a devastatingly precise illustration of systemic failure, political impotence and media distortion. Even two decades later it feels relevant." #HurricaneKatrina
Since Ralph Lauren dropped their Oak Bluffs collection, I’ve received a steady stream of questions about the codes, institutions, and performances of class that shape elite African American communities. So I compiled a list of films and readings in response. instagram.com/p/DM7quPBM-sA
Public library budgets are being cut left, right, and center in 2025, and the situation is even worse and more urgent than last year. buttondown.com/wellsourced/...
MEDIA: Please report on the TX story w/context. Tx law requires redistricting every 10 years after census figures come in. TX did that. Trump, afraid to lose the midterms told Tx Republicans to find 5 more seats for the House. Meaning gerrymander away 5 Dem seats. The Republicans did it.
On this day in 1964, the bodies of three missing civil rights workers—James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner—were found in Longdale, Mississippi, shot and buried in a shallow grave.
1. On February 24, Extremity Care LLC, a company that sells very expensive bandages made from placentas, donated $5 MILLION TO TRUMP'S SUPER PAC Days later, Trump froze a pending rule that would BAR MEDICARE FROM COVERING EXTREMITY CARE'S PRODUCTS, which are overpriced & not backed by science.
Artist's impression of Trump's proposed extension to the White House:
Happy Birthday to the late James Baldwin. Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, in New York City.
The iconic debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley at Cambridge University. #JamesBaldwin
Happy Birthday James Baldwin, born Aug. 2, 1924. The Fire Next Time: "At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin's early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice" #booksky #Blackbooksky #JamesBaldwin
Public libraries are on the chopping block again in 2025: buttondown.com/wellsourced/...
On this day in 1900, North Carolina approved a literacy test voting requirement that was used to disenfranchise most Black people in the state.
The Beast had me caught up back in the day.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down operations after loss of federal funding:
20-day TBR book challenge. Choose 20 books on your current To-Be-Read shelf, pile, list... wherever! One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no expectations, just covers. #booksky #20TBRbookchallenge #diversebooksky
Totally normal question for a kid to ask. #TheBadSeed #TCMParty
20-day TBR book challenge. Choose 20 books on your current To-Be-Read shelf, pile, list... wherever! One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no expectations, just covers. #booksky #20TBRbookchallenge #diversebooksky
Excited to be returning to the Star Trek universe as Captain Sulu in the new original podcast series, Star Trek: Khan! Star Trek: Khan premieres on Star Trek Day, September 8. Follow the series wherever you get your podcasts today! link.podtrac.com/star-trek-khan
Um...what?
Happy Birthday 🎂 Mr. Buddy Guy. Mr. George “Buddy” Guy was born on July 30th, 1936, in Louisiana. Guy is one of the greatest blues performers alive.
🚨BREAKING: Republicans released their proposed Texas congressional map Wednesday, delivering on a request from President Donald Trump that could set off a nationwide redistricting battle between red states and blue states over control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm election.
The early recess called in the House of Representatives means that the Appropriations committee didn't yet markup the budget related to the future of the IMLS. What this means & what you can do to save public libraries & museums across the country: bookriot.com/imls-funding...
20-day TBR book challenge. Choose 20 books on your current To-Be-Read shelf, pile, list... wherever! One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no expectations, just covers. #booksky #20TBRbookchallenge #diversebooksky
Black families from all over the country flocked to Colorado’s Lincoln Hills during Jim Crow, a safe place for them to gather and relax Figures like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, W.E.B DuBois & more would hold literary salons there during visits
Recycled Reads, the Austin Public Library used bookstore on Burnet Road, will close by next spring if the proposed city budget is approved. Recycled Reads raises funds for the library system, so sure, makes sense. www.kut.org/austin/2025-...
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Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid stun at the press conference for #TheVampireLestat during 2025 San Diego Comic Con. #InterviewWithTheVampire #iwtv #tvl #SDCC #SDCC2025
Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, and Eric Bogosian sit down with MTV’s Josh Horowitz to tease #TheVampireLestat, lurking the fan edits on TikTok, and their past Comic Con experiences! Full interview at 2025 San Diego Comic-Con: youtu.be/FUI-AT_slQY?... #InterviewWithTheVampire #SDCC #SDCC2025 #iwtv
#BlackMusicSunday: A musical feast of festivals Please post info on upcoming festivals in your area that I didn’t cover in the story www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
Jacob Anderson references two songs in our IWTV #SDCC interview that are quite literally the greatest Loustat messy situationship vibes I could've ever hoped to hear. Welcome to Season 3. #InterviewWithTheVampire www.tvinsider.com/1205063/inte...
Whenever they want to cover some BRF mess, here they go with these articles.
#InterviewWithTheVampire #iwtv #iwtvsky #SDCC “Ehhh.” x “Enjoy the clowns.” — Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson’s fan encounter at 2025 San Diego Comic-Con. 📸 rosyroserm on IG
#InterviewWithTheVampire #iwtv #iwtvsky #SDCC AMCsAnneRice: “Scream for them”. Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid looking fabulous and posing in front of the Hilton Gaslamp Hotel at 2025 San Diego Comic-Con!
the most important part of this story is not that US diplomats asked if nonwhites qualify for Trump's South Africa refugee program but that Spencer Chretien--a high ranking appointee in Trump's State Department and former Associate Director of the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025--answered NO
#InterviewWithTheVampire #iwtv #iwtvsky #SDCC Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson, looking stunning, invited fans to join them tomorrow at the ‘Interview with the Vampire’ panel at San Diego Comic-Con tomorrow! 📸 @annerice.amc.com via IG
#musicsky #nowlistening #lelahhathaway
"It's not book banning. You can still buy them!" -- lies the bigot book banners tell. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
But the center has been reeling since the Trump administration terminated four of its grants, leading it to lay off half its staff and cut its hours.
Thank y'all for being patient! This week we talking that talk. Sometimes artists just had to get the words out plain; singing alone wasn't gonna do it. They needed to emphasize the point! For week 3 of #BlackMusicSummer, share songs where the monologue was the main feature.
Philadelphia needs welders. A Trump administration proposal would eliminate the agency helping to train them. New @inquirer.com www.inquirer.com/news/philade...
20-day TBR book challenge. Choose 20 books on your current To-Be-Read shelf, pile, list... wherever! One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no expectations, just covers. #booksky #20TBRbookchallenge #diversebooksky
Alice Ball. She developed the Ball method of treating leprosy in the early 20th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Ball #womenInSTEM
Now reading “But Will You Love Me Tomorrow? An Oral History of the ‘60’s Girl Groups” by Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz. #MusicSky #BookSky #NonFiction
What do you think of Polo Ralph Lauren for Oak Bluffs? One small gripe: the link being drawn between these HBCUs and Oak Bluffs feels a bit contrived. Both possess distinct cultural weight and don’t need to be conflated to be meaningful.
Writers: We just launched our EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION for our horror masterclass “Dark Dreams: Writing Horror That Kills” before the price goes to $497. (The class is 9/13, but if you register now, you get $200 off!) This is our final live class of 2025. Enrollment is limited. www.fearmasters.com
'Flourish' by LaToya Hobbs, contemporary US printmaker and co-founder of Black Women of Print #WomensArt
The Woman Who Lives in the Sun' (1960) by Inuk artist Kenojuak Ashevak #ReframingWomenPrintmakers
The current head of the DOJ's Civil Rights division who brokered this Columbia deal, Harmeet Dhillon, was mentored at Dartmouth in the 1980s by Prof. Jeffrey Hart. In 1977 Hart had written a newspaper Op-Ed entitled "Roots [the TV series] was a Racist Attack on White People."