The Lead · History
Editorial Desk
History remembers him as the man who compromised. The record suggests he was playing a longer, more sophisticated game than his critics — or his admirers — fully recognized.
On the shelf
From the archive
Black Media and the Question of Infrastructure
Representation was never the finish line. The real question has always been who controls the platforms through which Black stories are told, preserved, and remembered.
By Editorial Desk · 8 min
Own Your Domain
Social media gave Black creators the largest audiences in the history of the internet. The platforms kept the infrastructure. That trade is worth reconsidering.
By Editorial Desk · 9 min
Nikki Giovanni and the Discipline of Voice
In an era that rewarded performance, she chose precision. In a culture that demanded alignment, she chose complexity. That discipline is what made her voice last.
By Editorial Desk · 8 min
Robert Smalls and the Theft of Freedom
He stole a Confederate warship in the middle of the night, sailed it past five checkpoints, and delivered it to the Union Navy. Then he went to Congress. The story of Robert Smalls is the story of what Black Americans did with freedom the moment it became possible to seize it.
By Editorial Desk · 10 min
Before the Panels: Black Women and the Fight to Own Their Stories in Comics
The comic book industry spent decades deciding which stories were worth telling. In 1993, a group of Black women — and the movement they helped build — decided to answer that question themselves.
By Editorial Desk · 12 min
Thomas Sowell and the Discipline of Clarity
For over fifty years, Thomas Sowell has asked uncomfortable questions, refused easy answers, and built one of the most influential bodies of work in modern economic thought. Whether you agree with him or not, ignoring him is no longer an option.
By Editorial Desk · 10 min
The Library
Reference works we return to.
In this powerful essay, Shelby Steele examines how a new form of racial segregation has emerged in America—not enforced by law, but driven by the politics of race and victimhood.
In this 2019 Manhattan Institute report, economist Glenn C. Loury explores the persistence of racial disparities in the United States.
In this 21-page monograph, Thomas Sowell examines the popular political rhetoric of “trickle-down economics” and “tax cuts for the rich.”
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