Race, Identity & Culture
Black Power Scholar Illustrates How MLK And Malcolm X Influenced Each Other
In his book, The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., Peniel Joseph braids together the lives of the two civil rights leaders. He says that King and Malcolm X had "convergent visions" for Black America — but their strategies for how to reach the goal was informed by their different upbringings.
Janelle Monáe Wants To Represent The Underdog — In Music And Onscreen
Janelle Monáe is interested in what it means to represent minority groups in art and music. She's currently starring in the Amazon series 'Homecoming.' And her 2018 CD 'Dirty Computer' was named one of the top albums of the year.
On 'Pose,' Janet Mock Tells The Stories She Craved As A Young Trans Person
The same ball culture Janet Mock saw in Paris is Burning would come up again in her career, decades later. After launching a career in journalism, writing two memoirs and becoming a trans activist, Mock made history as the first trans woman of color to write and direct an episode of TV when she joined the production of Ryan Murphy's series Pose.
Filmmaker Lulu Wang Based 'The Farewell' On Her Family's Real-Life Lie
When Wang's grandmother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the family flew to China to see her, but decided not to tell her the prognosis. "I turned out to be a surprisingly good liar," Wang says.
'See You Tonight!' 'I Needed This!': How A Ritual Friday Gathering Brought Healing
Commentator Zahra Noorbakhsh remembers when a personal crisis and a tragedy across the world coincided and how community and ritual helped her through.
Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. On DNA Testing And Finding His Own Roots
As host of the PBS series Finding Your Roots, Gates tells celebrities about their family history. He reflects on his own history and some of the more controversial aspects of DNA testing.