Talking the Chain of Ideas, America’s 250th anniversary with Ibram X. Kendi

Juneteenth has passed, but our celebration of Black culture doesn’t end there.
June also marks Black Music Month, first recognized under President Carter in 1979 to commemorate the multitude of ways Black music has shaped American life—its influence on popular genres like rock and roll and pop, its innovation and expression through hip hop culture, and its raw, radical messaging in the hands of truth-tellers like Billie Holiday.

Imari Paris Jeffries, Ta-Nehisi Coates talk 250 years of America

On Saturday at Faneuil Hall, Embrace President and CEO Imari Paris Jeffries, Ph.D., sat down with Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of Between the World and Me, The Message, and Black Panther, for an honest accounting of America’s first 250 years and a critical discussion about its next 250.

Reflecting on the Revolution at 250: A Fireside Chat with Ta-Nehisi Coates and Dr. Imari Paris Jeffries

A fireside chat with award‑winning writer and journalist Ta‑Nehisi Coates and Dr. Imari Paris Jeffries, president and CEO of Embrace Boston, reflecting on the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, Boston’s revolutionary legacy, and realizing the promises of the Revolution today.

The Sounds Of Our Souls

Juneteenth has passed, but our celebration of Black culture doesn’t end there.
June also marks Black Music Month, first recognized under President Carter in 1979 to commemorate the multitude of ways Black music has shaped American life—its influence on popular genres like rock and roll and pop, its innovation and expression through hip hop culture, and its raw, radical messaging in the hands of truth-tellers like Billie Holiday.

How a Minneapolis man became “Dissent Dad” in the face of ICE’s blitz

For Twin Cities residents, the upheaval is just the latest trauma to hit Minneapolis and St. Paul, which also witnessed and protested the murders of Philando Castile and George Floyd in the last 10 years.
That’s why one, a father of two, refuses to be silent—both in calling out injustice and creating the community he wants for himself and his family—not matter what it costs.

Grief in a zero-sum America

There are seasons when a nation mistakes speed for clarity. When information multiplies but wisdom thins. And when outrage travels faster than understanding. This feels like one of those seasons. We are awash in data. We can measure almost anything. We can predict markets, track storms, map genomes, and automate memory.

Jesse Jackson and the arc of Black hope

A population stuck in survival mode cannot organize, cannot protest, and cannot imagine an alternative. When hunger becomes normalized, it becomes far more insidious.

The requirement of memory

A population stuck in survival mode cannot organize, cannot protest, and cannot imagine an alternative. When hunger becomes normalized, it becomes far more insidious.