‘Sing Sing’ (2024) starring Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo will be the first film released simultaneously in 45 states to individuals incarcerated with access to Edovo tablets. The film is also produced by Domingo who endorsed — as the top-actor on the call sheet — addressing wage-disparities by ensuring the entire cast and crew would receive the same wages. […] The post ‘Sing Sing’ (A24) | First Film Released in Theaters and Prisons Simultaneously first appeared on The Black Youth Project ..read more

By Terrence F. Chappell “What your mom did to you, you’re doing to me. You treat me exactly the same way your mom treated you.” My sister didn’t yell this to our mother. Her tone was much more purposeful and so it demanded much more attention. Her words authored a truth that forced my mom […] The post Intergenerational Trauma is Gendered first appeared on The Black Youth Project ..read more

Editor’s Note: This essay contains descriptions of anti-Black and anti-queer violence. Sometimes, I give white people the wrong directions when they get lost. For awhile, this was on accident. I am horrible with directions, and so I wouldn’t even know I was pointing them the wrong way. But mostly when I do this today, it […] The post Giving Gentrifiers the Wrong Directions first appeared on The Black Youth Project ..read more

By Jordie Davies This holiday season, many of us will return home to our families, who, even though they love us very much and we love them, may hold different political beliefs. It won’t be easy. The current political moment is an especially tough one if you or your loved ones voted for different presidential […] The post Dealing with Politically Different Family this Holiday first appeared on The Black Youth Project ..read more

This week, as a part of our features series, we have a film review of Nickel Boys, directed by RaMell Ross. The review, by the Chicago-based Associate Editor at Roger Ebert, Robert Daniels, can be found here; read about why the film deserved a 4/4 star review and check it out when it hits theaters […] The post Film Review of ‘Nickel Boys’ by Critic Robert Daniels first appeared on The Black Youth Project ..read more

By Sherronda  J. Brown Seems like every year I learn some new factoid about how plantations operated during the time of chattel slavery of African peoples in the Americas. I inevitably come across another unfortunate piece of knowledge that I wish I never had to know. At the same time, I always understand how it’s […] The post Forbidden Laughter: The History of Laughing Barrels first appeared on The Black Youth Project ..read more

by Mustafa Ali-Smith, Originally posted on June 30, 2020 As protests continue on both the national and global scale, widespread call-to-actions ramp up. Dismantling, defunding, and divesting from the police and providing police-free schools are becoming a part of everyday conversations. Early educational institutions have even begun to respond to these call-to-actions by ending their […] The post A New Education System without Police first appeared on The Black Youth Project ..read more

By Quintessa Williams Originally Published: October, 2nd 2024 In 2022, when Southern red states followed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s restrictions on teaching Black history in classrooms, Black communities in the Sunshine State and beyond found a solution by bringing back Freedom Schools. The resurgence of Freedom Schools is a powerful countermeasure to the growing trend […] The post Can Freedom Schools Fill Educational Gaps for Black Students? first appeared on The Black Youth Project ..read more

by Alicia Kamil “I wrote this piece around gentrification in Chicago. This then trigged the idea to start a series documenting/commentating on the racist institutional devices that tragically are imbedded within our city. Words hold power, and I want to use mine to further the foundational conversations about what we can do to heal our […] The post Gentrify Series: A Home for a Home first appeared on The Black Youth Project ..read more

by E’mon Lauren Bless Chicago, a crafty caucus, we cocooned in. a kid’s folded cot and cubby. we the poster childs. the classes, the pastels and pastillage. we be born here. we burn the bridges, the borders. the blues, crossing and cutting, our lines, a Van Gogh. our skyline, a Monet we walk through. we […] The post Bless, a poem by E’mon Lauren first appeared on The Black Youth Project ..read more