Bernice Johnson Reagon, US civil rights activist and singer, dies aged 81
Reagon used her stirring alto and lyrics to fight racism, and was a music scholar and professor emeritus of history
Fascinating Olympians
Abused, expelled, orphaned at eight months: how athlete Bob Beamon beat the odds – and became a legend
In 1968, in one of the top five Olympic moments of the last century, the long jumper made a leap so jaw-dropping it inspired the superlative Beamonesque. He discusses pride, pressure and the politics of that momentous Summer Games
History for Tomorrow by Roman Krznaric review – looking back, moving forward
From Arab scholars to hippy mothers, can history offer forgotten answers to modern problems?
June 2024
James Lawson Jr, civil rights activist and nonviolent protest pioneer, dies aged 95
Reverend, pastor and professor, who was a close adviser to Martin Luther King Jr, dies in Los Angeles after short illness
May 2024
TV review
The Big Cigar review – proof that Hollywood can’t be trusted to tell the stories of Black radicals
This drama about a fake movie fabricated to let Black Panther fugitive Huey P Newton flee to Cuba in the 70s not only dilutes the story of a Black leader – it centres the white characters. Eyes will roll
April 2024
Ruby Bridges: civil rights pioneer rejects claim book makes white children uncomfortable
The Audio Long Read
Solidarity and strategy: the forgotten lessons of truly effective protest – podcast
The photographer who captured Black San Francisco in the 1960s: ‘We wouldn’t have seen it without him’
Martin Luther King Jr’s family to visit Memphis on anniversary of his murder
March 2024
A new moment to arise: Beyoncé’s cover of the Beatles’ Blackbird is a timely masterstroke
The long read
Solidarity and strategy: the forgotten lessons of truly effective protest
February 2024
Opinion
Gaza’s social media activists are a potent force for change in the fight against racism
Kenneth Mohammed
Do not dismiss the new breed of protesters: they are following in the grand tradition of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Rosa Parks
January 2024
John Lewis review: superb first biography of a civil rights hero
With In Search of the Beloved Community, Raymond Arsenault delivers a fitting tribute to the late Democrat from Georgia
‘His dream’s been weaponized into his nightmare’: how Martin Luther King Jr’s words have been co-opted
Politicians and celebrities routinely twist the message of the civil rights icon, turning a radical legacy into revisionist history
‘He’d been through the fire’: John Lewis, civil rights giant, remembered
Biographer Raymond Arsenault discusses the man who marched with King, then became the conscience of Congress
December 2023
Politics Weekly America
Revisited: Al Sharpton on 60 years since the march on Washington – podcast
Tom Smothers of sibling comedy duo the Smothers Brothers dies at age 86
The Observer's obituaries of 2023
Harry Belafonte remembered by David Lammy
Memoir by Beyoncé’s father Mathew Knowles to become feature film
November 2023
Invisible Generals review: vital story of Black US military heroes
Benjamin O Davis Sr and Jr suffered from heinous racism. Doug Melville, a descendant, is determined to do them justice
Fascinating OlympiansAbused, expelled, orphaned at eight months: how athlete Bob Beamon beat the odds – and became a legendIn 1968, in one of the top five Olympic moments of the last century, the long jumper made a leap so jaw-dropping it inspired the superlative Beamonesque. He discusses pride, pressure and the politics of that momentous Summer Games
TV reviewThe Big Cigar review – proof that Hollywood can’t be trusted to tell the stories of Black radicalsThis drama about a fake movie fabricated to let Black Panther fugitive Huey P Newton flee to Cuba in the 70s not only dilutes the story of a Black leader – it centres the white characters. Eyes will roll
