I was headed into middle school, just starting to develop an independent identity, my own taste in music. This meant I was distancing myself from my parents. Ironically, the catalyst for my change occurred while I sat beside them, riding shotgun in their car, fiddling with the radio dial, and finding 95.5 WBRU. “Closer” by […]
In 1968, The Beatles released one of the most highly regarded albums in popular music, The White Album. And in 2003, Jay-Z, in stark contrast, released his magnum opus, The Black Album. We associate a blackwash with things somber and final. But Motif’s Black History Month Issue is anything but. Featuring the artwork of Jordan […]
Grace Church Cemetery is a few blocks from my house. I like walking through cemeteries, I like reading the names, I like reading the inscriptions: There is one link that death cannot sever/ a loving remembrance lasts forever. If you enter the cemetery on Elmwood Ave, one of the first headstones you’ll see reads: RICH […]
It’s 1875, a year before Edward Mitchell Bannister becomes the first Black painter to win a nationally recognized award. He and his wife Christiana Carteaux Bannister are taking a slow stroll down Westminster St. towards the bridge crossing the Woonasquatucket River. They are coming from her salon, where she operates as a successful “hair-doctress” for […]
Last summer, a statue of a bronze man sitting alone on a bench appeared in PVD’s Market Square. Although he can’t introduce himself, his bench bears his name: Edward Mitchell Bannister (1828-1901). If you aren’t familiar with Bannister, you likely know the Providence Art Club, which he helped found. During his life, Bannister was considered […]
Julius Kolawole works with a young volunteer to plant seeds. Photos courtesy of the African Alliance of RI. There is nothing that defines a culture more intrinsically than its food. The food a region eats is the first clue to its geography. A society on the ocean, in a humid climate, is more likely to […]
Anti-Robot Club (ARC) is a community that is constantly looking to expand and provide new opportunities for creatives to display their talents and reach a wider audience. Their tagline states they are “dedicated to the preservation of mankind through a series of social gatherings and creative campaigns.” The marketplaces they host throughout the year feature […]
Stages of Freedom, an award-winning nonprofit organization, strives to educate the public about Rhode Island’s history – the positive and the negative – by providing a variety of offerings while “building bridges across cultural divides through exciting public engagement.” “Rhode Island’s Black history is unlike any other in the country,” says Stages of Freedom cofounder […]
August 1st is a holy day: part reunion, communion, and boot camp. The sun, peering from the sky. Waiting. Witnessing. Arms folded watching our boys march onto the barren fields, lined with bleachers and baby sisters. August 1st – the start of youth football season. I remember my son’s first summer. Sending him to the […]
Dewayne “Boo” Hackney is a legendary community organizer, barber, father, husband, brother, musician, and so much more. His commitment to justice especially here in Providence cements his legacy as one of our City’s most Beloved Community heroes. This piece is dedicated to my brother, Bucky. He paid the price of allowing me to do this […]