#bcsintersections

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The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls

In January, pop icon Rihanna graced the cover of Essence, in an unusual and delightful collaboration with visual artist Lorna Simpson. These collages transform Rihanna’s hair into art - highlighting the range and natural beauty of Black women’s hair. These same themes are central to the stories that make up Keli Goff’s The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls. 

Simpson isn’t new to this work. In fact, in the introduction to her published collection of collages, poet Elizabeth Alexander describes Simpson’s work as demonstrating that "Black women's heads of hair are galaxies unto themselves, solar systems, moonscapes, volcanic interiors." 

Learn more about Lorna Simpson and her work here: https://lsimpsonstudio.com/

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The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls

Recent conversations about Black women’s hair have even reached Hollywood, with a number of actors sharing their experiences of discriminatory and harmful hairstyling on set. What does it say about our society that even in the highest echelons of the media, with the biggest budgets and the most cultural power, Black women and their hair still aren’t being respected?

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The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls

Hair has long been a hot topic across the whole African Diaspora - including in many Latinx communities. Check out this poem by Elizabeth Acevedo for an Afro-Latinx perspective on the nuances of Black hair.

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Richard & Jane & Dick & Sally

This play brings to light the complicated and manifold relationships that come with family structures. From Pose to black-ish to The Proud Family (who else is excited that this show is coming back?), there are so many diverse representations of family on television right now-- which is your favorite? 

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Thoughts of a Colored Man

The word “colored” carries a lot of history in America. In this print from artist Glenn Ligon, he interprets a quote from legendary anthropologist and writer Zora Neale Hurston: “I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background.”

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Men on Boats

From graffiti to cave paintings to tree etchings to social media, humans seem to have a deep impulse to go down in history. In Men on Boats, they name mountains, write journals, and mark maps. How do we create our legacies today? And why?

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Miss You Like Hell

“The monarch butterfly represents the beauty of migration. We belong to nature, and nature has no borders. The butterfly is a symbol for the right of all living beings to move freely. Like the monarch butterfly, human beings cross borders in search of safer habitats. Like the monarch butterfly, human beings cross borders in order to survive. In this figure, each wing shows a human profile. The phrase, "Migration is Beautiful," celebrates the resiliency, courage, and determination of migrants who come in search of their dreams.“

Art and words by Favianna Rodriguez

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Men on Boats

Can you spot Baltimore? Much like the expedition in Men on Boats, John Smith’s trip through the Chesapeake led to some of the earliest British maps of the mid-Atlantic. In fact, his description of the beautiful landscapes and pleasant weather here inspired Lord Baltimore to establish the colony that became the city we live in today. Of course, in doing so, Smith was complicit in Britain’s colonizing of the Americas and theft of indigenous land.

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Miss You Like Hell

The road trip that Beatriz and Olivia take in Miss You Like Hell is an American “tradition”-- but who has been allowed to participate in that tradition? It’s no surprise that Beatriz and Olivia are some of the only brown women who we’ve seen represented in this particular canonical journey.

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How to Catch Creation

Learn about some incredible Black women artists who, like the characters in How to Catch Creation, have been making dope art for a long time now. 

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Miss You Like Hell

As we see in Miss You Like Hell, tamales are a staple of many Latinx cuisines, embodying specific cultural traditions and unique family heritage. There are hundreds of variations, even just within Mexico, but which are the best?

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Twisted Melodies

Black folks experiencing mental illness, like Donny Hathaway, often face layers of stigma. Listen as Taraji P. Henson breaks down the importance of destigmatizing Black mental health.

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Thoughts of a Colored Man

“Nike Air Force 1s were sacred in my town, and still are. We Baltimoreans call them “Airs” because they’re as important to us as oxygen.“

Sneakers are a fundamental cultural icon in many black communities. In Thoughts, everyone is trying to get the newest pair of Jordans. In this article, D. Watkins writes about Baltimore’s favorite sneakers, Nike Air Force 1s. 

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Thoughts of a Colored Man

Like playwright Keenan Scott II, Baltimore photographer Gioncarlo Valentine explores the complexity and constraints of black masculinity. Read up on his work and check out his art in the BCS lobby!

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Thoughts of a Colored Man

In Thoughts of a Colored Man, we hear the way that athletes exist in a unique sociopolitical position bolstered by racist histories, policies, and stereotypes. Author and Advocate Tariq Touré also tackles this complex positionality, focusing on athletes engaged in protest against police brutality.  

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Fun Home

Joan and Alison never would have gotten together in Fun Home if Joan hadn’t made a move. So for Valentine’s Day, we give you the gift of this Dykes to Watch Out For cartoon and hope that it inspires you.