I SEE U

Legendary singer-songwriter Luther Vandross pioneered a golden age of silky-smooth R&B and passionate slow jams. In addition to countless hits and platinum albums, he earned eight Grammy Awards , including ‘Song of the Year’ in 2004 for “ Dance With My Father ” – a track that was released while he was hospitalized after suffering from a stroke . He studied from the best at a young age, spendin...

Ballet traces its origins to the 15th century and the Italian Renaissance . But the art form has continued to evolve, with choreographers and dancers creatively incorporating new interpretations reflective of contemporary culture. Despite its evolution, today’s ballet still lacks dancers of color, especially in principal roles. Trailblazer Lauren Anderson was one of the first Black dancers to clim...

Despite a highly successful acting career with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, Luis Guzmán never really wanted to be an actor. He was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Loísada , the name given to Manhattan’s Lower East Side by the massive working-class Puerto Rican community that migrated to New York in the 1950s. Loísada was also a hot bed for activism, with residents coming together to f...

In 1974, CBS premiered Good Times , a TV sitcom that would showcase the first Black mother and Black father on screen – two parents, trying to make ends meet, while raising three children. Set in a public housing project in the south side of Chicago, Good Times elevated stories of struggle – the joy, the pain and the dreams of a determined Evans family during the economically turbulent 1970s. With...

Celebrated author of the award-winning book,  The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap , Mehrsa Baradaran states that when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, Blacks had 0.5% of the nation’s wealth . This statistic makes sense, since Blacks weren’t allowed to own capital as enslaved people — their bodies were, indeed, the capital used to develop lending in this count...

There are 64 million Latinos in the United States – nearly 20% of the population. By 2050, it’s projected that a third of the country’s population will be Latino. But despite being such a significant part of the country, Latinos are still often viewed as being immigrants, not fully American – even though they’ve been a part of American life for centuries. Join us as host Eddie Robinson chats candi...

Critically acclaimed musician, Samora Pinderhughes has emerged as one of the most conscientious performers of the moment. The multidisciplinary artist has collaborated with a plethora of musicians, including Herbie Hancock , Common , Robert Glasper , Jill Scott , Sara Bareilles , Daveed Diggs and Lalah Hathaway , just to name a few. Pinderhughes is a filmmaker, a composer and a pianist, and he’s k...

With his signature voice and charismatic presence, legendary actor Keith David has starred in almost 400 projects, including film, television, stage and interactive media. From devils to angels, David has played just about every kind of role you can think of – including voice work in Disney and Manga animation , to roles in classic horror and comedy, to small time crooks and mega-church preachers....

Country music is often referred to as the quintessential American music – and yet the contributions and influences of Black Americans is often erased and ignored. A prime example: Members of the Carter family were among country music’s first big stars, producing some of the earliest commercial recordings in the 1920s. While the Carters are celebrated to this day, few know the name of Lesley Riddle...

Country star Reyna Roberts was born two months prematurely, at just two pounds. Her doctors feared developmental issues; so, her mother – a student at the University of Alaska – teamed up with professors to develop a unique music therapy to aid in her cognitive growth. The therapy not only worked, but it also gave Roberts a deep-seated passion for music. While she is a classically trained pianist...

‘ Peanuts ’ creator Charles Schulz once shared that a news editor from the South told him, “I don’t mind you having a Black character [on your comic strip], but please don’t show them in school together.” Racial tensions were heated back then when Schultz introduced Franklin , the first Black character in ‘ Peanuts ,’ in July of 1968—just three months after the assassination of civil rights icon,...

In many ways, Texas is representative of the demographic and economic dynamism of America. The Lone Star State is very diverse with Latinos as the largest ethnic group; plus, it boasts the largest African American population in the country. Despite the sweeping demographic change of the last few decades, Texas remains deeply conservative with only one Black and one Latino among statewide elected o...

Arguably, the state of Texas’ most famous death row exoneree,  Anthony Charles Graves  spent nearly 20 years in prison for a  brutal crime  that he did not commit, including 12 years on death row — all while receiving two execution dates. Since his release more than a decade ago, Graves has been working extensively with the justice system that mistakenly put him behind bars in the first place! Joi...

Media depictions of Black men historically have been centered around not so flattering stereotypes: unintelligent, lazy, prone to violence, hypersexual — and worst of all, criminal and dangerous. When he’s out in public, acclaimed actor Eric Kofi Abrefa tells I SEE U he has to be make himself small and always be conscious of not appearing too aggressive. He’s garnered a growing fanbase because of...

Ibram X. Kendi  is a National Book Award-winning and #1  New York Times  bestselling author who has dedicated his life to educating all Americans, from grade school to adults, on the unvarnished history of the United States. His latest release,  Barracoon: Adapted for Young Readers , is a middle-grade offering for the critically acclaimed  Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo,”  written b...

Are concepts of race and racism so embedded in our culture, that kids as young as 3 have a racial identity? How do environment and family dynamics impact a child’s perceived sense of self? These were just some of the questions a husband-and-wife team of psychologists asked during their groundbreaking investigation of the racial formation of young Black children. During the 1940s, Kenneth and Mamie...

Racism is deeply complex and multifaceted, especially when a historically marginalized group can experience discrimination while simultaneously be discriminatory. Take for instance, the gunman who committed the 2023 mass shooting at an outlet mall some 25 miles north of Dallas; the arsonist who set fire to a mosque in Victoria, Texas; or the former national chairman of the right-wing extremist gro...

When a defiant opponent of the apartheid government was assassinated during the Easter weekend in 1993, South Africans were certain that all hell would break loose. The country was slowly moving towards the dismantling of the apartheid system and transition to a true democracy. But the murder of Chris Hani , carried out by a white supremacist in broad daylight, threatened to provoke a civil war an...

His father, born into slavery, had become one of the first African American millionaires in the United States. His mother, though devoted to Black civil rights, was a renowned actress and had kept her racial background a secret. And in 1897, Alonzo and Adrienne Herndon had a son – their only child – named  Norris Herndon , who would become the second President, inherited by his father, of the hist...

Community organizer Daniel Banks describes the aura of a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium in Fort Worth, Texas as having “blood in the bricks.” Banks is involved with a project designed to confront the painful histories of this nation by stimulating dialogue and promoting human rights for all. Built in 1924, the intimidating 22,000-foot, imposing red-brick building once served as headquarters, both...

As we honor and pay tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on this national holiday weekend, many Black American parents are taking this opportunity to educate their children—and have THE TALK , an unguarded conversation about racism, discrimination and the richness of Black culture. Those sometimes difficult conversations served as inspiration for children’s book author, Tami Charles – w...

W hether U are a Republican, a Democrat, or neither, why do U think there still exists such deep divides in this country ? Why do we have a never-ending fight for a democracy , that is for everybody ? In 1960 at an elementary school in New Orleans , why was there so much hate from outraged protesters, white parents, who were yelling and shouting at a Black six-year-old girl who simply wanted a bet...

Four of the largest cities in the United States are currently run by African Americans. What do U think this says about our nation when four prominent, elected officials of color have been chosen and trusted to lead four of the biggest metropolitan regions of the country? And out of each of these four mayors:  Eric Adams  of New York City;  Karen Bass  of Los Angeles;  Brandon Johnson  of Chicago;...

Clean energy researcher  Roishetta Ozane  is a single mother of six children and lives in a Louisiana town that scientists have called, "the heart of America's climate crisis." With her Lake Charles-area home surrounded by refineries, natural gas facilities and petrochemical plants, her family has been inundated with ‘shelter-in-place' alerts and storm-related emergency alarms throughout their liv...

Six-time Grammy winner and electronic DJ, Sonny Moore, aka  Skrillex , recently released a trove of new music after a nearly decade-long hiatus of full-length solo material. Through a mutual friend, the visionary producer was introduced to a Palestinian vocalist by the name of  Nai Barghouti  – an acclaimed composer and flute player who's notably famous for creating her own signature fusion of jaz...