Suggested Social Media for Week 1: A Twitter list for Black news

Today in Racial Injustice: Martin Luther King Jr. (click to learn more at EJI.org)

Welcome to BlackLight! In our first (and future) posts, we’ll be offering long and short reads, video content, and suggested social media follows. Check back every day for a brand new way to learn about and engage with the Black experience in America.

We have some regular features that recur each week. Today (and on following Wednesdays), check out our Suggested Social list for new voices to add to your Twitter feed, and websites to put in your daily rotation. Weekdays, we’ll feature short reads and videos you can check out on your lunch break. On Saturdays, we suggest longform reading, and activities to help shift your perspective. Sundays are movie nights, and we have some great feature films and documentary series lined up.

This week, we begin our journey through the lens of activism and the arts. Art (including music, dance, poetry, among other genres) can be not only an expression of experience, but a powerful vector for change.

Clint Smith is an accomplished artist, educator, and author, currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Harvard. In 2014, Smith gave a TED talk entitled “The Danger of Silence”, in which he implores us to be conscious and speak one’s truth. You can also follow him on Twitter: @ClintSmithIII 

When you’re finished with Smith’s talk, we encourage you to soundtrack the rest of your day with the most recent album from A Tribe Called Quest, entitled We Got It From Here, Thank You 4 Your Service. Below you can check out one of the tracks from that album, We the People.