Special Report

Reporting Black America

This is the work of the NYU Journalism undergraduate class, Reporting Black America and of one grad student, Sughnen Yongo-Okochi. She is working with the class as part of an  independent study.

Black Lives Matter, police shootings, stop and frisk, racism, violence, murder and incarceration dominates the news cycle. But being Black in America is so much more.There are 46.8  million people who identify as Black in the United States, and the population is growing. Black people are diverse.  Many are descendants of slaves, others are recent immigrants, from immigrant families or multiracial. Black people trend younger. One in four are Gen Z and use social media for social activism. A growing share of Black people have college degrees. That number has doubled since 2000. Black political leadership is growing and changing how many view black lives.

There are so many stories to tell. Join us as we report on Black America.

Special Report: Reporting Black America

Sonic Serenity: A review of the music that carried Black folks through 2021

Music has the power to soothe and re-situate. The right song can transport you back in time to a place […]

Vanessa Handy • December 16, 2021

Special Report: Reporting Black America

Despite uptick in diversity numbers, Black students say inclusive spaces are rare

 Along with the fact that NYU’s claims about diversity are not reflected in the number of Black students in the classrooms, the environment for Black students is also a point of concern in terms of microaggressions and other inconveniences.

Sanya Khurana • December 16, 2021

Special Report: Reporting Black America

African students says mispronouncing their names is a form of racism

The way people in America make her and other Africans feel about their names is yet another form of racist micro-aggressions.

Eniola Oshiafi • December 16, 2021

Special Report: Reporting Black America

Young adult Black immigrants forge new lives and battle racial inequalities

More than a quarter of Black immigrants have college degrees and 74 percent of them are fluent in English, 24 percent higher than all immigrants. 

Shawn Kang • December 13, 2021

Special Report: Reporting Black America

The Chaotic Birth of a Coffee Shop

In February of 2020, after building the store front with his father, and only a few weeks before COVID, Lynch and the family finally opened Downtown Coffeehouse in the Lower East Side.

Austin Barron • December 12, 2021

Special Report: Reporting Black America

Afrobeat musicians make strides

"I was like, wait, why am I not emphasizing my own people, my own skin, because in the end it’s simple; black, of course is beautiful.”

Kirill Bykanov • December 11, 2021

Special Report: Reporting Black America

Black photographer’s work reveals the power and beauty of Blackness

His models hold their heads high, often looking down the barrel of the lens, their faces stoic, powerful.

Austin Barron • November 28, 2021

Special Report: Reporting Black America

For young Indo-Caribbean adults, culture is complex and a source of pride

Ambivalence to Indo-Caribbean culture is reflected in systems of racial identification, as seen on the census or official U.S. documents, that have historically reduced racial and ethnic identities to a matter of boxes and labels.

Vanessa Handy • November 28, 2021

Special Report: Reporting Black America

Challenges persist for Black women who seek degrees in STEM

Only 2 percent of practicing scientists and engineers in the U.S. are Black women.

George Papazov • November 27, 2021

Special Report: Reporting Black America

Black bookstore owner say last year’s surging sales was part of anti-racism movement

 Many who got caught up in the Black Lives Movement during summer 2020, bought one or two books from Black-owned bookstores, and then never went back.

Eniola Oshiafi • November 27, 2021