After my years of activism in Atlanta, I moved to Oakland, where I worked at the Transgender Law Center. In San Francisco, Aria is an important and influen

Naomi Osaka could settle for just being excellent. At 23, she’s already one of the greatest tennis players in the world. It would be easy for her to stay

In Amy Sherald’s second commissioned painting — which graced the August 2020 issue of Vanity Fair — a regal Breonna Taylor stands dressed in vibrant

It’s been months since most of us have booked a spontaneous girls trip, enjoyed a low-lit celebratory meal inside of a restaurant, or swayed to the beat

On September 23, former officer Brett Hankinson, one of three officers responsible for Breonna Taylor’s murder, was charged with three counts of wanton e

What 2020's Biggest Fashion Trends Really Mean.

When things feel particularly heavy and out of control in the world –– like say, most of 2020 has been –– for many, there’s an almost suffocating

Have you been “challenged” yet? If you’re a woman with an Instagram account in the year of our lord 2020, then there’s a good chance you have been

We are navigating unprecedented times. And while Black Americans are no strangers to struggle (see: the timeline of the last 400 years), things feel partic

May 26, 2020 was a day like any other.  Wake up, brew coffee, grab phone, hit the Instagram timeline for updates. Scrollllll…  George Floyd. George

Every year — draped in stars and stripes — the majority of America celebrates July 4 as Independence Day. But what is the Fourth of July to the enslave

Four years ago, on my 20th birthday, I went out to dinner with a group of friends. It wasn’t long before one of them — a close friend — said that on

On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger read “General Order No. 3” to enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas. “The people of Texas a

“I’m sick of them telling us lies, Auntie,” my 12-year-old niece Arianna said to me one day after school, fed up with what she was learning in h

Dear R29’ers, former and present, We’ve read and heard the accounts by many of you about your experience of working at Refinery29. Even though we’re

White people talk about how they can't wait for things to "get back to normal." But the past two months have shown "normal" still includes the murder of Bl

It’s been about two months since most US cities closed all non-essential businesses in order to help flatten the coronavirus curve. While we’ve heard a

Becoming a mom is tough. And with Black women being three to four times more likely to die before, during, and after childbirth than white women in the Uni