Contents

Issue No. 720

PAGE 82

"It's a Wonder to see young people of all colors leading the charge." —BILLY PORTER

Features

72 A Beautiful Life

BY TA-NEHISI COATES PHOTOGRAPHS BY LATOYA RUBY FRAZIER

Before she was killed by the police, before her name was a rallying cry, she was a mother's daughter. The life and death of Breonna Taylor, as told by Tamika Palmer.

82 You Said Hope

A PHOTO PORTFOLIO ESSAY BY JACQUELINE WOODSON

The call to action set forth by the Black Lives Matter movement is being answered in the halls of Congress, in Hollywood pitch meetings, and all across the American cultural landscape.

102 Witness and Respair

BY JESMYN WARD PAINTING BY CAUDA RAWLES

A personal tragedy left the author grieving in the middle of the pandemic. Then the protests began.

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Features

106 True Stories About the Great Fire

AN ORAL HISTORY

The story of how the largest protest movement in decades came to be, as told by those who lived it.

114 The Herald

BY AVA DuVERNAY PHOTOGRAPH BY DEANA LAWSON

What has—and hasn't— changed in the fight for racial justice in the Black Lives Matter era? A conversation with Angela Davis, elder state swoman of the revolution.

118 The Game

BY BOMANI JONES PHOTOGRAPH BY HANK WILLIS THOMAS

College athletics are big business, and none is bigger than football. Yet the players receive no pay— the only power they have is their voice.

124 Mississippi A Poem, in Days

BY KIESE MAKEBA LAYMON PAINTING BY DIANA EJAITA

The writer, on book tour across the country as the pandemic set in, reflects on what could have been worse—and what could be better.

EPIC 1,075,940

Number of signatures on Black Lives Matter Utah founder Lex Scott's Change.org police reform bill petition [P. 106]

I believe that very small and local acts are the foundation of effective activism -KILLER MIKE, "YOU SAID HOPE," P. 82

PAGE 138

"I just try to be a vessel for each story and tell the truth."

Features

130 Blue Bloods

BY EVE L. EWING ILLUSTRATION BY SHAWN MARTINBROUGH

A web of police unions have little to do with labor rights; they are dangerous fraternities for the uniformed.

134 Abolition's Promise

BY JOSIE DUFFY RICE ILLUSTRATION BY SHAWN MARTINBROUGH

Policing in America has been broken since its inception. The answer to reforming a system too far gone is a total revolution.

138 Kindred Spirit

BY K. AUSTIN COLLINS PHOTOGRAPHS BY RUTH OSSAI

The Guyanese-British actor Letitia Wright takes on the role of a real-life revolutionary in Steve McQueen's new series, Small Axes.

Vanities

53

53 / Opening Act

Sisters and musical duo Chloe x Halle get their best advice from Beyonce.

55 / Fashion

Christopher John Rogers, who has outfitted Michelle Obama, on church fashion, the power of glitter, and finding his people.

56 / Shopping

This fall's best pieces, from pearl earrings like dewdrops to a sky-blue bag.

58 / Beauty

Red carpet hairstylist Lacy Redway finds inspiration in '60s photographs, Nina Simone, and childhood braids.

62 / Art

Members of the art world weigh in on the industry's racism, and a way forward.

64 / The Gallery

A timeless diamond-dotted bangle.

66 / Take Note

A script honors the life of Gone With the Wind's Hattie McDaniel.

Columns

68 Uptown, Minneapolis, June 2020

BY DANEZ SMITH PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREA ELLEN REED

Storefronts are draped in Black Lives Matter murals. Are these corporate gestures more than performative?

42 Editor's Letter

48 Behind the Cover

50 Contributors

150 Proust Questionnaire

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