Portraits of Survival: COVID and Community Strength Through an Artist’s Eyes
For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.When shelter-in-place orders swept the country in March, Ashima Yadava’s first thought was not just to rush home safely to California from New York, but to find ways to make more visible—and help alleviate—a threat indoors. Domestic violence…
A Portrait of a “Last Responder”: The Funeral Director Serving Louisiana’s Virus-Stricken Communities
For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.Courtney Baloney’s funeral home sits in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. It’s not far from New Orleans. It’s also not far from the more than 100 petrochemical facilities that line a stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge,…
These Photos of Kids Protesting Systemic Racism Will Give You Hope for the Future
For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.As protests against systemic racism swept through the boroughs of New York City earlier this summer, Brooklyn-based photographer Ximena Natera looked for a different perspective. She found it by going low, literally—focusing on the youngest voices trying to be heard at the marches. Using…
In Dawoud Bey’s Photography, the Past Isn’t Past
“It begins with the subject,” Dawoud Bey has said of his photography. “A deep interest in wanting to describe the Black subject in a way that’s as complex as the experiences of anyone else. It’s meant to kind of reshape the world one person at a time.” It is an audacious mission, but Bey’s work—now…
Books Have the Power to Rehabilitate. But Prisons Are Blocking Access to Them.
Behind the walls of California State Prison, Sacramento, six inmates gather in the library for their weekly short-story club. The librarian introduces the day’s pick, Doris Lessing’s A Sunrise on the Veld, and the men take turns reading it aloud. Some of them lean forward in their chairs as they listen; one traces the words…
On The Road with Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors have built a sizable following over nearly 15 years of making songs that explore themes of love, kinship, and perseverance shaded with just enough wit and honesty to ground it in reality. They recently wrapped up their tour for Dragons, Holcomb’s ninth studio album that came out earlier this year.…