Paying Homage
A verified registry of the people building, making, and shaping what shows up on black.wiki. Over time, verified entries will receive plaques, certificates, and contributor cards — a durable record of who put in the work.
James Baldwin — The Fire Next Time
1963 essay collection arguing that Black America's survival depends on white America's reckoning.
Janelle Monáe — Dirty Computer
2018 album and emotion picture that exploded sci-fi, Afrofuturism, and queer Black identity.
Janet Jackson — janet.
Janet Jackson's 1993 album — the lowercase title was a statement of intimacy.
Janet Jackson — The Velvet Rope
1997 album that opened up Black female vulnerability in the public-facing mainstream.
Jay Z — The Blueprint
2001 Jay Z album released on September 11, 2001.
Jesmyn Ward — Sing, Unburied, Sing
2017 novel and second National Book Award winner — Mississippi Gulf Coast family on a road trip to a penitentiary.
Jimi Hendrix — Star Spangled Banner
Jimi Hendrix's 1969 Woodstock performance of the national anthem.