Blackstack: Black Creators on Substack to Follow
Black creators are always at the forefront of culture and innovation.
Content Focus: A celebration of Black Modernism architecture and design.
Why They Stand Out: With the tagline “Yes, there is midcentury modern design in the hood!” Hood Century celebrates Black modernism by connecting modern architecture with Black culture, showcasing the mid-century building designs found in Black neighborhoods across America.
I found Hood Century initially on Instagram and was fascinated by the cataloguing of modern buildings, furniture, and aesthetics in Black neighborhoods and popular culture, particularly since many equate modern design with wealthy white communities.
Plus, their headquarters is in Cincinnati, a historic abolitionist city, location of the first housing authority in the nation, and mom’s hometown where I used to spend my childhood summers.
Content Focus: Interior design and vintage enthusiast with a deep knowledge and appreciation of furniture.
Why They Stand Out: I love anyone that can provide deep cut knowledge on a specific topic (As more of a generalist I have much respect for specialists I come across.) The Ordinary Vintage has a special niche archiving history and Black experiences. Maya’s detailed set design posts of early 2000s iconic music videos HIT. I especially appreciate the Say My Name music video analysis that provides commentary on each color-coded room, and outfits and furniture, in the music video. It’s a good reminder of the seemingly lost art of the music video.
Content Focus: Posts sharing impeccable taste in vintage fashion, architecture, and decor in list form with commentary on what makes the item special and hyperlinks to the goodies.
Why They Stand Out: I Love Your… features good vintage in quality materials. The voice behind I Love Your…, Alana, professes that she is a “woman who loves to look at old wood!” Her curated lists are creative - from collections of Glinda Mirrors to a list of magazine holders & coat racks that help us organize our lives. They seem to post the most perfect lists of categories of items I didn’t even know I really needed. Of course I need a vintage magazine holder for my art books! I truly appreciate the accessibility of being able to view and purchase the items in the lists.
Content Focus: Content on cities, literature, and our political world written by a NYC-based professor and Harlem archives researcher.
Why They Stand Out: I love supporting fellow professors who share their ideas with the world, expanding knowledge beyond the classroom. Mother, Loosen My Tongue published a post A reading list to process the state of the world on January 22, highlighting some texts that have been transformational to my political consciousness and have kept me going over the years. I am especially into the interview series Conjectures which looks at “the crisis of cities,” as I consider the future of San Francisco in the context of pandemic recovery, tech exodus, and the ways creatives are leading the way to recovery.
Content Focus: Independent and critical music writing that resists “pandering to biases of the music industry.”
Why They Stand Out: The music references are deep and make you want to listen to everything they mention. I appreciate the ways in which Black Music and Black Muses speaks to the contradictions of living during these times, as these institutions, including the music industry, strive to maintain a liberal facade without doing the deep structural work of system disruption. The ideas and concepts are refreshing, and the language is gorgeous to read. For example this sentence, “I could not pretend to chase falsified desires that I’d invented because it looked right and made me more legible. I opted to walk backwards into the outlandish and uncanny to redeem myself.” Gorgeous and relatable.
These are just a few Black creators we enjoyed - What other Black Creators are you reading on Substack?
thank you!! i saw a post a while ago but didn't save it regarding black designers and architecture. have a good week :)
Wow what an honor to be featured on your list alongside these talented and inspiring creators ❤️ Thank you!