Black Future Newsstand preview gave a glimpse into the future this past Tuesday, June 13—both for a distant world where reparations are real and for this upcoming Saturday. Their installation is coming to the the Schomburg Center Literary Festival this weekend, but those on the eastside got the chance to have a first look outside The Africa Center.
The interactive exhibit imagines what “media that loves Black people look, feel, sound, and taste like in a future where reparations are real” to usher in this year’s Juneteenth celebration. True to the name, the installation is a stall stocked with Black-centered print media “from the future” including an Amsterdam News edition from the year 2070. Even with time travel, the newspaper doesn’t rely on AI writers—investigative editor Damaso Reyes is credited as project co-creator.
“This project was an incredible opportunity for Black creators to bring into being a future that is more justice-driven,” said Reyes. “It also gave us the opportunity to share our rich archive and to show the connections between the past, present, and future of Black liberation.”
Other outlets on view included the Jackson Advocate, CRWNMAG and Vinegar Hill magazine. The outer shell offers a “thought wall,” chalkboard for Black people to jot down their thoughts as they pass by. The “thought wall” asked what stories they wanted to see and what media that loves Black people looks like. And what Black people loved about themselves. One young boy simply responded to the prompt with “I’m Black” in light blue chalk.
Leading the project are Black Thought Project creator Alicia Walters and Media 2070 co-creator Collette Watson, who told the Amsterdam News the Black Future Newsstand is indeed the future of news. But only if the media world makes room and contends with its racist past.
“There are newsrooms being closed left and right, [with] mass layoffs every day,” said Watson. “People are trying to figure out what is the economic model to make news sustainable. Well, that economic model is going to be one ripe with reparations for the harms of the media system. Maybe if the media system had not centered a worldview of white racial hierarchy, maybe if it had served all people and sought to undo the trans Atlantic slave trade…maybe it wouldn’t be in the position it’s in now.”
But the exhibit also aims to turn back the clock as a communal space, as newsstands are converted in real time into app delivery rest stops by the city.
“As our communities are increasingly displaced [and] we’re kicked out, we don’t have central gathering spaces where we feel safe,” said Walters. “Where we feel seen, where we can just relax, enjoy and be in conversation [and] community. Digital media is great and can be a democratic way to share more accessible media, we don’t want to let go of the need for physical space and for in-person interaction.
“Tonight, seeing people’s joy…creating that anew, feels like an important aspect of this project.”
The preview was part of the Museum Mile Festival, which ropes off 30 blocks uptown on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and offers free admission to other partnering institutions, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim.
Black Future Newsstands sets up shop for a public launch this Saturday, June 17 at the Schomburg Center Literary Festival from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, N.Y. 10037).
A following zine-making workshop will be held at The Africa Center (1280 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029) on Monday, June 19.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visitinghttps://bit.ly/amnews1.