To kick off the start of Summer, EBONY is celebrating FREEDOM all month long.
From Black Music Month, Major League Baseball’s first professional game at Rickwood Field, to Pride Month and Juneteenth — June is all about our right to live and celebrate the Black expression in all its amazing forms.
This month’s cover is bursting with easter eggs that explore how Black culture has manifested vehicles for liberation.
For our skateboard-loving cover stars—Satya Satyavati (age 10) and Narayan Hari (age 8)— being able to hit the concrete represents freedom and artistic expression in its most purest form.
We begin our Freedom thread by exploring Juneteenth and how it’s being celebrated across the country.
Next, we focus on how Black music has powered and influenced popular culture through generations with artists who have left their stamp on the auditory landscape. We’re honoring those artists with our “Freedom in the Present” list which was curated by Jaconna Jacobs.
EBONY is expanding its sports coverage in Birmingham, AL by covering MLB’s first-ever tribute game at the historic Rickwood Field, the oldest professional ballpark in the U.S. The game will celebrate the rich history of the Negro Leagues with a special tribute to Hall of Famer Willie Mays and other former Negro Leagues players.
This month we’ll also talk to a gun violence activist and dive into stories highlighting National Men’s Health Month.
Additionally, we’ll travel to Paris to cover the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Members of the Grammy award-winning St. Augustine Marching 100 band were selected to represent the U.S. in a Freedom celebration for nine days traveling through Europe from Normandy to Paris.
Lastly, what does FREEDOM mean to the LGBTQ+ community? To the global community in 2024? We will feature stories on the importance of Pride Month and its continued influence of Queer language in today’s culture to a personal look into the ballroom community.