– HBW remembered Dr. Jim Miller, a foundational scholar of twentieth-century African American cultural politics. doris davenport contributed a beautiful poem memorializing her friend.

– New U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch took her oath of office using Frederick Douglass’s Bible.

– The National Endowment for the Arts asked several artists and creators, including playwright Katori Hall and Sherri Young of the African American Shakespeare Company, why the arts matter.

– Just hours before the Charleston Massacre, Gene Demby wrote about the need to balance the seriousness of black life with jokes and joy (such as the #AskRachel hashtag).

– Nell Irvin Painter, author of the The History of White People, lays out a brief history of whiteness to give context to Rachel Dolezal and the Charleston Massacre.

– Edwidge Danticat and Junot Diaz joined forces to condemn the Dominican Republic’s forcible removal of citizen of Haitian descent. (And Book Riot has a list of suggested reading to help you understand the situation.)

– If you missed out on this year’s Juneteenth celebrations, Book Riot has a list of reading suggestions for you.

– Justina Ireland helpfully outlines how to analyze white characters in literature.

– Another white actor is taking over the role of Peter Parker in the next Spider-Man film, but in the comics, black Latino Miles Morales is the official new Spider-Man.