Featured Articles
Selected stories, prominently featured (ie not news, not lifestyle, etc.).
In Nigeria, Brooklyn and Other Points Abroad, Ancient Art of Tie-Dye Thrives
By Oluwatobi Oyinloye Adesina Adeseye dips a sponge into wax that was boiling in a tin pot sitting directly on top of a cylinder of propane gas. Quickly, he moves the sponge across plain white fabric, making whirls, swirls, straight lines, dots and all sorts of asymmetrical shapes. When the wax dries, he dunks the […]
Son Rallies for Mom Killed by Cop
By Marian Caballo Spectrum staff The first time he heard a protester shout his murdered mother’s name, Andrew Ocasio broke down. “I was balling, with tears. It really hit me that day,” he said, remembering what happened after he spoke at a June Black Lives Matter rally. He’d started showing up at those rallies to […]
Virtual Class Tough on Kids, Teachers
By Rachel Todd Spectrum staff A music teacher went viral after posting a video of herself describing virtual learning: Hey, so, some of you guys might know, I’m a music teacher. And I’ve found that one of the best ways that I can process the whole transition to online learning is to write a song […]
Reporting Assault Allegations Online
By Kirah Tianga Spectrum staff “He told me he wanted to have sex, but I expressed my uneasiness because I was worried his mom would come down. He told me it was fine, and he pulled me onto the floor and started pushing my dress up.”
Young Adults Tackle Justice Reform
By Zegale Talmadge Staff writer Eight years ago, when he was 17, Alex Davis was convicted of robbery and assault. Instead of being sent to prison, he spent a month at Rikers Island Correctional Facility and, afterward, began seven years on parole. “I was really depressed when I came out,” Davis said. “I had a […]
Peddling Poetry–On Demand
By Mikaela Querido Staff Writer Mira Rosenkotz’s handwritten sign, made of poster board and Magic Marker, announces what she’s peddling. “POEMS …Your topic…Your price.” A customer asks Rosenkotz to convey her first impressions of the stranger standing in front of her. Rosenkotz pauses, getting her bearings. She begins, her fingers working the keyboard. Tch-tch-cha-tch-tch-cha … […]
A “City of Gold” that Doesn’t Shine
By Ashley Quinonez Spectrum staff Valentin Peralta eased the Sidewalk Tacos food truck into a space on West Fourth Street, put the gear in park and began doing what he does at the start of every workday. The boxes of avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, tortillas and other ingredients for cooking Mexican dishes were the first things […]
Washington Square Park, A Constant Amid Change
By Annie Li Spectrum staff Back when Victoria Larkin was growing up, the rent her single mom—a part-time actress and liquor store cashier—paid for the family’s Upper West Side apartment was $340. Today, it’s $4,000. “Somebody like her could never make it here, now,” fiftysomething Larkin said of her working-class mother. “And that is just […]
Brown Comics Spotlight Whiteness in the Entertainment World
By Mina Mohammadi Spectrum staff Of all the racial and ethnic minorities wanting to work up front in the entertainment industry, Muslims and Middle Easterners–groups often wrongly lumped together–are especially racing to catch up and make sure their communities’ experiences get captured on stage and screen. There have been some mixed successes. The television series […]