Some parents used the hideous photo of Emmett Till’s badly disfigured body as a teachable moment, a tool to scare Black children into avoiding the eyes and ire of white people, the photo had a different effect on young Brenda Travis.

For well over 30 years, poet and cultural entrepreneur Nia Damali has been a stalwart champion of Black authors and their books. As the owner and founder of Medu Bookstore, Mama Nia, as she is affectionately known in the Atlanta literary community, has been connecting readers to books and helping young, budding writers launch their careers, a task that she takes extremely seriously.

2025 was something like a Charles Dickens novel: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. For the U.S., it was a year of triumph and tragedy, controversy and challenge. We've compiled a list of the most important events that happened this year that involved or affected Black women.