October 2016

Paul Beatty became the first American author to win the Man Booker Prize, awarded for his satirical novel The Sellout about a Black man who reinstates slavery in a fictional suburb of Los Angeles. The Booker committee cited the novel's scathing wit and its unflinching examination of American racial contradiction.

Paul Beatty became the first American author to win the Man Booker Prize, awarded for his satirical novel The Sellout about a Black man who reinstates slavery in a fictional suburb of Los Angeles. The Booker committee cited the novel's scathing wit and its unflinching examination of American racial contradiction.

Kerry James Marshall's sweeping retrospective Mastry, which opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 2016 before traveling to the Met Breuer and MOCA Los Angeles, established him as one of the most important living American painters. Marshall's monumental figurative works depicting Black people in everyday scenes — with deep, rich black skin tones rendered with extraordinary care — fundamentally challenged the whiteness of Western art history and the canon of figure painting.

Ava DuVernay's documentary 13th, released on Netflix on October 7, 2016, argued that the 13th Amendment's exception clause for prisoners created a system of racial control that continued American slavery by other means. The film became one of the most-watched documentaries in Netflix history, won the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It reshaped public discourse on mass incarceration.

Issa Rae's comedy-drama Insecure, based on her web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, premiered on HBO. The show offered an unprecedented depiction of young Black professional women in Los Angeles and helped usher in a new era of Black-created prestige television.

H.E.R. (Gabriella Wilson) released her self-titled debut EP while performing anonymously, declining to reveal her identity for over two years. The EP received Grammy nominations for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance, sparking intense public curiosity about who this new voice in neo-soul and R&B was.

H.E.R. (Gabriella Wilson) released her self-titled debut EP while declining to reveal her identity for over two years. The EP received Grammy nominations for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance, sparking intense public curiosity about this new voice in neo-soul and R&B.