DLBLACKWOOD

SZA photographed by: Edwig Henson (2021)

✊🏾Black American Culture

Docehii for Cosmopolitan 2025

Johnny Cash by Duane Michals, 1969

Missy Elliott, 2001.

‘Piano Man’ by Justin Bua

In 1946, German-born physicist Albert Einstein taught a class at Lincoln University, an HBCU in Pennsylvania. At the time, he was living in Princeton, New Jersey, and had become a U.S. citizen in 1940 after fleeing Nazi Germany. While at Lincoln, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist spoke out against racial segregation, stating: “The separation of the races is not a disease of colored people. It is a disease of white people. I do not intend to be quiet about it.” Albert Einstein did not face serious consequences for speaking out against racism, but his activism did attract attention from the U.S. government. He was a known advocate for civil rights and had connections with the NAACP, including a friendship with W.E.B. Du Bois and Paul Robeson. Because of his outspoken views—particularly his criticism of American racism and his association with progressive and leftist causes—the FBI monitored him and kept a substantial file on him. However, Einstein was already an internationally respected figure by that time, and his reputation as a scientific genius largely shielded him from major repercussions. Unlike many activists of the era who were blacklisted or harassed, he remained free to continue his work and advocacy.