Hammer & Hope, the quarterly Black political magazine launched online in February 2023 by scholar Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and former New York Times editor Jen Parker, is expanding its domain. Last fall, they brought on Lovia Gyarkye to be the magazine's first culture editor, and since then they have been throwing events in New York City: teach-ins, happy hours, and even a house party.
"We're going to try to do more things like that," Gyarkye told me, "where people can come and just meet contributors, including myself, to the culture section and meet people who work at Hammer & Hope."
"We want to make sure that people who are members of Hammer & Hope feel tapped into a broader community, and we think that the best way to do that is through in-person events," Gyarkye continued.
Their teach-in after the death of Assata Shakur, for example, "was so cool because a bunch of people from Bed-Stuy and around the way in New York showed up, who are trying to connect with other people and really trying to find intellectual anchors during this really fraught moment in American history."
Hammer & Hope is titled after a seminal work of Black Marxist scholarship by Robin D.G. Kelley, who also contributes to the magazine. They drop some bangers every few months—like this critic's roundtable on "Sinners" in their Fall 2025 issue, and a fascinating essay about Martin Luther King Jr.'s meetings with Chicago gang leaders in this Winter's issue.
"Our aim is to fill a gap that we see in mainstream media by providing fact-based reporting and fresh analysis of issues that concern working class Black people, not just around the country, but around the world," Gyarkye said.
As culture editor, she said she's trying to focus on artists who use their work to amplify progressive missions, or who are just creating art that runs counter to "whatever is on offer right now."
"We're driven by this core belief that people can enact change in their communities as long as they have support and resources, and one of the ways that we provide resources is by talking to and amplifying the stories of everyday people and organizers."
If that sounds like your kind of thing, and I feel like it might, consider throwing them a subscription. I asked Gyarkye what New Yorkers should be checking out in the next few weeks.