The Black Lens

07/02/2025

📚 The Black Lens Education Spotlight 🎓

Our Education section opens up dialogue around key issues in both K–12 and higher ed settings.

This month, contributors Dr. Sharah Zaab and Dr. Shantara Smith break down two important topics:
✨ What is a gap year—and is it the right move for you?
💻 What does it take to be a successful virtual learner in today’s digital world?

🖱️ Head over to blacklensnews.com to explore these timely articles and learn more from our experts.

07/01/2025

This is a great opportunity and something different for BIPOC youth this summer —12-18 years old!! Spaces are limited sign up today👌🏾

06/28/2025

The second annual “Our Stories” event was a another success. One thing for sure— history of the Black community in Spokane is strong and vibrant. There is so much to learn about what used to be right here in our own back yard. Just a few photos from this afternoon.

06/28/2025

Something great for the kids this summer with a local b-ball legend

06/24/2025

Read more about how to redfine our own healing in this interview with LaVitta Williams:
https://www.blacklensnews.com/stories/2025/jun/01/wellness-without-permission-lavitta-williams-on-mo/

06/24/2025

Let’s build community!!

06/19/2025

06/19/2025

None of are free until ALL of us are free. Justice and liberty are shared human values. From Emancipation to Jim Crow to redlining to mass incarceration to resisting oligarchy, we witness active reminders to continue the work.

Commemorating Juneteenth asks us to honor the past not only in times of national recognition, but in our daily choices to teach and build upon the foundation laid by those who came before us.

Reflect this Juneteenth by
reading the account of Reverend Dr. Kenneth Davis who fought to be seen and treated as human, pictured in iconic Civil Rights era photographs wearing the words:
“I AM A MAN.”

Never forget. ✊🏾❤️🖤💚✊🏾

https://www.blacklensnews.com/stories/2025/jun/01/i-am-a-man-the-unbreakable-legacy-of-the-rev-dr-ke/

06/19/2025

❤️🖤💚

Torrents of rain did nothing to stop the Inland Northwest Juneteenth Coalition's first celebration at Liberty Park in 2011. Dozens of people showed up in the midst of a storm for three hours to listen to speakers educate about the holiday and what it means for the Black community.

06/19/2025

Tomorrow is Juneteenth — a day of celebration, remembrance, and a symbol of liberty hard-fought and long overdue.

Our local leaders have worked tirelessly to bring meaningful events to life — and we hope to see you there!

It will be a powerful day to be in community, honoring the past and building the future. Let’s keep climbing, together— come on out!

06/18/2025

✂️ Deep Roots. Strong Men. Safe Spaces. 🖤
This month’s column from our committed partner The Shades of Motherhood Network shines a light on Jay Troutt — a gifted barber whose shop is more than just a place for fades and line-ups.

💬 “I didn’t realize the kind of impact I’d have. I just wanted to do what I love. But these guys, they’re not just customers, they’re my friends… we build something real,” he shares.

Jay’s chair is a place of trust, conversation, and brotherhood. He’s not just shaping hair — he’s helping shape lives.

📰 Read the full story and learn how Jay is redefining what it means to be a mental health advocate, one cut at a time at:

https://www.blacklensnews.com/stories/2025/jun/01/deep-roots-strong-women-more-than-a-haircut-how-a-/

06/13/2025

The Shades of Motherhood Network—one of our proud sponsors at The Black Lens—offers a powerful platform for building stronger families and deepening education around pregnancy, parenting, and community care. There are countless opportunities through this network to support and empower expectant mothers, families, and the broader village that surrounds them.

As the saying goes, it takes a village—and Shades of Motherhood is committed to educating, equipping, and uplifting that village so we can grow together.

Explore these opportunities and see how you can be part of building a stronger, more informed community.