4 TIME February 15/February 22, 2021
A week after debuting the TIME 2030
project to spotlight solutions to
the challenges of a post-COVID
world, TIME staffers continued that
conversation at the World Economic
Forum (WEF) virtual Davos conference,
hosting panels on the health of the
environment and the health of the
global economy. Senior editor Haley
Sweetland Edwards moderated a
discussion on ocean economies with
scientists and sustainable- fi nance
experts, and senior correspondent
Justin Worland hosted a talk on
the Arctic and climate change that
included celebrity environmental
advocates Robert Downey Jr. and
Rainn Wilson. Editor-in-chief Edward
Felsenthal led a debate on the future
of capitalism with WEF founder and
executive chairman Klaus Schwab,
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander
De Croo, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman,
economist Mariana Mazzucato and
musician Angélique Kidjo. Find links to
watch the full panels at weforum.orgTIME 2030
TIME leads Davos
conversationsWHEN HISTORIAN, TIME 100 HONOREE AND HOW TO BE AN ANTI RACIST
author Ibram X. Kendi approached TIME with the idea to partner on a project
about marking this moment as a Black cultural renaissance, the most challeng-
ing question we faced was how to choose which of the innumerable artists and
works—across poetry, fi lm, television, music, theater and more—to highlight.
In his incisive introductory essay, Kendi writes that during this rich period,
spanning approximately the past six years, Black artists have forged a new
path, casting off the pressures to consider the reactions of white people or to
“represent” race by attempting to speak for all Black experiences.
This renaissance features works that directly explore the quest for racial
justice, as well as art that mines the everyday realities of moving through
the world as a Black person— fi nding the comedy and drama in work,
relationships and family. Kendi ties this outpouring of creativity to past
movements in art, suggesting that “if the Harlem Renaissance stirred Black
people to see themselves, if the Black Arts
Movement stirred Black people to love
themselves, then the Black Renaissance
is stirring Black people to be themselves.
Totally. Unapologetically. Freely.”
The package includes a conversation be-
tween former First Lady Michelle Obama
and National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda
Gorman, a young torchbearer of this renais-
sance who captivated the nation with her in-
spiring performance at the Inauguration of
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala
Harris. Three of today’s most accomplished
novelists—Brit Bennett, Jasmine Guillory and
Jacqueline Woodson—gather in a roundtable
discussion with Rebecca Carroll about the dif-
ference between a renaissance and a trend
as well as the power of their storytelling. TIME staff writers Josiah Bates and
Andrew R. Chow explore how Black creators in fi lm and television are reclaiming
aspects of U.S. history—from the Tulsa race massacre to the Black Panthers—that
have been misrepresented or omitted entirely in our education system and media.
And a panel of eminent artists including Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVer-
nay, Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Lynn Nottage and National Book Award
winner Jesmyn Ward help curate a list of the 25 defi ning works of the era. Special
thanks to senior editors Eliza Berman, Lucy Feldman, Lily Rothman and inter-
national art director Victor Williams for shaping these multimedia projects.
The portrait of Gorman that appears on the cover of this magazine was
taken by another extraordinary young artist, Awol Erizku, whose art spans
painting, photography, sculpture and fi lm. Erizku rarely accepts commissions
as a photographer, so we were thrilled he agreed to meet Gorman in Los Ange-
les on Jan. 29.
For the cover portrait of Gorman, he says, “I wanted to extricate her from
the political dimension and immerse it in a more cosmic atmosphere to add
to the weight of her words.” Erizku also directed one of the videos for this
package, of Gorman reciting her stirring poem, “The Hill We Climb.” You
can watch it at time.com/gorman
Edward Felsenthal,
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & CEO
@EFELSENTHALWEF’s Schwab says
companies should be
measured by how well
they are ‘going beyond
just serving shareholders’From the Editor
Celebrating Black art
△
Worland, top left, and Edwards,
bottom left, lead virtual panels△
Gorman, left, and Erizku at the
cover shoot in L.A. on Jan. 29