• Blaby (district, England, United Kingdom)

    Blaby, district, county of Leicestershire, south-central England. It covers the southern and western suburbs of the city of Leicester, in an arc around the city boundary from southeast to northwest, and extends southwest across a mostly rural area almost to the county boundary with Warwickshire to

  • Blacas onyx cameo (art)

    Western sculpture: Sculpture in the applied arts: …great imperial cameos are the Blacas onyx, portraying Augustus in the guise of Jupiter; the Gemma Augustea, a sardonyx (an onyx with parallel layers of sard) in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and the Grand Camée de France, a sardonyx in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, which were probably carved under

  • Blache, Paul Vidal de la (French geographer)

    Paul Vidal de La Blache was a French geographer who had a profound influence on the development of modern geography. Vidal studied history and geography at the École Normale Supérieure, in Paris, and taught there from 1877 until he became professor of geography at the Sorbonne (1898–1918). Vidal’s

  • Blacher, Boris (German composer)

    Boris Blacher was a German composer who was best known for his instrumental music but was also noted for operas and ballets. Of German-Baltic descent, Blacher studied music in Irkutsk (Siberia) and Harbin, China, before going to Berlin in 1922. There he studied and taught before falling out of

  • blacherniotissa (type of Madonna)

    Madonna: Madonna in early Christian and Byzantine art: …her left arm; and the blacherniotissa (from the Church of the Blachernes, which contains the icon that is its prototype), which emphasizes her role as intercessor, showing her alone in an orant, or prayer posture, with the Child pictured in a medallion on her breast. The Virgin also figured prominently…

  • Black (film by Bhansali [2005])

    Amitabh Bachchan: Return to stardom: …more National Film Awards for Black (2005), which was inspired by Helen Keller’s life story, and the drama Paa (2009), in which he played a boy who suffers from an aging disease similar to progeria. He is the only Indian star to have won the National Film Award for best…

  • black (color)

    black, in physics, what is perceived with the human eye when light is absent or when all wavelengths in the visible spectrum are absorbed. Like white, but unlike the colours of the spectrum or most mixtures of them, black lacks hue, so it is considered an achromatic colour. Black and white are the

  • Black Legion (film by Mayo [1937])

    Archie Mayo: Films of the 1930s: Mayo and Bogart reteamed for Black Legion (1937), a bold indictment of the Ku Klux Klan and its offshoots. Bogart had arguably his best role of the decade as a factory worker who joins a hate group that targets immigrants and minorities. Mayo’s success continued with It’s Love I’m After…

  • Black 47 (film by Daly [2018])

    Jim Broadbent: …English lord in the movie Black 47 and an earl in the TV movie King Lear (both 2018), a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s play. In 2020 he appeared in the family comedy Dolittle and portrayed a priest in the TV miniseries Black Narcissus, an adaptation of a novel by Rumer…

  • black acts (1919, India)

    Rowlatt Acts, (February 1919), legislation passed by the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. The acts allowed certain political cases to be tried without juries and permitted internment of suspects without trial. Their object was to replace the repressive provisions of

  • Black Adam (film by Collet-Serra [2022])

    Henry Cavill: Sherlock Holmes and other roles from the 2020s: …a cameo as Superman in Black Adam, renewing speculation that he was planning a return to the role five years after Justice League. Cavill confirmed the rumors in the fall, but a couple of months later he wrote on Instagram that the studio had decided to go in a different…

  • black alder (plant)

    alder: Major species: The European alder (A. glutinosa), sometimes known as black alder for its dark bark and cones, is widespread throughout Eurasia and is cultivated in several varieties in North America. The name black alder is also applied to winterberry (Ilex verticillata), an unrelated holly.

  • Black Alliance for Educational Options (American organization)

    Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), organization launched in 2000 to advocate for initiatives including private school vouchers, charter schools, tuition tax credits, and public school choice and to build support for those initiatives among African Americans. The groundwork for the Black

  • Black American (people)

    African Americans, one of the largest of the many ethnic groups in the United States. African Americans are mainly of African ancestry, but many have non-Black ancestors as well. African Americans are largely the descendants of enslaved people who were brought from their African homelands by force

  • Black and Blue (American musical)

    Nicholas Brothers: Television and later work: …his choreography in the musical Black and Blue (performed 1989–91). In 1994 both brothers were honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

  • Black and Blue (novel by Rankin)

    Ian Rankin: …eighth novel in the series, Black and Blue, became Rankin’s first international best seller. Inspired by the case of an unidentified serial killer thought to have operated in Glasgow in the 1960s, the work was the basis of the first episode of the Rankin-penned Rebus, a 14-part television program based…

  • black and gold angelfish (fish)

    angelfish: …the better-known species are the black and gold angelfish (Centropyge bicolor) of the Indo-Pacific; the French angelfish, Pomacanthus paru (or P. arcuatus), a black and yellow species of the Atlantic; and the queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris), a blue and yellow fish of the Atlantic.

  • Black and Tan (British police)

    Black and Tan, name given to British recruits enrolled in the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) from January 1920 to July 1921. Their colloquial name derived from the makeshift uniforms they were issued because of a shortage of RIC uniforms—green police tunics and khaki military trousers, which

  • black and tan coonhound (breed of dog)

    coonhound: The black and tan coonhound was bred in the United States from strains of bloodhound and black and tan foxhound. It is a short-haired, bloodhoundlike dog standing 23 to 27 inches (58 to 68.5 cm) and having a glossy black-and-tan coat. It has the general appearance…

  • black and white cobra (snake)

    forest cobra, (Naja melanoleuca), large, agile, venomous snake of the cobra family (Elapidae), native to humid forests throughout western and central Africa. The forest cobra has a calm temperament, and few bites to humans are reported, though such bites can be lethal if left untreated. In 2018

  • black and white warbler (bird)

    wood warbler: The black-and-white warbler (Mniotilta varia), common east of the Rockies, is streaked and has creeperlike habits. A large tropical genus is Basileuterus; the 22 species are typified by the golden-crowned warbler (B. culicivorus), which is found from Mexico to Argentina.

  • Black Army (Hungarian history)

    Hungary: János Hunyadi and Matthias Corvinus: …“Black John” Haugwitz, as the Black Army), which he kept as part of the royal banderium for use against enemies, at home and abroad.

  • Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses, The (novel by Stevenson)

    Robert Louis Stevenson: Romantic novels of Robert Louis Stevenson: …called Penny Whistles), and began The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses (1888), a historical adventure tale deliberately written in anachronistic language.

  • Black Arts movement

    Black Arts movement, period of artistic and literary development among Black Americans in the 1960s and early ’70s. The movement encompassed literature, music, theater, music, and the visual arts. Based on the cultural politics of Black nationalism, which were developed into a set of theories

  • Black Arts Repertory Theatre (theater, New York City, New York, United States)

    Amiri Baraka: There he founded the Black Arts Repertory Theatre, which staged many of his works prior to its closure in the late 1960s. In 1968 he adopted the name Amiri Baraka, and his writings became more divisive, prompting some to applaud his courage and others to deplore sentiments that could…

  • black ash (residue)

    chemical industry: The Leblanc process: …limestone and coal to produce black ash, which contained the desired sodium carbonate, mixed with calcium sulfide and some unreacted coal. Solution of the sodium carbonate in water removed it from the black ash, and the solution was then crystallized. From this operation derives the expression soda ash that is…

  • black ash (tree)

    ash: Major species: The black ash (F. nigra) of eastern North America, the blue ash (F. quadrangulata) of the Midwest, and the Oregon ash (F. latifolia) of the Pacific Northwest furnish wood of comparable quality that is used for furniture, interior paneling, and barrels, among other purposes. The Mexican…

  • Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization (work by Bernal)

    Afrocentrism: Criticism of Afrocentrism: …forth in a controversial book, Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, 2 vol. (1987–91), by white historian Martin Bernal. Since that time, Afrocentrism has encountered significant opposition from mainstream scholars who charge it with historical inaccuracy, scholarly ineptitude, and racism. In her book Not Out of Africa: How…

  • black Baird’s beaked whale (mammal)

    bottlenose whale: bairdii), and the kurotsuchikujira (the black Baird’s beaked whale, B. minimus) are commonly called giant bottlenose whales. (A genetic study of the gray and black forms of Baird’s beaked whale performed in 2016 revealed that the darker form was distinct enough from the gray form to be considered…

  • Black Ball Lines (American shipping company)

    ship: Shipping in the 19th century: The Black Ball Lines’ nine-year average as of 1825 was 23 days from Liverpool to New York City. Twenty years later Atlantic ships had doubled in size and were not credited as a success unless they had made at least a single east-bound dash of 14…

  • Black Bart (American robber)

    Black Bart was a California hooded robber believed to have held up some 28 stagecoaches from 1875 to 1883. Twice he left verse for the occasion, signed “Black Bart,” the more famous being: “I’ve labored long and hard for bread/ For honor and for riches/ But on my corns too long you’ve tred/ You

  • Black Bartholomew (English history)

    Congregationalism: England: “Black Bartholomew”—St. Bartholomew’s Day, August 24, 1662, when some 2,000 Protestant ministers who denied the authority of the Church of England were ejected from their posts—was a great turning point in the history of English Dissent. Although Nonconformists were subjected to severe persecution, John Owen…

  • Black Barty (Welsh pirate)

    Bartholomew Roberts was a pirate captain of a succession of ships—the “Royal Rover,” “Fortune,” “Royal Fortune,” and “Good Fortune”—who burned and plundered ships from the coasts of West Africa to the coasts of Brazil and the Caribbean and as far north as Newfoundland. His conquests are said to

  • black basaltes (pottery)

    basaltes ware, hard black vitreous stoneware, named after the volcanic rock basalt and manufactured by Josiah Wedgwood at Etruria, Staffordshire, Eng., from about 1768. Wedgwood’s black basaltes ware was an improvement on the stained earthenware known as “Egyptian black” made by other Staffordshire

  • black bass (fish)

    black bass, any of about six species of elongated freshwater fishes that constitute the genus Micropterus of the sunfish family, Centrarchidae (order Perciformes). Black basses are found in eastern North America. Two of them, the largemouth and smallmouth basses (M. salmoides and M. dolomieu), have

  • Black Bazaar (novel by Mabanckou)

    Alain Mabanckou: Novels: …novels include Black Bazar (2009; Black Bazaar), an exposé of the differences between the several nationalities of the dark-skinned denizens of Paris; and the murder mystery Tais-toi et meurs (2012; “Shut Up and Die”).

  • Black Bazar (novel by Mabanckou)

    Alain Mabanckou: Novels: …novels include Black Bazar (2009; Black Bazaar), an exposé of the differences between the several nationalities of the dark-skinned denizens of Paris; and the murder mystery Tais-toi et meurs (2012; “Shut Up and Die”).

  • black bear (mammal)

    black bear, (Ursus americanus), the most common bear (family Ursidae), found in the forests of North America, including parts of northern Mexico. The American black bear consists of only one species and 16 subspecies. Its colour varies, however, even among members of the same litter. White markings

  • Black Bear (film by Levine [2020])

    Aubrey Plaza: Emily the Criminal and The White Lotus: …starred in the comedy-drama thriller Black Bear, about a filmmaker looking for inspiration who travels to a remote lake house and manipulates the couple hosting her. In 2020 Plaza appeared in a supporting role alongside Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis in Clea DuVall’s Happiest Season, a comedy about two women…

  • Black Beauty (work by Sewell)

    Black Beauty, the only novel by Anna Sewell and the first major animal story in children’s literature. The author wrote it “to induce kindness, sympathy, and an understanding treatment of horses”; it was published in 1877, shortly before Sewell’s death. Black Beauty, a handsome well-born, well-bred

  • Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse (work by Sewell)

    Black Beauty, the only novel by Anna Sewell and the first major animal story in children’s literature. The author wrote it “to induce kindness, sympathy, and an understanding treatment of horses”; it was published in 1877, shortly before Sewell’s death. Black Beauty, a handsome well-born, well-bred

  • Black Beech and Honeydew (autobiography by Marsh)

    Ngaio Marsh: Her autobiography, Black Beech and Honeydew, was published in 1965 (rev. ed. 1981).

  • Black Belt (region, United States)

    Black Belt, physical region in Alabama and Mississippi, U.S., so named for its soil. The Black Belt is a fertile plain, generally 25–30 miles (40–50 km) wide and stretching approximately 300 miles (480 km) across central Alabama and northeastern Mississippi. A region of dark, calcareous soils, it

  • black bile (ancient physiology)

    humour: … (yellow bile), and melancholy (black bile); the variant mixtures of these humours in different persons determined their “complexions,” or “temperaments,” their physical and mental qualities, and their dispositions. The ideal person had the ideally proportioned mixture of the four; a predominance of one produced a person who was sanguine…

  • black birch (tree, Betula occidentalis)

    birch: Major species: Water birch (B. occidentalis), a shrubby tree native to moist sites along the western coast of North America, has nonpeeling dark red bark; it grows in clusters, with all stems rising from a common root system. It is sometimes called red birch, black birch, or…

  • black birch (tree)

    sweet birch, (Betula lenta), North American ornamental and timber tree in the family Betulaceae. Usually about 18 metres (60 feet) tall, the tree may reach 24 metres (79 feet) or more in the southern Appalachians; on poor soil it may be stunted and shrublike. See also birch. The smooth, shiny,

  • black birch (tree)

    river birch, (Betula nigra), ornamental tree of the family Betulaceae, found on river and stream banks in the eastern one-third of the United States. Because the lower trunk becomes very dark with age, the tree is sometimes called black birch, a name more properly applied to sweet birch (Betula

  • black blizzard

    dust: …conspicuous as dust devils and dust storms, which can impair normal visibility and make breathing difficult. Inorganic components of dust include small bits of rock, salts, and pollutants, such as insecticides and fumes given off by heavy metals such as copper, iron, and

  • black body (physics)

    blackbody, in physics, a surface that absorbs all radiant energy falling on it. The term arises because incident visible light will be absorbed rather than reflected, and therefore the surface will appear black. The concept of such a perfect absorber of energy is extremely useful in the study of

  • Black Bone Yi (people)

    Yi: The Black Bone Yi, the ruling group, were apparently descended from a people that originated in northwest China. The far more numerous White Bone Yi and the Jianu (“Family Slaves”) were formerly subjugated or enslaved by the Black Bones. The subjugation of the White Bones and…

  • Black Book (film by Verhoeven [2006])

    Paul Verhoeven: …his next movie, Zwartboek (2006; Black Book), another story of the Dutch resistance in Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The drama—which he wrote with Gerard Soeteman, a frequent collaborator—was a triumph. After the minor comedy Steekspel (2012; Tricked), Verhoeven won widespread praise and a nomination for the top prize at the Cannes film…

  • Black Book of Carmarthen (collection of poetry)

    Celtic literature: The Middle Ages: …of poetry preserved in the Black Book of Carmarthen (c. 1250) were parts of soliloquies or dialogues from other lost sagas. Examples are a conversation between Arthur and the doorkeeper Glewlwyd Mightygrasp; a monologue of Ysgolan the Cleric; verses in praise of Geraint, son of Erbin; and a fragment of…

  • Black Book of Clanranald (work by MacMhuirich)

    Celtic literature: The 17th century: The first two were the Black Book of Clanranald and the Red Book of Clanranald, written by members of the MacMhuirich family, who were latterly hereditary bards to the MacDonalds of Clanranald. They were probably written for the most part in the 17th century but contained poems by earlier representatives…

  • black bottom (dance)

    black bottom, jazz dance combining shoulder and hip movements, danced by African Americans in the U.S. South as early as 1907. In a modified version it became a national craze after its appearance in a 1926 Broadway musical. The black bottom exhibited a number of features derived from the

  • Black Box (novel by Oz)

    Amos Oz: …the Wind), Kufsah sheḥora (1987; Black Box), and Matsav ha-shelishi (1991; The Third State). Oto ha-yam (1999; The Same Sea) is a novel in verse. The memoir Sipur ʿal ahavah ve-ḥoshekh (2002; A Tale of Love and Darkness) drew wide critical acclaim. Temunot me-hạye ha-kefar (2009; Scenes from Village Life)…

  • Black Box (sculpture by Smith [1962])

    Tony Smith: …sculpture truly made from steel, Black Box (1962), was executed by a commercial fabricator. Smith’s often monumental sculptures, which he called “presences,” were based on geometric principles and simplicity of form, fundamental characteristics of Minimalist art. Smith was inspired by the works of James Joyce, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau,…

  • black box (recording instrument)

    flight recorder, instrument that records the performance and condition of an aircraft in flight. Governmental regulatory agencies require these devices on commercial aircraft to make possible the analysis of crashes or other unusual occurrences. Flight recorders actually consist of two functional

  • Black Box (American television series)

    Ali Wong: Career: …in the medical drama series Black Box (2014).

  • Black Boy (work by Wright)

    Black Boy, autobiography by Richard Wright, published in 1945 and considered to be one of his finest works. The book is sometimes considered a fictionalized autobiography or an autobiographical novel because of its use of novelistic techniques. Black Boy describes vividly Wright’s often harsh

  • black brane (physics)

    brane: …whose quantization defines string theory; black branes, which are solutions to Einstein’s equations that resemble black holes but are extended in some dimensions rather than spherical; and D-branes, which have the distinctive property that fundamental strings can end on them with the strings’ end points stuck to the brane.

  • black bread (food)

    kvass: …local or private custom, although rye bread fermented with malt is the base. Mint is frequently added for flavouring, or sometimes fruit, such as apples or raspberries.

  • black bryony (plant)

    Dioscoreaceae: Black bryony (Tamus communis) is a European perennial vine with yellow flowers, poisonous red berries, and poisonous blackish root tubers. Dioscorea is a principal raw material used in the manufacture of birth-control pills.

  • black buffalo weaver (bird)

    buffalo weaver: …more widespread species is the black buffalo weaver, or oxbird (Bubalornis albirostris); it is black, with white in the wings. The white-headed buffalo weaver (Dinemellia dinemelli), confined to eastern Africa, is brown and white, with red rump and vent. Both are stout-bodied, heavy-billed birds 20–25 cm (8–10 inches) long. In…

  • black burn (medicine)

    burn: Such burns are of the fourth degree, also called black (because of the typical colour of the burn), or char, burns. Fourth-degree burns are of grave prognosis, particularly if they involve more than a small portion of the body. In these deep burns toxic materials may be released into the…

  • black buzzard (bird, Coragyps atratus)

    vulture: New World vultures: …New World vultures include the black vulture (Coragyps atratus), a New World vulture sometimes called a black buzzard or, inappropriately, a carrion crow. The black vulture, the most abundant vulture species of all, is a resident of the tropics and subtropics that often wanders far into temperate regions. It is…

  • black caiman (reptile)

    black caiman, (Melanosuchus niger), large caiman species best known as being the largest predator in the Amazon River basin and the largest member of the alligator family (Alligatoridae). The species is found in wetlands, flooded savannas, rivers, and other freshwater environments in northern South

  • Black Canary (comic-book character)

    Black Canary, American comic strip superhero created for DC Comics by writer Bob Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino. The character first appeared in Flash Comics no. 86 (August 1947). Although she would go on to become one of DC’s most-enduring street-level heroes, Black Canary began her career

  • Black Canon (Roman Catholic religious order)

    Augustinian, member of any of the Roman Catholic religious orders and congregations of men and women whose constitutions are based on the Rule of St. Augustine. More specifically, the name is used to designate members of two main branches of Augustinians—namely, the Augustinian Canons and the

  • Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (national park, Colorado, United States)

    Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, natural area in western Colorado, U.S., encompassing a deep, narrow gorge 15 miles (24 km) east of Montrose. It was established as a national monument in 1933 and was elevated to national park status in 1999; the park occupies an area of 47 square miles

  • black caracara (bird)

    caracara: …eater (Milvago chimango), and the black caracara (Daptrius ater). The smaller South American species eat insects.

  • black caraway (plant and seed)

    black cumin, (Nigella sativa), annual plant of the ranunculus family (Ranunculaceae) grown for its pungent seeds, which are used as a spice and in herbal medicine. The black cumin plant is found in southwestern Asia and parts of the Mediterranean region and Africa, where it has a long history of

  • black carbon ink

    pen drawing: One was black carbon ink, made from extremely fine particles of the soot of burnt oils or resins in a solution of glue or gum arabic. The finest type of black carbon ink was known as Chinese ink and was the prototype of the modern black India…

  • Black Carib (people)

    Latin American dance: Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela: …is the punta of the Garifuna—a cultural group of mixed Amerindian and African origin—found on the Atlantic coast of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Punta is a social dance of joy and festivity, as well as an emblem of cultural survival. In its festive aspect, punta allows dancers to interact…

  • Black Carib language

    Garífuna language, an Arawakan language spoken by approximately 190,000 people in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and also by many who have emigrated to the United States. The language’s presence in Central America is relatively recent. African slaves mingled with the Caribs of Saint

  • black carp (fish)

    Asian carp: bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), following their accidental introduction into waterways in the United States, are collectively referred to as Asian carp.

  • black cat (mammal)

    fisher, (Martes pennanti), North American carnivore of northern forests (taiga), trapped for its valuable brownish black fur (especially fine in the female). It is a member of the weasel family (Mustelidae). The fisher has a weasel-like body, bushy tail, tapered muzzle, and low rounded ears. Adults

  • Black Cat, The (short story by Poe)

    The Black Cat, short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in The Saturday Evening Post in August 1843 and included in Poe’s 1845 collection Tales. The narrator of “The Black Cat” is an animal lover who, as he descends into alcoholism and perverse violence, begins mistreating his wife and his

  • Black Cat, The (film by Ulmer [1934])

    Edgar G. Ulmer: Early work: …had a less-controversial hit with The Black Cat (1934), though the subject matter was still sensationalistic. The classic horror film, a Universal production that was inspired by an Edgar Allan Poe short story, was the first to pair Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The latter played Dr. Vitus Werdegast, a…

  • Black Cat, White Cat (film by Kusturica [1998])

    Emir Kusturica: Hollywood and a second Golden Palm: … Crna mačka, beli mačor (1998; Black Cat, White Cat). It marked a shift in his visual expression, switching from relatively bleak and gray to colourful, almost flamboyant. The movie was awarded a Silver Lion award for directing at the Venice Film Festival.

  • black catbird (bird)

    catbird: The black catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris) is found in coastal Yucatán.

  • black cherry (plant)

    Rosales: Wood: …wood of Prunus serotina (black cherry) and P. avium (European wild, or sweet, cherry) is used to make high-quality furniture, and the wood of Pyrus communis (pear) is also highly valued. The wood of black cherry, native to North America, has a reddish brown colour and a warm luster…

  • black chokecherry (plant)

    chokecherry: Major varieties: …and dark red fruit; and black chokecherry (P. virginiana, variety melanocarpa), with black fruit.

  • Black Christ (religious site, Guatemala)

    Esquipulas: …Guatemala to house the spectacular Black Christ. The figure, commissioned by Spanish conquistadors and first placed in a local church in 1595, was carved out of dark wood in 1594. It is now dressed in white satin and adorned with jewels. Major religious processions occur on January 15 and during…

  • Black Christ and Other Poems, The (poetry by Cullen)

    Countee Cullen: After publication of The Black Christ and Other Poems (1929), Cullen’s reputation as a poet waned. From 1934 until the end of his life he taught in New York City public schools. Most notable among his other works are Copper Sun (1927), The Ballad of the Brown Girl…

  • Black Church (church, Brașov, Romania)

    Brașov: …restored 1711–15), is called the Black Church because of its smoke-blackened walls resulting from a 1689 fire. In Brașov are several theatres and museums and a university. “The Apostle of Transylvania,” Johannes Honterus (1498–1549), who led the Protestant Reformation in the area, lived and died in Brașov (then Kronstadt) and…

  • Black Codes (United States history)

    Black Codes, in U.S. history, the numerous laws adopted in the states of the former Confederacy after the American Civil War that were intended to maintain white supremacy in those places. Enacted in 1865 and 1866, the Black Codes were designed to replace the social controls previously exerted over

  • black cohosh (herb)

    bugbane: …(4 feet) tall, and the black cohosh, or black snakeroot (C. racemosa; see photograph), about 180 cm (5.91 feet) tall, have roots that have been used medicinally. C. foetida, native to Europe and Siberia, is used medicinally by the Chinese. These species are sometimes grown in the shady woodland garden…

  • black comedy

    black humour, writing that juxtaposes morbid or ghastly elements with comical ones that underscore the senselessness or futility of life. Black humour often uses farce and low comedy to make clear that individuals are helpless victims of fate and character. Though in 1940 the French Surrealist

  • Black Consciousness Movement (South African social movement)

    Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), South African anti-apartheid movement that began in the late 1960s. Originating on university campuses, it espoused Black cultural pride and political solidarity while firmly denouncing white liberal inactivity. Though the movement began to decline after the

  • black coral (invertebrate)

    coral: …Scleractinia) number about 1,000 species; black corals and thorny corals (Antipatharia), about 100 species; horny corals, or gorgonians (Gorgonacea), about 1,200 species; and blue corals (Coenothecalia), one living species.

  • black corsair (insect, Melanolestes picipes)

    assassin bug: Predatory behaviour: The black corsair (Melanolestes picipes), a black-coloured insect about 13 to 20 mm (0.5 to 0.8 inch) long and usually found under stones and bark, can inflict painful bites on humans. The masked hunter (or masked bedbug hunter; Reduvius personatus), when threatened, will also bite humans,…

  • black cottonwood (tree)

    poplar: Common species: The western balsam poplar, also called black cottonwood (P. trichocarpa), grows some 60 metres (195 feet) tall and is one of the largest deciduous trees of northwestern North America.

  • black coucal (bird)

    coucal: The black, or black-chested, coucal (C. toulou) is 33 cm (13 inches) long. All black except for brown wings, it is whitish streaked in nonbreeding plumage (the only cuckoo to have seasonal coloration change). It ranges from eastern Africa to Southeast Asia.

  • Black Country (industrial area, England, United Kingdom)

    Black Country, industrial region closely corresponding to the small south Staffordshire coalfield in the Midlands region of England; its name derives from its pollution-coated industrial landscape. The Black Country extends immediately to the west of the city of Birmingham, which itself lies off

  • Black cowboys (American history)

    Black cowboys, African American horsemen who wrangled cattle in the western United States in the late 1800s and beyond. Though they were almost entirely excluded from the mythology of the American cowboy, it is estimated that Black men accounted for nearly a quarter of all cattle workers in the

  • Black Crab (film by Berg [2022])

    Noomi Rapace: …the postapocalyptic Svart krabba (Black Crab) and in You Won’t Be Alone (both 2022); the latter, an exploration of identity and belonging, follows a young woman raised in isolation who becomes a shape-shifting witch.

  • black crake (bird)

    crake: Africa’s black crake (Limnocorax flavirostra) is a 20-centimetre- (8-inch-) long form, black with a green bill and pink legs. It is less secretive than most. Pygmy crakes (Sarothrura species), about 14 cm (6 inches) long, are very secretive, inhabiting swampy African forests. Other New World crakes…

  • black crappie (fish)

    crappie: …in colour than the similar black crappie, or calico bass (P. nigromaculatus), which tends to frequent clear lakes and streams.

  • Black Creek Canal virus (infectious agent)

    hantavirus: Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome: …in Florida, caused by the Black Creek Canal virus (carried by the hispid cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus); Louisiana, caused by the Bayou virus (carried by the marsh rice rat, Oryzomys palustris); Chile and Argentina, caused by the Andes virus (carried by

  • black crested gibbon (primate)

    gibbon: The black crested gibbon (N. concolor) is found from southern China into northernmost Vietnam and Laos. The northern white-cheeked gibbon, or white-cheeked gibbon (N. leucogenys), and the southern white-cheeked gibbon (N. siki) are found farther south. The red-cheeked gibbon (N. gabriellae) lives in southern Vietnam and…