New York (AP) — A couple of years ago, Juliana Pache found herself stumped by a crossword puzzle. The clue referenced something unfamiliar to her, prompting a thought: What would a crossword be like if it included more subjects she was familiar with, such as Black history and Black popular culture? Unable to find such a puzzle, Pache decided to create one herself. In January 2023, she launched blackcrossword.com, offering a free mini-crossword puzzle daily. This Tuesday marked her first book release, “Black Crossword: 100 Mini Puzzles Celebrating the African Diaspora.”
The timing is apt, as it’s now nearly 111 years since the first crossword appeared in a New York newspaper. Recent discussions have increasingly focused on representation within crossword puzzles—from the constructors to the words used as answers and the framing of clues. Efforts are underway to broaden the scope of “common knowledge” these games require.
“I had never made a crossword puzzle before,” says Pache, 32, laughing. “But I thought, I can figure it out.” And indeed, she did. Each puzzle on Pache’s site features at least a few clues and answers that connect to Black culture. The site’s tagline aptly states: “If you know, you know.”
Her book is filled with puzzles similar to those that an estimated 2,200 people play daily on her site—grids of five lines with five spaces each. She aims for at least three of the clues to reference various aspects of Black cultures worldwide.
Pache, a native of Queens with family origins in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, had specific goals when she began. Primarily, she wanted to create something enjoyable for Black people. “I’m making it with Black people in mind,” she notes. “If anyone else enjoys it and learns from it, that’s a bonus but not my focus.” She also seeks to showcase the diversity within Black communities and cultures through her clues and words, encouraging engagement and mutual learning among people from different parts of the African diaspora.
“I want to make it challenging not only for those interested in Black culture but for individuals within Black culture curious about other regions,” Pache adds. “Part of my mission is to highlight Black people from all over, and Black culture from all over, ensuring we keep learning about each other.”
Appearances may suggest these are just games, but the knowledge base needed for crosswords reveals much about what is considered “general” and “universal” knowledge—and what isn’t, explains Michelle Pera-McGhee, a data journalist at The Pudding. In 2020, Pera-McGhee analyzed decades of crossword puzzles from prominent media outlets, focusing on clues and answers related to real people. The data showed a significant imbalance, with men and white people disproportionately featured compared to women and racial and ethnic minorities.
“It’s interesting because it’s supposed to be easy,” says Pera-McGhee. “Ideally, you reference things that everyone knows about because they learn them in school or elsewhere. What are the things we all should know?”
Efforts are ongoing to make crosswords more inclusive and representative. Examples include a fellowship at The New York Times for puzzle constructors from underrepresented groups and the creation of puzzles aimed at LGBTQ+ communities and women, incorporating a broader array of references, much like Pache’s work.
“Seeing our culture reflected in this medium is really cool,” says Pache. Pera-McGhee agrees, adding that learning new things through crosswords is enriching. “Not knowing something in a puzzle isn’t bad. It should perhaps be balanced with the experience of knowing. Both enhance the crossword-solving experience.”
