By Nadira Jamerson, Word in Black It’s been 73 years since Zora Neale Hurston’s essay “What White Publishers Won’t Print,” ran in the Negro Digest. As Hurston explained back in 1950, even though publishing houses “are in business to make money,” they don’t publish “romantic stories” about Black people “because they feel that they know […]
Category: Entertainment
Posted inMusic
Posthumous album set from ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ rapper Coolio
By Mark Kennedy, AP Entertainment Writer The estate of rapper Coolio plans to release a studio album that the Grammy-winning hitmaker had been working on in the days before he died later this year. “Long Live Coolio” will be the first posthumous album release from the “Gangsta’s Paradise” star and the first single, “TAG ‘You […]
Posted inTV and Film
Lance Reddick, ‘The Wire’ and ‘John Wick’ star, dies at 60
By MARK KENNEDY, AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Lance Reddick, a character actor who specialized in intense, icy and possibly sinister authority figures on TV and film, including “The Wire,” “Fringe” and the “John Wick” franchise, has died. He was 60. Reddick died “suddenly” Friday morning, his publicist Mia Hansen said in a […]
Posted inNational News
Choosing uncommon careers continues to keep Black women on top
By Sherri Kolade, The Michigan Chronicle The fields of tech, law, construction and that of certain business sectors are in dire need of Black women who naturally always up the ante wherever they go. However, there is still a lot to be desired. Between Black women leaving the workforce in high numbers (according to a […]
Posted inNews
About time: Toni Morrison honored with new stamp
By Aswad Walker, The Houston Defender Nobel laureate and former Texas Southern University faculty member Toni Morrison was recently “forever immortalized” on a stamp honoring her prolific career as an uncompromising, “for the culture” writer, editor, scholar and mentor. The new stamp was unveiled this month in a tribute at Princeton University, where Morrison taught […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Anson Asaka: celebrating Black women
By Reuben Greene, Special to the AFRO In honor of Women’s History Month, painter Anson Asaka recently debuted his latest exhibition, “The Black Queen In All Of Her Splendor and Glory,” with an opening reception at Katsea Gallery on West Pennsylvania Avenue in Towson, Md. The exhibit features a stunning collection of portraits that highlight […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Personality Pups teaches children how to develop and embrace their own personality
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com When Darius Bridges was 12 years old, his art teacher assigned an origami project to his class. A friend taught the Maryland native how to make an origami puppy, and after turning it in, he aced the assignment. Since he enjoyed the project so much, Bridges continued making […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA draws crowd to Baltimore Soundstage
By Reuben Greene, Special to the AFRO GZA, co-founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan, proved why he is deserving of the title “rap legend” with a recent performance at the Baltimore Soundstage. The venue was packed with fans who came from far and wide to witness an incredible performance. GZA’s entrance triggered a thunderous roar […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Popular music festival to return to nation’s capital this summer
By Michelle Richardson, Special to the AFRO It’s almost festival season and that means the number one music festival in the nation’s capital is returning. Last week, Broccoli City Festival (BCF) dates and lineups were announced and like the young kids say, “it’s lit!” Broccoli City Festival is a “Black-owned social enterprise that focuses on […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Year after the slap, Chris Rock punches back in new special
By Jake Coyle, AP Film Writer A year after Will Smith smacked him on the Academy Awards stage, Chris Rock finally gave his rebuttal in a forceful stand-up special, streamed live on Netflix on March 4, in which the comedian bragged that he “took that hit like Pacquiao.” The 58-year-old comedian on Saturday night performed […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Conversations With Debra Lee, Amy Sherald, Deborah Willis and Bisa Butler headline National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Women’s History Month celebrations
By Black PR Wire (Black PR Wire) – In honor of Women’s History Month, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture’s (NMAAHC) March programming features events with prominent Black women in the arts and entertainment industry. To kick off the month, businesswoman and former chairman and CEO of BET Debra Lee discuss the […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
One-woman show brings brilliance of Pearl Bailey, Moms Mabley and Josephine Baker to spotlight
By Deborah Bailey, Contributing Editor D.C. playwright and director Andy Evans wanted contemporary audiences to get reacquainted with the gifted comedic artistry of D.C. resident and international Black comedian, Jackie Moms Mabley. So he wrote a play about Mabley’s years at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. As Evans conceptualized the play about Mabley, who was […]