Category: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

For many years, brother and sister duo Pamela and Victor Simonson performed in concert as perhaps the nation’s first and only African-American brother and sister duo devoted to the performance and advocacy of classical music. As youth, their first concert debut took place on the stage of their Long Island, N.Y., church. Their upcoming special Christmas concert, which will […]

While best known as the founder, producer, and mastermind behind the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA has built an incredibly diverse and successful career as a musician, a composer of film scores, a producer, an actor, a businessman, a player and advocate of chess, and as the author of the best-selling The Tao of Wu and The […]

Alicia Keys and nearly two dozen other celebrities began an innovative HIV campaign on World AIDS Day by “killing” their social media identities for charity. To support Keys’ Keep a Child Alive charity, the stars signed off of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Their Twitter and Facebook sites will remain active with […]

Winner of the 2005 NAACP Image Award as the “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” for Ray, Kerry Washington is a versatile, talented and fearless actress who has built an impressive list of credits over the course of her relatively brief career. She has also garnered critical acclaim for recent roles in Mother and Child, […]

During a time when Blacks were shut out from many of the District’s dance schools, the Jones- Haywood Dance School (JHDS) was created to teach high-quality dance training and arts education to students of all races and economic backgrounds. Today, the school continues to carry that same regime as it celebrates its 70th year. Founded […]

AGIS Center for the Arts and Humanities will present the Chinese grand dance drama Forbidden Fruit Under the Great Wall. The production tells the compelling story of the prosperous Yin Family whose master dies, leaving behind an ailing widow and disabled son. The family’s butler hatches an evil scheme to steal the family fortune by […]

Chicago rapper Common is penning an autobiography that will be released in June, according to the Associated Press. The 38-year-old actor and hip-hop emcee’s memoir, entitled “One Day It’ll Make Sense,” will be co-written by hip-hop scholar Adam Bradley. The book will detail the rapper’s childhood on the South Side of Chicago as well as […]

On Nov. 15, the Hurston/Wright Foundation held its ninth annual Legacy Award Ceremony at Northwest Washington, D.C. restaurant Eatonville, a popular eatery inspired by writer Zora Neale Hurston’s work. The District-based organization recognized, celebrated and awarded several African-American authors for their exceptional contributions in nonfiction, fiction and poetry. For 20 years, the foundation – founded […]

A White actress on the popular BET show the “The Game” is earning a salary nearly twice that of her Black co-stars, according to gossip site Mediatakeout.com. According to the UK’s Voice-Online.Com, the Web site claimed that actress Brittany Daniel was receiving $75,000 per episode, while actress Tia Mowry made $50,000 per episode. Pooch Hall, […]

Enraged by the appearance of Bristol Palin on the popular competition show “Dancing with the Stars,” a Wisconsin man shot his television, triggering a standoff with police on Nov. 15 Steven Cowan, 66, of Vermont, Wis., viewed the program and grew angry during Palin’s dance routine on the show, launching into a tirade about politics […]

The Washington Chorus marked the beginning of its 50th anniversary with a special reception, Nov. 9, at La Maison Francaise at The Embassy of France. This special reception honored 12 great chorus founders in the District of Columbia. Among the honorees were two well-respected conductors in the African-American community: Joyce Garrett, minister of music at […]

As the nation’s leaders wage political warfare over education reform and the future of America’s children, one nonprofit organization is focused on leveling the financial playing field for exceptional students. The Zeta Phi Beta Sorority National Educational Foundation (Z-NEF) – a 501 (c )( 3) corporation dedicated to awarding scholarships, fellowship grants and education outreach […]