Category: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Film Life Inc. has named England-born actor Idris Elba ambassador of the 14th Annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF), according to a press release sent to the AFRO. The festival will be held June 23-26 in Miami, Fla. The ABFF is an international gathering of Black cinema stars and creative minds. As the event’s ambassador, […]

Since Haiti’s no longer front-page news, it’s very easy to forget about the fact that there’s an ongoing crisis there in the wake of the devastating earthquake which hit the island on January 12th. Fortunately, CNN’s Soledad O’Brien stands out as a journalist who has remained very committed to keeping the story of the country’s […]

Try telling comedian Reese Waters he can’t do something and the 29-year-old will probably scoff at your projections. The Forestville, Md., native grew up blasting Martin Lawrence’s raunchy comedy tapes through his headphones in the backseat of his parents’ car. It was here that Waters’ comedic aspirations were born. But through the birth of his […]

(Baltimore, MD) –  “Soul Revival: A Poetic and Visual Experience of Renewal,” an art exhibit co-sponsored by Meroe Art Gallery and Authentic Contemporary Art, opens on May 1 and extends through Aug. 1 at the Meroe Art Gallery in Baltimore. The free opening reception is May 1 from 6 to 9 p.m., featuring poetry performances […]

With the rising popularity of spoken word and the rapid emergence of subgenres in poetry, the Great Publishing Company is presenting the National Underground Spoken Word & Poetry Awards (NUSPA) to honor the often unnoticed work of poets around the country. Deemed “the Grammys for poets,” NUSPA seeks to bring recognition to written and spoken […]

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The Ohio home of the late singer Gerald Levert is in ruins following an April 17 fire, with firefighters calling the home a total loss. According to reports, Levert bought the house in April 1994, and lived there until his death of a heart attack in November 2006 at age 40. The house has been […]

Oprah Winfrey recently made her first public comment about the Kitty Kelly book about her life at a New York event, Blackamericaweb.com reported. Winfrey spoke on April 19 at the New York Women in Communications Matrix Awards, where she presented an award to her longtime friend, Gayle King. Winfrey told the audience that the week […]

The Apollo Theater, the legendary venue that jumpstarted the careers of many well-known artists, celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. Helping to commemorate the theater’s anniversary and rich history, the Smithsonian Museum’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture is presenting “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment,” a […]

It landed on vinyl then moved to cassette; traveled to CD before reaching iTunes to be downloaded to iPods. The history of hip hop has had a long and winding journey, but a Washington, D.C. teacher is making sure the origin never escapes her students. Special education inclusion teacher Pamela Mitchell instituted her Hip Hop […]

Keith “Guru” Elam, one-half of the pioneering hip-hop group Gang Starr, died after a long battle with cancer on April 19, Mtvnews.com reported. “The world has lost one of the best MCs and hip-hop icons of all time—my best friend, partner and brother, Guru,” longtime friend and collaborator, Solar told Mtvnews.com. “Guru has been battling […]

Since age 8, Martin Owino has fostered had a deep-rooted passion for art, especially batik, a cloth-decorating craft with origins in Africa and Asia. In fact, Owino’s passion for the intricate art was vital to his survival as a child growing up among the Luo people of Kenya. “It was how my family made a […]