By The Associated Press The lights dimmed and the crowd of men and women erupted into applause and hoots April 18 evening as Hollywood’s blockbuster “Black Panther” premiered in Saudi Arabia’s first movie theater. Though it was a private, invitation-only screening, for many Saudis it marked one of the clearest moments of change to sweep […]
Category: Arts & Culture
Posted inBaltimore News
Bearden in Baltimore City Public Schools
By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com The vast majority of people who pass through the Upton Metro station, the second busiest Metro stop (Penn-North is first) in the city, probably don’t realize that an American art masterpiece hangs in their midst, looming over all that enter. “A Baltimore Uproar,” is perhaps the most famous mosaic of […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Living For The Weekend
By Valerie Fraling, Special to the AFRO “The years of imprisonment hardened me…. Perhaps if you have been given a moment to hold back and wait for the next blow, your emotions wouldn’t be blunted as they have been in my case. When it happens every day of your life, when that pain becomes a […]
Posted inSports
Former NFL Great Michael Vick Doesn’t Dodge His Past
By Mark F. Gray, Special to the AFRO Michael Vick became an NFL legend by eluding defenders that were trying to stop him. With his playing days now over Vick doesn’t run away from his past as he candidly shares his life story around the country while making an appearance at First Baptist Church of Glenarden’s […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Nina Simone, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, to be Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame
By MESFIN FEKADU, AP Music Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Bon Jovi, the Cars and four first-time nominees, including Nina Simone, will be inducted Saturday night as the 2018 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class. Dire Straits, The Moody Blues and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who died in 1973, will also earn the prestigious honor at […]
Posted inNational News
Mavis Staples to Receive Underground Railroad Museum Award
By The Associated Press CINCINNATI (AP) — The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati says it plans to celebrate the life of singer and activist Mavis Staples with one of the museum’s highest honors. Mavis Staples (Courtesy photo/www.mavisstaples.com) The center will present Staples with the Everyday Freedom Hero Award at a reception on Friday. […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Between the World and Me’ Comes to Life at the Kennedy Center
By Hamzat Sani, Special to the AFRO “And you know now, if you did not before, that the police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body. It does not matter if the destruction is the result of an unfortunate overreaction. It does not matter if it originates in a […]
Posted inSports
Athlete Turned Photographer Hopes to Change Urban Perceptions
By Mark F. Gray, Special to the AFRO J.J. McQueen has spent most of his adult life looking at life through the prism of a camera’s lens. Whether he’s on assignment in the heat of the Freddy Gray aftermath or covering a sports event for Showtime, McQueen has traveled across the United States to chronicle an […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Star-Studded DC Emancipation Day Celebration Set
By Akil Wilson, Special to the AFRO This weekend Washington D.C. is preparing to celebrate the 156th anniversary of Emancipation Day, a day that commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia on April 16, 1862. “Its important to tell the story of the 3,100 enslaved African-Americans freed in the District […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Baltimore School for the Arts Alum Making New TV Show for Millennials
By Tilesha Brown, Special to the AFRO Imani Robinson, a Baltimore native, actor, alumna of the Baltimore School for the Arts and television writer is looking to produce a new show called “3 Blind Mice.” But despite the name, this show has nothing to do with nursery rhymes. Imani Robinson is currently raising money for a […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Atima Omara, Political Pioneer with No Fear of Failing
By Tilesha Brown, Special to the AFRO Atima Omara is an award-winning political strategist, advocate, writer and speaker based in Washington, D.C. She made history in 2013 when she became the first African American, and only the fifth woman, to be elected president of the Young Democrats of America (YA). She has worked for a governor […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Erin J. Gilbert’s Job is to Archive Black Art for the Smithsonian
By Nadine Matthews, Special to the AFRO Erin J. Gilbert recalls the wise advice of a former mentor who told her, “Nothing matters besides acquisitions, exhibitions and publication.” In the world of fine art, the value of a piece of art is directly related to these three elements. Archiving the documents of artists enable publications of […]
