By Bianca CrowleySpecial to the AFRO Podcasts are all the rage these days. As members of the African Diaspora increase their numbers in the podcast industry, Black history and lineage have been in the spotlight. Below are five podcasts related to African-American history, genealogy and roots. The African Roots Podcast This direct and engaging podcast […]
Category: Arts & Culture
Posted inENTERTAINMENT
#NNPA BLACKPRESS IN MEMORIAM: ‘American Idol’ runner-up killed in car crash at 23
By Malik Brown | RollingOut.com Singer Willie Spence, who finished in second place on Season 19 of American Idol in 2021, died in a car crash in Tennessee on Oct. 11. He was 23-years-old. A family member said that Spence had a flat tire but allegedly got it fixed as he was coming home to Atlanta from Tennessee. Willie […]
Posted inHBCU
2 shot, others hurt at Asian Doll HBCU homecoming concert
By The Associated Press Two people were shot and others were injured as they fled gunfire that broke out at a North Carolina college homecoming concert featuring rapper Asian Doll the night of Oct. 15, officials said. Officers called to the campus of Livingstone College in Salisbury around 11 p.m. found two people shot and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Documentaries on three powerful Black women reveal new facts
Courageous ancestors: Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Thea Bowman honored with new films By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO As more true history is being uncovered these days, we can happily enjoy three recently created documentaries about three powerful women who made a tremendous difference in the lives of so many. Harriet […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Husband and wife entrepreneurs release YouTube game show ‘Do You Know Black?’
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Husband and Wife team Darnell and Alyssa Gilet are not just business partners, they’re gamemakers. The couple always loved hosting game nights at their house, and one day, Alyssa decided to design her own Black pop culture trivia game for their friends to […]
Posted inTV and Film
Apple TV+ to release ‘Emancipation’ with Will Smith, months after actor’s physical assault of fellow comedian
By Jake Coyle, The Associated Press After holding it in limbo following Will Smith’s assault of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in March, Apple will release the actor’s next big project, “Emancipation,” this December. In the fallout of Smith’s smack of the comedian, the fate of “Emancipation” — a $120 million runaway slave thriller […]
Posted inENTERTAINMENT
Chrisette Michele punctuates ‘Black Excellence’ at NNPA Leadership Awards
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent, @StacyBrownMedia Grammy winner Chrisette Michele sent the packed house home buzzing following her dazzling performance to conclude the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Annual Leadership Reception at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. Belting out a string of hits and crowd favorites, Michele crooned and teased the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Four-time Grammy-nominated artist Oleta Adams to perform at The Weinberg Center
By Beverly Richards, Special to the AFRO Q: Tell me about your musical upbringing and how it influenced your sound. A: My great-uncle raised me, and he was a Southern Baptist minister. So, of course I was raised in the church, and I learned a lot about leading choirs because I was the accompanist from […]
Posted inBaltimore News
‘Our Town’ opens at Center Stage in Baltimore
By Beverly Richards, Special to the AFRO Located in the heartbeat of Baltimore, play lovers united to see Stevie Walker-Webb’s contemporary take on the American classic, “Our Town,” by Thornton Wilder. The play focuses on community and how we live this life connected, “two-by-two.” That sense of community hits you immediately when you enter Center […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Till Debuts at 2022 New York Film Festival
by Dwight Brown, NNPA News Wire Film Critic “Hardly a moment goes by when I don’t think about Emmett and the lessons a son can teach a mother.” Quoted from Mamie Till-Mobley. Emmett Till, a black teen, was murdered by racists in Money, Mississippi on April 28th in 1955. Writer/director Chinonye Chukwu (Clemency) and cowriters […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Emory University offers 1st ever course on Tyler Perry
By AFRO Staff Madea is going to school this fall. Emory University’s Oxford College, based in Georgia, is currently offering a course based on Tyler Perry’s body of work, including his most-known character, “Madea,” and his impact on the entertainment industry. It is the first college course of its kind in the country, according to […]
Posted inWord In Black
Books by Black authors to add to your 2022 reading list
By Word In Black Malcolm X once said that “I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity” — and at Word In Black, we agree. With book bans sweeping the nation, we’re reminded of how our ancestors fought and died for the right to read. Nowadays, due to inequities in […]