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 […]
Category: Arts & Culture
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Rihanna to headline 2023 Super Bowl halftime show
By Jake Coyle, The Associated Press Rihanna will take center stage at February’s Super Bowl halftime show. The singer, who declined to perform in the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, will headline the 2023 Super Bowl, the NFL announced Sunday along with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and Apple Music. Rihanna […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Maryland Public Television honors life and legacy of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass with separate films
By Grace Kpetemey, Special to the AFRO and Alexis Taylor, AFRO News Editor The courage, strength and legacy of abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass will be on full display this month. Two separate PBS documentaries, co-produced by Maryland Public Television and Firelight Films, will premier in the beginning of October. In January of this […]
Posted inMusic
Gangsta’s Paradise’ rapper Coolio dies at age 59
By Jonathan Landrum Jr. and Andrew Dalton, AP Entertainment Writers Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” died Sept. 28 at age 59, his manager said. Coolio died at the Los Angeles home of a friend, longtime manager Jarez Posey told The […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Realm Pictures International’s ‘Steal Away’ commits 10 percent of box office profits to HBCUs
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Los Angeles native Stephen Blake gained his fascination with film when he was just 9 years old. His uncle gifted him an 8mm movie camera, and he immediately began creating short films, casting his sisters and neighbors as the main characters. Eventually, his […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
BET co-founder Sheila Johnson now making moves as luxury hotel creator and CEO
By Deborah Bailey. Contributing Editor Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) has been exceptionally busy over the past 10 years. These days, she can be found serving as founder and C.E.O. of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, a luxury brand of resorts started in Middleburg, Va., an hour from the nation’s capital. Johnson’s longtime […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra celebrate the site and sounds of music
By Ralph E. Moore, Jr., Special to the AFRO The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore celebrated its 40th birthday on Sept. 17. A packed house greeted the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as they celebrated the space that has helped shape the city and warm the hearts of its citizens. The […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The ‘Woman King’ makes revolutionary debut
By Stephane Dunn, Ph.D., and Beverly Guy-Sheftal Ph.D., Chicago Defender Back in a 1974 review of the Bond-like Cleopatra Jones movie starring Tamara Dobson, Feminist and former Ms. Magazine editor Margaret Sloan spoke volumes about Black female spectatorial desire. Damn, that felt good she wrote. After viewing The Woman King, we know exactly what she […]
Posted inBaltimore News
New festival, Charm City Live, debuts in Baltimore
By Nicole D. Batey, Special to the AFRO Mayor Brandon M. Scott and and Baltimore City Recreation and Parks (BCRP) are hosting Charm City Live, a one-day fall celebration, highlighting some of the city’s best in food and eclectic culture, on the lawn of War Memorial Plaza on Sept. 24 from 12 p.m. to 8 […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Reginald F. Lewis Foundation hosts essay-writing contest for Baltimore City Public School students
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation is currently calling for submissions to its student writing contest. Baltimore City Public School (City School) students are encouraged to read or listen to “Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?” by Reginald F. Lewis and Blair […]
Posted inMusic
Rapper PnB Rock fatally shot in Los Angeles restaurant
By The Associated Press Philadelphia rapper PnB Rock was fatally shot during a robbery in South Los Angeles, according to police and his representatives. The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Allen, was eating inside a Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles restaurant with his girlfriend on the afternoon of Sept. 12 when a suspect approached their […]
Posted inTV and Film
Fall Preview: ‘The Woman King’ comes for the throne
By JAKE COYLE, AP Film Writer Gina Prince-Bythewood didn’t get very far into reading the script for “The Woman King,” a historical epic about a real West African army of female warriors, before she knew she wanted to direct it. “Literally five pages into it I knew it was going to be my next film,” […]