By Frances De’Milio, The Associated Press Soprano Angel Blue said that she won’t perform in an opera in Italy this month because Blackface was used in the staging of a different work this summer on the same stage. The U.S. singer posted a note on her angeljoyblue Instagram page saying she will be bowing out […]
Category: Arts & Culture
Posted inFood
DMV and Baltimore Black Restaurant Week through July 31
By Deborah Bailey, AFRO D.C. Editor Looking for that next high-quality eatery to add to your “favorites” list. Then of course, it’s time to get out and try one of the Black-owned restaurants in the DMV or Baltimore. Black Restaurant Week is happening now through July 31st. Warren Luckett, Falayn Ferrell, and Derek Robinson established the […]
Posted inBaltimore News
AFRO featured in new exhibition for NMAAHC’s Searchable Museum
By Kara Thompson, AFRO MDDC Intern The National Museum of African American History and Culture highlights the AFRO in their newest online exhibit, “Making a Way Out of No Way.” The exhibit studies the way Black people have navigated and overcome racism and discrimination while also seeking the freedom to have control over their lives […]
Posted inTV and Film
Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris film review
by Dwight Brown, NNPA News Wire Film Critic “You’re a dreamer.” That’s what her friends say. That’s her essence. Middle-aged Ada Harris (Lesley Manville, The Crown) works tirelessly as a housekeeper for rich folks in 1950s London. She scrubs, sews and keeps things tidy for wealthy, impervious snots. Her husband Eddie, a solider, went missing […]
Posted inArts & Culture
‘Rosie the Riveter’ and the Black women who joined a movement
By Tashi McQueen, Report For America Corps Member, Political Writer for The AFRO America had a dilemma. Men were at war around the world- for a second time. It was hard enough trying to keep a country running- much less a country and multiple warfronts. A choice had to be made. Would they let their […]
Posted inNational News
Houston Take an Illuminating Black History and Cultural Tour
by Dwight Brown, NNPA News Wire Travel Writer Houston’s Long History of Black Folks The African American population in Houston has been significant almost since the city was founded in 1836. These days the Black community comprise 22.83% of the population and has yielded two African American mayors: Lee Patrick Brown (1998 – 2004) and […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Vernon Winfrey, Oprah’s father, dies at 89
By The Associated Press Oprah Winfrey’s father, Vernon Winfrey, has died at the age of 89. Oprah confirmed in an Instagram post that her father died in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 8. “Yesterday with family surrounding his bedside I had the sacred honor of witnessing the man responsible for my life, take his last breath,” […]
Posted inNational News
Denzel Washington and Simone Biles among 17 Medal of Freedom honorees
By Kara Thompson, MDDC Intern On Thursday, July 7, President Biden presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 Americans in a formal ceremony at the White House. “We strive for we the people doing what we can to ensure the idea of America,” said Biden. “The call of freedom shines like the sun to […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs receives BET Award for lifetime of achievement
By Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press With a speech about his own inspirational dream for the Black community, Sean “Diddy” Combs channeled the spirit of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. while accepting the BET Awards’ highest honor on June 26. After Combs received his Lifetime Achievement Award, the music mogul said God put […]
Posted inMusic
The Moore Report: Rumor has it: a Black man showed Elvis Presley how to sing
By Ralph E. Moore, Jr., Special to the AFRO Otis Blackwell is one of the most famous songwriters, but most folks never heard of him. Blackwell wrote several bestselling songs for Elvis Presley. And admittedly, I never heard of Blackwell until Stevie Wonder received a Grammy Award for Best Male Vocalist in 1976 and acknowledged Otis Blackwell as a magnificent […]
Posted inCommentary
TBE#26 – Essence Festival: A Birthday Party That Has Grown Into A National Cultural Touchstone
By Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League “It’s within our DNA as black women, and some of it is within the historical evolution of who we are as black women, where we were trained and groomed to give so much of ourselves. Essence was specifically created to be a platform where we […]
Posted inArts & Culture
6th Annual Cherry Hill Arts & Music Waterfront Festival
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