By Dwight Brown, NNPA Syndication Film Critic The American Black Film Festival named actress-turned-director Halle Berry its official ABFF Ambassador in 2021. As the fest celebrated its 25th year, Berry proudly showcased her directorial debut Bruised. Normally the fest takes place in Miami, but this year ABFF’s Black films screened on their streaming service ABFFPLAY.com. […]
Category: Arts & Culture
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
D.C. native, Ari Lennox arrested in Amsterdam, alleges racism
By Micha Green AFRO D.C. and Digital Editor mgreen@afro.com D.C. native and celebrated singer Ari Lennox took to Twitter Monday to share alarming news for her more than seven hundred thousand followers- that she was being arrested. “They’re arresting me,” the singer first wrote on Twitter, before following up with another disturbing tweet. “I’m being […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Rapper G Herbo celebrates album success on Monster Energy Tour
By Imani Wj Wright Special to the AFRO Downtown Silver Spring had some extra electricity in the air as Chicago native, G Herbo, took to the stage at The Fillmore. This was G Herbo’s third stop on his Monster Energy Outbreak Tour. Monster Energy started their Outbreak Tours in 2011, focusing on artists who are […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Lizzo gives heartfelt message at Missy Elliot’s Walk of Fame induction
By Rollin Out (NNPA Newswire) – Lizzo got teary as she thanked Missy Elliott for “making my dreams come true” at the latter’s Hollywood Walk of Fame induction. The “Get Ur Freak On” rapper was honored with a star on the famous sidewalk in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, and stars came out in force to […]
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Black fashion designer Virgil Abloh dies of cancer at 41
By Jake Coyle AP Film Writer Virgil Abloh, a leading designer whose groundbreaking fusions of streetwear and high couture made him one of the most celebrated tastemakers in fashion and beyond, has died of cancer. He was 41. Abloh’s death was announced Nov. 28 by the luxury group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) and Abloh’s […]
Posted inENTERTAINMENT
New HBO docuseries examines inattention paid to Black missing people
By AFRO Staff A new HBO docuseries shines a spotlight on efforts to locate and draw attention to missing Black people. And, it also explores the neglect of these disappearances by law enforcement and the media. “Black and Missing,” by multiple Emmy winner Geeta Gandbhir and award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, follows the efforts of the Black […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
In French Pantheon, Josephine Baker makes history yet again
By Arno Pedram and Sylvie Corbet The Associated Press France is inducting Josephine Baker — Missouri-born cabaret dancer, French World War II spy and civil rights activist — into its Pantheon, the first Black woman honored in the final resting place of France’s most revered luminaries. On Nov. 30, a coffin carrying soils from the […]
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Giving the Western some swagger in ‘The Harder They Fall’
By Jake Coyle AP Film Writer If you had any doubt that Jeymes Samuel, the director of “The Harder They Fall” and the British musician known as the Bullits, loves Westerns, then you haven’t heard him sing Dean Martin’s “My Rifle, My Pony and Me” from John Ford’s “Rio Bravo.” “When Dean Martin pops up […]
Posted in!Front Page
BCPS student Brooke Monroe Conaway stars in a holiday movie
BECOMING A “LITTLE BIG SHOT” It was just March 2020 when Brooke Monroe Conaway, a BCPS elementary school student, and her dad Cornell Conaway appeared on NBC’s “Little Big Shots” with host actress Melissa McCarthy. It was Brooke’s first appearance on a national television show. The father-daughter duo had been discovered on Instagram in a […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Meet Akina app builds safe haven for Black mothers to connect
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer Report for America Corps Member msayles@afro.com In 2018, Leigh Higginbotham Butler found herself facing a financial crisis. After relocating to Dallas, Texas with her husband and two sons, she obtained a position with a political campaign, but after one month, the candidate decided to withdraw from the race. Butler […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Express yourself: YouTube is a viable option
By Osaretin Iyare Special to the AFRO Move over Hollywood, there is another path to celebrity status. In the past, the highly competitive space of television and movies was the quickest way to the hearts and minds of the public, until technology disrupted everything. Social media carries incredible power to transform the average person into […]
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5 must-see flicks at this year’s African Diaspora International Film Festival
By Lenore T. Adkin Special to the AFRO The wide availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. convinced the two founders of the traveling African Diaspora Film Festival to offer limited, in-person screenings in their adopted hometown of New York City to better connect with audiences, alongside mostly virtual events to reach people everywhere. This […]