In the year since the tragic deaths of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, speculation has been plentiful, but actual answers have been in short supply.Read more...
As jurisdictions across the country work to implement policing reforms in response to last year’s nationwide protests against police killings of African Americans, lawmakers in Maryland are fighting an uphill battle in pushing for transparency into law enforcement misconduct.
The office of the secretary of state of Georgia is opening an inquiry into whether or not former president Donald Trump broke state laws when he tried to overturn the election results there, The New York Times reports.Read more...
by Maiysha Kai on The Glow Up, shared by Maiysha Kai on (#5DZKW)
Any makeup lover is all-too-familiar with the ubiquitous black lacquered displays and striped shopping bags of Sephora—but until recently, finding Black brands on its shelves proved a bit more challenging. The world’s premiere beauty marketplace has been working to change that image, inside and out: after becoming the…Read more...
Today, the U.S. Senate will begin the impeachment trial to determine whether former President Donald Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection. This is the second time he has been impeached, the first time ever for a U.S. president. In 2019, he was impeached on two counts of abuse of power and obstruction of…Read more...
Despite Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s halfway attempt at walking back her love of conspiracies theories last week—ahead of having her committee assignments in Congress taken away—the Republican fire-starter continues to show she’s still someone who doesn’t belong in government, period.
by Tonja Renée Stidhum on The Grapevine, shared by T on (#5DZ8R)
It’s time for the critics to have their say during awards season! The film nominations for the 26th annual Critics Choice Awards were announced on Monday following the series nomination announcement back in January, which means we now have our complete list of nominees ready to celebrate.Read more...
by Maiysha Kai on The Grapevine, shared by Maiysha Ka on (#5DZ50)
She was a Motown legend, bestselling author, music activist, former U.S. cultural ambassador and co-founding member of The Supremes—of which she was dubbed “the sexy one.” Entertainer Mary Wilson, best known as the longest-running member of the group she made famous alongside Diana Ross and Florence Ballard (and…Read more...
by Panama Jackson on Very Smart Brothas, shared by Pa on (#5DZ51)
You may know Amii Stewart because she had a monster disco song in 1979, “Knock On Wood.” The song made it all the way to the top of the pop charts and is a disco staple. And it still bay-yangs. You know what else bay-yangs? This album cover. For one, Amii is giving all a whole lewk in this joint. If this ain’t Black…Read more...
by Maiysha Kai on The Glow Up, shared by Maiysha Kai on (#5DZ23)
It started with a postcard. It arrived during my first semester at Sarah Lawrence, the private liberal arts college 40 minutes north of New York City (and as close to the city as my Midwestern parents would allow me to live) that I’d fallen in love with at first sight, bolstered by the fact that Alice Walker was an…Read more...
Republicans love to talk about freedom, liberty, constitutional rights and all that, but a simple look at their actions shows that all that talk is just talk. GOP-led states have filed over 100 pieces of legislation to restrict voting access, leading voting activists to implore Congress to enact voting reforms at the…Read more...
It’s weird that so many struggle to believe that America was built on racism when so many of our buildings and monuments are dedicated to people who fought to preserve institutional racism. A building at the University of Alabama at Birmingham named after George C. Wallace has been renamed because of Wallace’s…Read more...
White people love to ask “Why is everything so political these days?” while proceeding to make everything political. Take, for instance, a group of parents in Utah who wanted to pull their kids from Black History Month lessons. After briefly offering parents an option to opt-out, the Utah school has now walked back…Read more...
by Bella Morais on The Grapevine, shared by Bella Mor on (#5DY7G)
There is no better way of validating or expressing joy than turning on some music and shaking your ass. And since we can’t go out and dance at clubs, bars or even other people’s houses, we’ve had to make do with indoor dance parties.
Political unrest in Haiti resulted in the arrest of more than 20 people in the nation’s Port-Au-Prince capital over the weekend, as President Jovenel Moise continues to deny requests from opposition leaders and members of the public to step down from office.
by Shanelle Genai on The Grapevine, shared by Shanell on (#5DY4T)
Stiff where? Still stiff here. Much like the relationship between Black women and our hair, the situation involving our good sis Tessica Brown (aka Gorilla Glue Girl, as she’s been unofficially dubbed on social media) and her horrendous hair catastrophe that went viral last week has also increased in complexity.
by Tonja Renée Stidhum on The Grapevine, shared by T on (#5DY2B)
You know how you have to wait for a while to see the post-credits scene during a Marvel movie because the cast and crew of a major action film is understandably dense? Well, we’ve been waiting even longer for the moment to finally be able to say Marvel Films has a Black woman writer!Read more...
by Tonja Renée Stidhum on The Grapevine, shared by T on (#5DXZH)
Tonight’s the night—the filmed reading event for George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue will make its way to your virtual screens. Directed by award-winning director-producer Nathan Hale Williams, the special filmed reading of Johnson’s work stars Dyllón Burnside (Pose), Bernard David Jones (Uncorked) and Thomas…Read more...
Media institutions continue to grapple with the question of how exactly to take responsibility for their roles in maintaining systemic racism against a stubborn culture that continues to dither about whether incidents of alleged racism are really that problematic or just evidence of “wokeness” gone too far.Read more...
by Shanelle Genai on The Grapevine, shared by Shanell on (#5DXWS)
When they go low, we get to streaming. Or at least, that’s my game plan following the latest announcement between Netflix and Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground.
by Damon Young on Very Smart Brothas, shared by Damon on (#5DXWT)
Before I began writing this, I finished eating a makeshift breakfast of two-and-a-half scrambled eggs mixed with shreds of pork pulled from the leftover ribs of last night’s dinner order. It was a slightly disappointing meal—not because of the taste of the food, but the temperature of it. I sat down to eat it at the…Read more...
I wouldn’t consider myself an expert at surviving global pandemics, but in my 10 months (and counting) of practice, there are two recommendations that I always make to people who constantly complain about how bored or miserable they are thanks to COVID-19.Read more...
by Tonja Renée Stidhum on The Grapevine, shared by T on (#5DXSQ)
On a brisk day in Montreal, Quebec in November 2019, I entered the sound stage for the production of The United States vs. Billie Holiday. In turn, I also entered the eccentric world of director Lee Daniels, who noted that he chose Montreal because it was the closest resemblance to a past Harlem that doesn’t even…Read more...
by Shanelle Genai on The Grapevine, shared by Shanell on (#5DXPJ)
On Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Fla. for this year’s Super Bowl LV. Though the Bucs ultimately walked away with the victory, the true champion of the night was arguably The Weeknd, who performed at the Pepsi Halftime Show.Read more...
by Panama Jackson on Very Smart Brothas, shared by Pa on (#5DXPK)
I’ll bet if that if I didn’t tell you that this album cover was for an album by a Ghanaian artist in 1969, I’d bet good money that you might assume this was a reference cover for a Kool Moe Dee album in 1989. Or for some gangsta rap artist out of Compton in the late ’80s. But nope, Guy Warren of Ghana (as he was known…Read more...
Democrats are using the opportunity presented by President Biden’s economic relief package to propose legislation that could further end the financial struggles experienced by families with children.
by Maiysha Kai on The Glow Up, shared by Maiysha Kai on (#5DXKN)
We heard there was a football game on Sunday, but as usual, we’re just here for the fashion. (Plus, Brady and ‘nem won yet again, so what else is new, other than you experimenting with wings in the air fryer this year?) While the game may have been anticlimactic, at best—OK, abjectly disappointing for those of us…Read more...
In 1950, Harold Pierce decided to channel the divine power of a praying Black grandma and founded Harold’s Chicken Shack and introduced us to a uniquely seasoned bucket of freshly fried chicken, accompanied by a divine red-orange liquid creation.
White conservative America sure had a lot to say about Rev. Jeremiah Wright—and by extension, the Black church—and his “God damn America” sermon. White people across the nation got all in their star-spangled feelings when they got a glimpse of how pastors in Black churches can be too radical for their delicate…Read more...
On March 23, last year, police officers in Rochester, New York, confronted Daniel Prude after his brother had called them out of concern for Prude’s mental health and general wellbeing. Prude had been walking naked through the streets and rambling incoherently—but Prude complied with officers’ instructions. Police…Read more...
Boxing legend Leon Spinks—who is most well known for his 1978 upset victory in the ring against Muhammad Ali—died Friday after a long battle with prostate cancer and other ailments.Read more...
by Panama Jackson on Very Smart Brothas, shared by Pa on (#5DW91)
I mean, I don’t even have to say it, but do you see this cover?? Look at all that animated Blackness permeating that bright yellow background. I like to think that yellow represents the sun, and everybody on the cover is the Black gold of the sun?Read more...
A Rogers, Arkansas, educator has been fired for committing the egregious offense of...calling out Republicans from his state for being the fragile white nationalists that they absolutely are. Specifically, the now-former teacher from the Arkansas Arts Academy was terminated for sending a justifiably angry email to…Read more...
America has a long road ahead of it in sufficiently dealing with its domestic terrorism problem. And the biggest hurdle America faces is itself—because America still loves white people way too much. America is so in love with its own traditional image (white people) that it’s near-blind to terrorism and other…Read more...
Before Dominique Dawes, Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas there was Dianne Durham. The first Black woman to win a USA Gymnastics national championship died in Chicago Thursday at age 52.Read more...
by Panama Jackson on Very Smart Brothas, shared by Pa on (#5DV9Z)
The album cover for Queen Latifah’s sophomore album, Nature Of A Sista’, is a much better take on the album cover for her debut, All Hail the Queen. Where All Hail the Queen had her standing in a stately, militaristic-ish fashion with the album’s title surrounding a silhouette of the African continent—it was a little…Read more...
I can’t remember who I was debating the first time I came across the video featuring the bold and confident dancer who hopped on stage during James Brown’s performance of “Super Bad” on Soul Train, but I’m certain the reason for the dispute was about a James Brown lyric. (I’m also certain the person I was debating was…Read more...