Black Love Matters in Real Life & in Film
On the recent cable broadcast of Book Of Negroes when Aminata Diallo says to her former slave owner, “I love that slave man… freely,” she was not only claiming her love for her African husband, she was committing an act of resistance. Manifesting their love was a radical expression of freedom for slaves that even chains couldn’t suppress. That kind of freedom was a threat to the entire institution of slavery and, seemingly, is one Read more...
The 15 Most Fascinating Hot Grrrls of 2013
Fresh on the heels of watching Lupita Nyong’o get robbed at the Golden Globes for her star-making, provocative and mesmerizing performance in 12 Years A Slave and frankly, still salty over Kerry Washington’s Emmy loss last fall, I was reminded of theHotness’ Most Fascinating List from 2010 and knew it was high-time to bring that justificative joint back. And yea, the Oscars even snubbed Oprah yesterday and left her, for a second time (first Read more...
My Interview With Ava DuVernay About Scandal
Last night’s episode of Scandal was the bonafide real deal TRUTH!! It was the hot oil in a black bottom skillet; the Kool in Kool-Aid! To quote one of our geniuses, it was “superbad, superslick” and it all came together so brilliantly under the direction of filmmaker Ava DuVernay! Please read my Ebony mag interview with this cinematic force of nature. Ava is so smart, fiercely her own woman, and all about Team Liv. I Read more...
Miriam Carey, Gladiators & The Mentally Ill
Real life is stranger than fiction. Olivia Pope seems to have the answers to it all. Just when you think she is down and out she rises again to face another day without so much as a smudge on her white trench coat. But in Washington, D.C. yesterday Miriam Carey was shot several times by police and she will never see another day. Reports that she suffered from post-partum depression, which in many circles, especially Read more...
The 5 Women That Should’ve Been in Vanity Fair
As usual another magazine comes out with their “Hottest,” “Sexiest” and “Best Of” Issue featuring the flavors of the month in popular culture. And of course, the panorama of pale faces is yet another reminder that people of color are a second, if not third, thought in mainstream media’s eyes. So when I saw the Vanity Fair TV Issue, and did not see one brown face on the cover I wasn’t outraged or even surprised. Read more...