ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, a graduate of Winston-Salem University in North Carolina, is creating a new docuseries that will focus heavily on the history and importance of America’s HCBUs. The show is being produced with director Elaine Oliver, the director and
By Candace McDuffie Even though there were numerous reports that The Marvels had the worst opening weekend ever for any MCU film at $47 million, director Nia DaCosta has made history. The Marvels, is now the highest-grossing film for a Black female director and has surpassed Ava
By Angela Johnson From his time on VH1’s Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party to his bestselling book of soul food recipes, “From Crook to Cook,” Snoop Dogg has shown us that he can get down in the kitchen. Now, the D.O.-Double-G. is back with
By Uwa Ede-Osifo To playwright Jocelyn Bioh, the African hair braiders of Harlem are icons. “They’re a large part of the economy of Harlem,” Bioh said of the Manhattan neighborhood. “Those are women-owned businesses, and for the most part led.” Despite the ubiquity
By Mandalit del Barco Screenwriters and major Hollywood studios have reached a tentative three-year deal, which, if ratified, would end one of the strikes that have ground Hollywood to a halt. “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional,”
At the Venice Film Festival press conference for Ava DuVernay’s new film “Origin” on Wednesday, the director revealed that she has previously been told not to apply to the festival because “you won’t get in.” DuVernay is making history this year as the first African
By Stephanie Holland After a star-studded bidding process led to the most interest BET has seen in years, Paramount Global abruptly pulled the plug on the sale of its majority stake in the BET Media Group. Notable names interested in acquiring BET, its streaming
Ron Cephas Jones, a veteran stage actor who won two Emmy Awards for his role as a long-lost father who finds redemption on the NBC television drama series “This Is Us,” has died at age 66, a representative said Saturday. Jones’ manager,
By Shanelle Genai The passing of Clarence Avant, affectionately known as the “Black Godfather” of music, has those in Black Hollywood and abroad reminiscing on his life and legacy. One of those people is Tyler Perry, who posted a series of pictures with and of Avant,
Grace Bumbry, a pioneering mezzo-soprano who became the first Black singer to perform at Germany’s Bayreuth Festival during a career of more than three decades on the world’s top stages, has died. She was 86. Bumbry died Sunday at Evangelisches Krankenhaus, a
