The public media partnership led by Maryland Public Television will present its first-ever HBCU Week NOW Student Film Festival in the winter of 2026. Produced in partnership with Black Public Media and the platform, the film festival is dedicated to showcasing the
By Omar Jimenez and Travis Caldwell, Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was found guilty Thursday on five counts of felony disorderly conduct for making false reports to police that he was the victim of a hate crime in January 2019. His defense team said
By Omar Jimenez, Bill Kirkos, Ashley Killough and Travis Caldwell, Jurors in Chicago will begin the second day of deliberations Thursday in the trial of actor Jussie Smollett, who has been charged in connection with allegedly staging a fake hate crime and falsely reporting
By Omar Jimenez, Bill Kirkos, Eric Levenson and Steve Almasy, Closing arguments are set to take place Wednesday in Jussie Smollett’s trial, a day after the former “Empire” actor took the stand to rebut allegations that he staged a hoax hate crime and lied
By Omar Jimenez, Bill Kirkos and Steve Almasy, Jussie Smollett will resume testifying in his defense today after taking the stand Monday to rebut allegations that he staged a fake hate crime in 2019 and lied to Chicago police about it. The former Empire
By Jeevan Ravindran, Spotify is not joking around amid a dispute over royalties for comedy content. The streaming giant has removed the work of hundreds of comedians from its platform — including Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart and the late Robin Williams — according to rights agency Spoken Giants.
By Sana Noor Haq, A petition asking reporters to stop interviewing Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith has garnered more than 2,500 signatures and counting. Appearing on the petition-hosting site Change.org, the appeal was started by user Dexter Morales on November 26, with the caption “Stop interviewing Will
By Lisa Respers France, Friends and family paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman on Monday. The “Black Panther” star, who would have turned 45 on November 29, died in August 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer. A posting on his verified Instagram account showed
By Lisa Respers France, Rihanna’s homeland wants her to continue to “shine bright like a diamond.” The singer was honored Monday in her native Barbados during its presidential inauguration, which served to mark the country becoming a republic. Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley
By Joseph Ataman, Black, American-born, a woman, and arguably best known for her exotic dancing: Josephine Baker hardly fits the profile of France’s historical heroes. But today, the performer from Saint Louis, Missouri, was granted one of France’s highest honors: A tomb in the Pantheon
By Toyin Owoseje, Kanye West honored his late friend, barrier-breaking designer Virgil Abloh, by dedicating the latest installment of his Sunday Service series to the cultural icon as tributes poured in from around the music and fashion world. Abloh, the acclaimed menswear designer for
