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Courtney B. Vance’s Small but Mighty Role in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks premieres April 22 at 8 p.m. ET on HBO, and I’ll be tuned in because it’s that good. I’m not just saying that because I had an otherworldly experience with one of the stars of the film, Oprah Winfrey, this week. It’s honestly worth watching more than once, and…
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Nothing Can Prepare You for How Powerful The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Is
Writers tell stories in hopes that not only are they read but they also come to life. This is what has happened to Rebecca Skloot’s book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which chronicles the tragic tale of Lacks, a 31-year-old black woman from Clover, Va., whose terminal-cancer diagnosis and undying cells ended up changing…
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Wherever 2 or 3 Black Girls and Oprah Are Gathered Together, Magic Is in the Midst
Earlier this week, journalists were called to a swanky hotel in New York City to sit with the (majority-black) cast and director (George C. Wolfe) of HBO’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. We weren’t given many details—just where to be and at what time. With Oprah Winfrey leading the star-studded cast, we could only…
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Watch: Morris Day Remembers the Day He Met His Friend Prince
Imagine it: It’s 1970s Minneapolis. A 15-year-old Morris Day is skipping school to go hang out with this band his friend André Cymone formed called Grand Central. (When retelling this story, Day peeped his eyes over his dark sunglasses and said, “Kids, don’t follow my lead on that!”) His friend Cymone invited Day to come…
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Watch: Your Favorite Celebs Sing Their Favorite Prince Songs
April 21, 2017, marks the one-year anniversary of Prince’s death. Yeah, I can’t believe it, either. It’s been an entire 365 (and counting) days since we lost one of the most prolific artists of all time. To say Prince impacted the music industry is an understatement. He shifted an entire culture, creating a lane for…
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Watch: Hashtag Revolution: #BlackTravel Takes the World by Storm
Hashtags have defined pop culture. You spot them all over social media, and now many of them have become popular phrases, especially when they highlight blackness: #BlackBoyJoy, #BlackLivesMatter, #GrowingUpBlack and the list goes on. #BlackTravel has become more than a hashtag; it’s a lifestyle, offering up various imagery of beautiful black people all over the…
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Watch: Are You #TeamTheRock or #TeamVinDiesel?
The 559th installment in the Fast and the Furious movie series is upon us, and it’s called The Fate of the Furious. Yes, this is the franchise that cannot be stopped! With all the usual players—Tyrese, Chris Bridges, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, the Rock, returning star Jason Statham—and newcomer Charlize Theron, The Fate of the…
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Unique Views, Episode 38: Where Do You Even Go to Buy a Prison, Damian Marley?!
Stephen A. Crockett Jr. and I finally did something we never do: No, we didn’t get along. We’ll never do that. We did a minisode of our podcast! Every week, when I grow weary of Stephen’s voice and personality, I say, “Ugh, let’s just make this a minisode so that we can just get in and…
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Watch: Hashtag Revolution: 16-Year-Old Girl Teaches Only Lesson You’ll Ever Need About #Melanin
Hashtags have defined pop culture. You spot them all over social media, and now many of them have become popular phrases, especially when they highlight blackness: #BlackBoyJoy, #BlackLivesMatter, #GrowingUpBlack, and the list goes on. #Melanin is a shining example of a hashtag-turned-movement. Not only is it a fresh and delicious word to use in place…
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Watch Out Loud: What Is #BlackBoyJoy and Why Do We Need It?
I was obsessed with Chance the Rapper after watching him live his unapologetic best life at the 2016 Video Music Awards on MTV. He stuck to my rib so much, I asked my managing editor, Danielle Belton, if I could write about him. She obliged my random request. Not only did I write about Chance…
