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From Jackie Aina to the CROWN Coalition, Black Women Lead Glamour’s List of Women Changing the Beauty Industry
It’s our turn. That’s the message Glamour magazine is giving black women, with the release of its “Women of the Year All Year” list honoring the biggest influencers in beauty. Of the 12 women the magazine profiled for 2019, eight are black, indicating that our influence is finally moving beyond being fodder for appropriation to…
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The Bitter, the Sweet, and the Book: Beyoncé’s Seminal Work Enters the Literary Canon With The Lemonade Reader
In the three years since Beyoncé seamlessly merged black feminism and pop culture with the release of Lemonade, much has been said—and written—about the impact of her semi-autobiographical visual album, which traced a direct lineage from ancient African religion and folklore to Gullah culture to New Orleans’ “bounce” and the black female backbones of movements…
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‘I Can’t Stop’: With Ms. Blakk for President, Moonlight Writer Tarell Alvin McCraney Campaigns as an Unlikely Candidate
“The most transparent way is the truth.” Tarell Alvin McCraney is telling me about the circuitous journey that led him and longtime collaborator Tina Landau to the real-life character of Ms. Joan Jett Blakk. That’s “two t’s, two k’s,” as she reminds us during her run for president at Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf Theatre, where McCraney…
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Behind Picket Fences: In Sam Kebede’s EthiopianAmerica, the American Dream Masks a Common Nightmare
There is palpable energy prior to a theatrical production; a current of excitement that buzzes through an audience anticipating new work on the stage. At the press night for EthiopianAmerica, the newest production from the Chicago-based Definition Theatre Company staged at Victory Gardens, there was also a profound feeling of family, as several members of…
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LeBron James’ I Promise School Receives a $1 Million Boost from Dick’s Sporting Goods
The good news keeps coming for LeBron James’ groundbreaking I Promise School in his native Akron, Ohio. Following April reports that the school was already yielding incredible results in its first year, the NBA star surprised I Promise students by announcing that they’d be receiving a brand new gym, thanks to a $1 million grant…
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Live to Tell: 25 Years After Genocide, Miracle in Rwanda Sheds Light on a Tragic Legacy
It’s been 25 years since the civil war that resulted in genocide against the Tutsi tribe of the East African nation of Rwanda. During a three-month period in 1994, as many as one million Rwandans were killed, including approximately 70 percent of the Tutsi population. Among those who lived to tell the massacre was Immaculée…
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Ready for a New Adventure? The Glow Up, VSB and Toyota Are Taking Charge in Philly!
Feeling overdue for a new adventure in your life? The first step is believing it’s possible—and trust us, it is. On Thursday, May 2, we’re bringing the empowerment and inspiration you need to Philadelphia when The Glow Up and Very Smart Brothas host “Taking Charge,” in partnership with Toyota. That’s right; we’re bringing one of…
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'My Choice': With a Series of All Black, All Hijabi April Covers, Vogue Arabia Demystifies Muslim Modesty
“I think it’s important to remember that wearing a hijab is a woman’s personal choice. It doesn’t make her any better or worse than another Muslim woman. To me, it symbolizes modesty and gives me a sense of power,” supermodel Halima Aden tells Vogue Arabia. Aden, a groundbreaking Muslim model who has become a well-known…
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Thespian Heaven: Phylicia Rashad and André Holland to Perform Toni Morrison at New York City's 92Y
This is a trio that needs to go on tour: On May 23, one of the most coveted tickets of the New York City theatrical season won’t be for any Broadway show, but for famed cultural center 92Y (not to be confused with the YMCA), which will host acclaimed actors Phylicia Rashad and André Holland…
