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The Edge of 17: For Ahkeem Is a Coming-of-Age Story in the Age of Ferguson
Fun fact: I was expelled from preschool at age 4 during a brief stint when my mother and I had moved to Dallas. From the little I recall, I was one of very few black students at my private day school. My expulsion came after I defended myself against another little girl—not black—who’d been harassing…
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Whose Nude? Christian Louboutin Explains Why Inclusion Is Important—but We Still Have Questions
If you were an artistically inclined kid like me, chances are you grew up coveting crayons, colored pencils and art markers by the dozen. (Who am I kidding? I still have a vast collection of art supplies at the ready.) But if you were that kid in the 1980s or prior, you also likely remember…
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An Hour With Her: Debbie Allen Teams Up With Dove to Talk Mentorship
If you’re of a certain age, there’s a likelihood that you remember the iconic words spoken by the character of teacher Lydia Grant in the opening credits of the ’80s hit television series Fame: You’ve got big dreams. You want fame. Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying: in sweat. Multihyphenate…
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Yes, We Cannes: The Lens Is on Equality at the World’s Most Fashionable Film Festival
Liberté, egalité, fraternité (“liberty, equality, fraternity”) is France’s motto, and equality has appropriately emerged as the theme of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, taking place May 8-19 on the French Riviera. This year’s nine-member Main Competition Jury boasts five women, including Ava DuVernay, Burundian singer-songwriter Khadja Nin and this year’s jury president, actress Cate Blanchett.…
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My Mother’s Daughter, a Multigenerational Talk About Motherhood, Part 5: Rasheedah
Editor’s note: This year, to celebrate Mother’s Day, The Glow Up interviewed four generations of mothers within a single Harlem family that recently welcomed its fifth generation. We’ve asked these mothers, ages 19 to 83, the same 12 questions about motherhood, daughterhood and matriarchy. This final installment is the conclusion—and also the beginning—of their stories. …
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My Mother’s Daughter, a Multigenerational Talk About Motherhood, Part 4: Aissatou
Editor’s note: This year, to celebrate Mother’s Day, The Glow Up interviewed four generations of mothers within a single Harlem family that recently welcomed its fifth generation. We’ve asked these mothers, ages 19 to 83, the same 12 questions about motherhood, daughterhood and matriarchy. These are their stories. If you want to know about a…
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The Glow Up Anthem of the Week: Prince’s ‘I Wish U Heaven’
You didn’t think we forgot, did you? Admittedly, it’s been a busy week here at The Glow Up, with the GLAAD Awards, a lingerie line from Rihanna and the questionable Catholic imagination of the Met Gala (oh my!). Frankly, we’re ready to slow it down for the weekend, so we thought we’d start by going…
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Henrietta Lacks: The Immortal Mother of Modern Medicine Will Be Honored in the Smithsonian
Here’s a fitting Mother’s Day tribute: A portrait of the woman responsible for some of the greatest research of the 20th and 21st centuries—including polio and in vitro fertilization—will now be featured in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Henrietta Lacks was a Virginia woman who was diagnosed with and died of aggressive cervical cancer in…
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Becoming Royalty: Actress Parisa Fitz-Henley Talks Transforming Into Meghan Markle
On May 19, the most publicized wedding of the year will be telecast worldwide, and millions will tune in to watch as the British royal family openly accepts its first member of African descent, Meghan Markle. Of course, for royal-watchers, no contemporary marriage of this magnitude would be complete without the attendant Lifetime movie to…
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My Mother’s Daughter, a Multigenerational Talk About Motherhood, Part 3: Moji
Editor’s note: This year, to celebrate Mother’s Day, The Glow Up interviewed four generations of mothers within a single Harlem family that recently welcomed its fifth generation. We’ve asked these mothers, ages 19 to 83, the same 12 questions about motherhood, daughterhood and matriarchy. These are their stories. Full disclosure: Moji Alawode-El and I have…
