-
Cheryl Boone Isaacs Put the Oscars on a Path Toward Diversity. Will Her Successor Continue the Trend?
Tonight’s 89th annual Academy Awards will be very different from last year’s broadcast or even the year before. In 2015 and 2016, there were no black actors or actors of color nominated in any acting categories. One of the reasons activist April Reign was so successful in launching her #OscarsSoWhite movement in protest was that…
-
Maya Angelou’s Son and Grandson Explain Why a Documentary on Such a ‘Phenomenal Woman’ Is So Necessary Now
Some people’s lives are bigger than they are; that was certainly the case with Maya Angelou. This “phenomenal woman” packed in a lot of living even for someone blessed with a relatively long journey of 86 years. That’s what’s most clear in the first-ever documentary on her life, Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, airing…
-
Killer Mike: Black People Are Like the ‘Neglected Wife’ of the Democratic Party
Since being launched into the hip-hop stratosphere by Outkast on their 2001 single “The Whole World,” Killer Mike has been a fixture on the Southern hip-hop landscape. However, during the presidential election, he became a national political presence after backing Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton. Mike’s fervent support of the white Jewish grandpa from Vermont…
-
From Dr. Dre to #BlackBauer, 24: Legacy’s Corey Hawkins Is Doing Big Things
If there’s one thing 24 fans know, it’s that things don’t always go as planned. And that was certainly the case for the debut of 24: Legacy, Fox’s reboot of its game-changing series 24, after Super Bowl LI. Of course the Super Bowl would go into a first-ever overtime, pushing 24: Legacy’s well-timed promotional premiere…
-
Jemele Hill and Michael Smith Are Taking Over SportsCenter, and Somewhere, Stuart Scott Is Smiling
Even if you aren’t the biggest sports fan, you may have heard of Michael Smith and Jemele Hill. His & Hers, which began as a podcast conceived and hosted by Smith and Hill, proved so popular that in 2014 it replaced the ESPN2 show Numbers Never Lie, which Smith began co-hosting with Charissa Thompson in…
-
Class Is in Session With BET’s Madiba, Starring Laurence Fishburne as the South African Icon
The New Edition Story may have signaled that BET is in the original-content game for real. But the truth is, the network has been slowly working at this for years. And history, not music, has been the main driver when it comes to the miniseries that air on the network. Reportedly, great viewer reception to…
-
Review: BET Does Right by New Edition and All of Us
Just when you thought this television season couldn’t get any blacker, BET raises a fist and busts through the door with the ultimate “for us by us” miniseries: The New Edition Story. Often described as their generation’s Temptations and Jackson 5, New Edition—Ronnie DeVoe, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Brown and, later, Johnny…
-
For New Showrunner Erica Shelton Kodish, Being Mary Jane Is Personal
Editor’s note: Because of President Barack Obama’s farewell address, Being Mary Jane will air at 10 p.m. ET on Jan. 10 and return to its regular 9 p.m. ET schedule next week. When it was announced that husband-and-wife creative duo Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil had scored a new development deal and would be…
-
The Force Is Strong With This Black Executive Who Helped Bring Rogue One to the Big Screen
Rogue One is finally here and has more than an origins-story twist at work behind the scenes. Lucasfilm creative executive Rayne Roberts was one of the team members who were instrumental in getting it here, and she shared her own origins story of sorts in Atlanta on Tuesday with a group of teenage boys from…
-
Unsung: The Story of House Music and Pioneer Frankie Knuckles Is Long Overdue
Those tuning in Wednesday night to TV One’s Unsung: Frankie Knuckles and the Roots of House will get an unexpected surprise. Unlike previous Unsung episodes, this one is extremely ambitious. Using Frankie Knuckles—the universally recognized “Godfather of House Music” who is perhaps best known for “The Whistle Song”—as its anchor, Unsung dares to tell the…
