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Kenyan Orphanage Re-Creates an Epic NBA Moment
When Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics stole Detroit Piston Isiah Thomas’ pass, setting up Dennis Johnson’s layup, it made Game 5 of the legendary 1987 NBA Eastern Conference finals one to remember. In an effort to raise money to build a play space of their own, the children at Grace Care Centre, an orphanage…
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PBS Unveils Black Culture Connection Website
PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, is expanding its digital platform. The nonprofit television network has announced the launch of Black Culture Connection, an online guide to films, stories and other resources about the black experience in the realms of history and culture. The website, currently in its beginning stages, will evolve into a larger digital…
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Listen: Jesse Boykins III and MeLo-X's New Music
(The Root) — Chicago-born singer Jesse Boykins III and emcee-DJ-producer-musician MeLo-X — a Brooklyn, N.Y., native — join forces on a project they claim is “a sonic form of connection, a humbling form of passion and the advancement of art in [the] form of romance.” Zulu Guru, officially released on Oct. 30, is a fusion…
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View Startling Stories of Voter Suppression
(The Root) — With Election Day approaching, now would be an opportune time to tune in to Stanley Nelson’s newly released series of short films on voter suppression. The documentary filmmaker, who produced Freedom Riders and The Murder of Emmett Till, sat down with various individuals to get their personal voting stories, what obstacles they were faced with and how…
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Black Brazilian Drama Makes Big Debut
(The Root) — Subúrbia, the new television series with a predominantly Afro-Brazilian cast, is set to hit the airwaves starting Nov. 1. The series, written by Paolo Lins and directed by Luiz Fernando Carvalho, will air on Globo TV in Brazil. The sexy drama focuses on a poor girl named Conceição, played by Erika Januza,…
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Black Colleges: Are They Still Needed?
For this year’s legendary homecoming weekend at Howard University, graduates, current students and several celebrities gathered in Washington, D.C., for a series of events that felt like a family reunion. There was Dream Day, an afternoon seminar where activists (Jeff Johnson), entrepreneurs (filmmaker Issa Rae) and celebrities (reality-TV stars Vanessa and Angela Simmons) shared inspirational…
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Catch Ava DuVernay's Latest Film
(The Root) — The Sundance-award-winning film Middle of Nowhere, directed by Ava DuVernay and starring Emayatzy Corinealdi, Omari Hartwick and David Oyelowo, will be making its theater debut this weekend. The black indie film portrays a woman caught between two men: her husband, who is serving a five-year prison sentence, and a new admirer she…
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Get to Know 'Africa Straight Up'
(The Root) — Africa.com plans to school the masses on the continent’s rapidly expanding society in terms of business, politics and technology with its forthcoming documentary, Africa Straight Up. The website, one of the continent’s leading sources of news and information, will debut the 30-minute film on Oct. 8. Teresa Clarke, the CEO of Africa.com…
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Mickalene Thomas' 'Origin of the Universe'
(The Root) — Brooklyn, N.Y.-based artist Mickalene Thomas will be taking her talents to the Brooklyn Museum in the form of her first solo museum exhibition, “Origin of the Universe.” For this exhibit, Thomas brought together 90 of her most recent works, including a film about her mother, a mural, mixed-media portraits and installations of…
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Mr. Sensitivity and Rap's Emotional Core
(The Root) — Hip-hop’s soft spot is showing. In recent months, a few of the more prominent male figures in rap have dropped their machismo shields and displayed some touching moments of PDE: public displays of emotion. Just more than a week ago, Queens, N.Y., rapper Nas released his video for “Bye Baby,” a heart-tugging…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
