Black Excellence
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Queen Latifah Is Developing $14 Million in Affordable Housing in Newark
After conquering the entertainment industry, and leaving an indelible mark on music, film and television, multi-hyphenate Queen Latifah is looking to extend her reign by giving back to her hometown of Newark, N.J. Through her company BlueSugar Corporation, the 48-year-old will partner with GonSosa Development to develop $14 million in affording housing for residents of…
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Lyft Earns Its Invite to the Cookout By Offering Free Rides to Celebrate Black History Month
Lyft—which I use almost every day and has saved me hundreds of dollars in parking since I live in Los Angeles—is celebrating Black History Month with the rest of us by offering free rides to all the beautifully black museums, black-owned businesses, and cultural sites in over 30 cities throughout the country. “At Lyft, we…
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Super Bowl LIII to Feature Male Cheerleaders for the First Time
Professional sports rosters, hockey and baseball excluded, tend to feature a steady diet of black players at every position. But while the outsized presence of young, gifted and black athletes on championship podiums has become so ubiquitous as to be reduced to an afterthought for most sports fans, black men have been largely absent from…
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Kevin Durant Opens After-School Center in Maryland Hometown
When NBA Superstar Kevin Durant celebrated the opening of his new after-school program, the Durant Center, he would not refer to the funding that came from his own pocket as a “donation.” He wouldn’t even call it a gift or an act of charity. Instead, the basketball legend says he returned to his old neighborhood…
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The Fierce Urgency and Intimacy of #MLKNow
Xerona Clayton, organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and personal friend to Martin Luther King Jr., recalled the day she arrived at his Atlanta home to begin his journey to Memphis in 1968. King’s two sons, Martin and Dexter, long accustomed to their father’s hectic schedule which often led him miles from home, were…
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Taraji P. Henson to Be Honored with Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
After decades of putting in work on both the small and silver screen, Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. “Taraji P Henson is a powerful woman and a powerful actress. She is an entertainer that fans cannot take their eyes off of due to…
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This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Here's How to Get Involved in Your Community
Unless you live in Alabama or Mississippi, Monday serves as the perfect opportunity to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Established as a national holiday in 1983, MLK Day is observed by millions of Americans throughout the country. But while your city might host parades or other celebrations in his honor,…
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Iyanla Vanzant Wants You to Get It Clean In 2019
Iyanla Vanzant is a renowned life coach, author, motivational speaker and a fixer of most things and she wants you to “get it clean in 2019.” Every new year, many of us make resolutions to better ourselves. We use the new year as a way to start a new chapter of our lives with a…
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Are People More Excited for Michelle Obama’s Book Than Sex? (Yes, Yes They Are)
An uproar has erupted in the literary world as Michelle Obama’s Becoming is poised to knock a veritable juggernaut of fine literature out of its spot as Amazon’s longest-running No. 1 best-selling book. Nah, I’m fucking with you—it was just Fifty Shades of Grey, a sweaty fan fiction account of a wispy white women and…
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#BlackGirlMagic: Black-ish Star Marsai Martin Set to Become Youngest Executive Producer in Hollywood History
When the comedy Little hits theaters this spring, aside from featuring some of the industry’s biggest stars, the film will also make history. For at least a few months, 14-year-old Marsai Martin will hold the title as the youngest executive producer of a major Hollywood motion picture in history. Martin will co-star with Regina Hall…