Black Excellence
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Well Done! Two Rising Black Chefs Win Big at the 2019 James Beard Awards
It’s been a thrilling few months for the culinary world since February, as the James Beard Foundation has rolled out its series of annual accolades, culminating in its highly anticipated awards gala on Monday night in the food mecca of Chicago. For Chefs Kwame Onwuachi and Mashama Bailey, May 6, 2019 will henceforth be remembered…
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Giants Cleans Up at Daytime Emmys, Takes Home Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actor
Smash hit web series Giants continued its reign on Friday, with actress Vanessa Baden Kelly and actor Terrence Terrell taking home the hardware for Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards. The series, which debuted on Issa Rae’s YouTube channel in 2017,…
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Houston High School Announces its First Ever Black Valedictorian: 'You Can Do Anything You Set Your Mind To'
Black excellence can never be denied. As such, St. Thomas High School senior Kellin McGowan just became the first black valedictorian in the school’s 119-year history. His otherworldly 4.57 GPA beat out his peers, who principal Aaron Dominguez takes pride in for the nurturing environment the students have fostered. “The guys here are really competitive…
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Regina King Lands First-Look Deal at Netflix, Proceeds to Sit on the Industry's Iron Throne
Regina (The) King has some prosperous news. Per an official press release from Netflix: Netflix has entered into a multi-year first look deal with director, producer, and award winning actress, Regina King. King’s production company Royal Ties is entering into the first-look deal to produce films and series for Netflix. Her sister, Reina King, will…
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Now That Obama Boulevard is Officially a Thing, Here's How Los Angeles Plans to Celebrate
On the 2018 Beyoncé-infused “Black Effect,” Jay-Z nonchalantly professed “I’m good on every MLK,” keenly aware that civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. has roads sprinkled throughout the country carrying his namesake. But on the flip side, our forever president Barack Obama—whose own iconic status wasn’t solidified until January 20, 2009—is understandably running a…
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Daughter of Rodney King Launches ‘I Am a King’ Scholarship to Celebrate Black Fatherhood Just in Time for Father’s Day
For residents of Los Angeles, April 29 is a day that lives on in infamy. Twenty-seven years ago, the streets of the city I now call home descended into chaos in the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict, in which a jury acquitted four LAPD officers of charges related to his brutal assault, which was…
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LeBron James Leads the Charge to Rename Crayola Crayon Bluetiful to Nipsey Blue
In 2017, childhood mainstay Crayola had a contest in which they allowed people in North America to submit name choices for a new crayon. After receiving over 90,000 entries, they announced the latest hue would be named “Bluetiful.” Two years later, as millions of fans grieve the loss of recording artist, entrepreneur and community activist…
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T.I., New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Join Forces to Bail Out Nonviolent Offenders for Easter
I spent my Easter Sunday deviating between inhaling jelly beans and watching Kanye pass out communion wafers through a peep hole. But it looks like recording artist, community activist and serial entrepreneur T.I. spent his Resurrection Sunday being far more impactful. The Hill reports that the Trap Music Museum founder joined forces with New Birth…
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Oops Upside Your Head: 65-Year-Old Woman (and Her Bat) Give Burglar the Business
Clarese Gainey of Gainesville, Fla., is about that action. Most 65-year-old women (and men) would hide in the closet and call the police if they caught someone trying to break into their car, but ohhh not Clarese. You know what she did? “I grab my bat, I brace myself, and I ease the door open,”…
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Finally! 24-Hour Black News Channel to Debut in November
I love Baby Boy reruns as much as the next person, but I’ve wondered for years why BET completely abandoned their daily news programming. And with TV One’s decision to can Roland Martin’s News One Now in 2017, those of us eager for network news have had to sift though a deluge of nebulous coverage…