black history
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Rihanna Can Take a Bow as the First Black Woman Whose Album Spent 200 Weeks on the Billboard 200 List
Rihanna’s lucky number of the day is 200. Two hundred, as in the number of weeks her album, ANTI, has spent on the Billboard 200 list. This is a huge deal because it means Rihanna is now the first black woman with an album to last that long on the list in the chart’s history.…
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Hollywood Executive Reportedly Suggested Julia Roberts Play Harriet Tubman
Once upon a time in a magical land of vegans, earthquakes and 25-minute journeys to everywhere, there was a Hollywood executive who thought it was acceptable to have Julia Roberts play Harriet Tubman. According to EW, Gregory Allen Howard has been trying to make Harriet for a month of Sundays. During his arduous process, Howard…
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Whitney Houston, Notorious B.I.G., Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan Among 2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees
Another year, another Rock & Roll Hall of Fame list of hopefuls! According to Pitchfork, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its nominees vying to be added to the 2020 list of inductees. The lengthy list includes Whitney Houston, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan and The Notorious B.I.G.— this is his first year…
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Paying Homage: Before Tyler Perry Studios, There Was Oscar Micheaux and Lincoln Motion Picture Company
Following the news of Tyler Perry Studios’ (TPS) historic grand opening, there was an uproarious celebration heard amongst the black Hollywood elite and beyond. TPS sits on 330 acres of the former Fort McPherson army base (the original site was once a Confederate army base), which Perry acquired in 2015 before introducing the world to…
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Take a Peek Inside Tyler Perry Studios, the First Ever Fully Black-Owned Studio Lot
Do you hear that sound? That’s the sound of Madea exclaiming, “Hellur!” and welcoming you to black history in the making. On Saturday, all of Black Hollywood’s elite descended upon Atlanta to celebrate the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios, the first ever fully black-owned film studio lot. As The Hollywood Reporter points out, the…
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Exclusive: Martin Luther King Jr. Talks Reparations, White Economic Anxiety and Guaranteed Income in Previously Unheard Speech
A newly uncovered speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered in 1967 sounds curiously like the civil rights icon is speaking about current-day conditions as he preaches about underfunded schools, the wage gap, white backlash against black progress and the country’s need to address poverty. On July 30, 1967, less than a year before…
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It’s ‘Racial’: Illinois Prison Banned Books on Black History and Empowerment From Inmate Program
Some 3 out of every 4 inmates in Illinois prisons are black, yet, an Illinois prison banned an inmate education program from using books discussing black history or empowerment due to their “racial” content. Now, prison officials are apologizing and pledging to overhaul their review system, according to the Chicago Tribune, but not before officials…
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Ebony’s Historic Photo Archive Sells for $30 Million to Group Led by J. Paul Getty Trust
Seven decades’ worth of historic Ebony magazine photos documenting black life, both the everyday and the extraordinary, sold for $30 million at auction to a group of philanthropic organizations led by the J. Paul Getty Trust. The photo collection was put up for sale to settle the debts of the magazine’s founding publisher, Johnson Publishing,…
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I'm Glad the Harriet Tubman Biopic Is on Its Way, So Some of You Can Finally Learn About the Underground Railroad
The trailer for the biopic about Harriet Tubman—called Harriet—recently hit the internets; the movie hits theaters in November. The film (perhaps controversially) stars Cynthia Erivo in the role of the most famous Harriet of all time. I have no facts to back up that statement but I feel it in my soul so I’m going…
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A Republican Legislator Said Slavery Wasn't Racist Because Slave Owners 'Were Making Money.' Then Things Got Even Weirder
A New Hampshire state legislator is under fire for insisting that “owning slaves doesn’t make you racist.” In a private interaction with a former New Hampshire resident and during an interview with The Root, the Republican lawmaker doubled and tripled down on his assertion by altering the definition of the word “racist,” rewriting history and…