culture
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Watch: You Will Get Your Whole Life With This Hidden Figures Red Carpet
Hidden Figures is the story of the impact black women had on NASA’s space explorations, and it hits theaters nationwide Friday. The film focuses on three black women who worked in the math department at NASA in the 1950s: Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson. And even though this movie is based on a true…
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Review: Hidden Figures Brilliantly Shines Light on 3 Black Women Who Helped NASA Reach New Heights
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that the already-celebrated film Hidden Figures is coming to a theater near you as it reaches its nationwide release Friday. Based on a book by the same name, Hidden Figures is a historical drama set in 1960s Hampton, Va., that chronicles the personal and professional lives…
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Hair-Care Pioneer Miko Branch Is Teaching Millennials Do’s and Don’ts of Running Business
Miko Branch, co-founder and CEO of the multimillion-dollar Miss Jessie’s natural-hair-care line, is hoping the tale of her success will inspire others who might want to follow in her footsteps. “It’s more like the cherries on top, to be able to stand in my shoes and know where I came from, and know I had…
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Why Were My Freedmen Ancestors Split Between Tribes?
Dear Professor Gates: My ancestor Billy Postoak (aka Taylor and possibly Perryman) was born about 1820 in Alabama and was a slave of Taylor Postoak (Creek Indian). He married a Lizzie Smith and they had a son named Isaac Nivens (born about 1840-1842) in Alabama. A slave schedule shows Isaac was a slave of Cherokee…
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Talladega College Marching Band Must Walk Away From Habanero Hitler’s Inauguration
In the wake of harsh criticism from alumni and across social media, Talladega College President Billy C. Hawkins was at one point “still weighing his options” with respect to accepting the invitation for the school’s marching band to take part in President-Elect Donald Trump’s inaugural parade. It appears that the weight crashed on the racist…
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How Can We Raise Future Black Female Mathematicians? Start by Asking Them
Editor’s note: Once a month, this column will tackle broader questions about what the country should do to increase educational opportunities for black youths. Studying the successes of black female mathematicians opens a window into how we can produce more black STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) grads. It also exposes the bigotry that prevents us…
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Black Fashion Designers Get Some Long-Overdue Love in New Exhibit
Black style is so prominent that the first word of the couplet is practically unnecessary; very little that’s stylish doesn’t have some black antecedent. On the other hand, black fashion designers? They are some of the other hidden figures on the cultural landscape. That’s what makes “Black Fashion Designers,” the exhibit that runs until May…
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#BlackGirlMagic: Children’s Book Little Professor Skye Shows Girls Endless Possibilities Through Learning
It’s not a book about princesses, castles or your regular fantastical adventures. Instead, in the first book of an anticipated series, Munson Steed, CEO of Steed Media Group and the publisher of Rolling Out, depicts young black girls as doing and being anything they want—including doctors, scientists, artists and more. Little Professor Skye: Favorite Things…
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From the Pulpit to the People: Kim Burrell, Homosexuality and the Black Church
Well, damn, tell us how you really feel, Kim Burrell. On Friday night, social media became ablaze when one of preacher-singer Kim Burrell’s sermons went viral. In the video, Burrell shared a hate-filled message about what she believes 2017 will look like for LGBTQ people if they fail to repent. Burrell had been slated to…
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Unsung: SWV Were the Supremes of the ’90s Who Had It All, Lost It and Got It Back
If any group represented a contemporary version of Diana Ross and the Supremes, SWV (Sisters With Voices) was the girl group of the ’90s for R&B harmonies, ballads and up-tempo, hip-hop soul. And when we saw those three New York City-born girls with their fresh doobies, baseball jerseys and hip-hop style, we saw our own…