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Some might say a higher power is working through Sparkle, the forthcoming remake starring late R&B diva Whitney Houston and feature-film first-timer Jordin Sparks. In the movie, which opens Aug. 17, Houston plays the God-fearing mother to three daughters who hope to make it big in show business. But in what may seem like a…

Celebrities, including fellow Sparkle cast member Jordin Sparks and daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, took to Twitter to memorialize music legend Whitney Houston on what would have been the late singer’s 49th birthday. Here are some of their well wishes and tributes.

The renowned Harlem Fine Arts Show festival heads north to Martha’s Vineyard this year to showcase some of the best in contemporary and modern art from the Diaspora. Bridging two cultural scenes with histories rich in black creativity, this showcase will introduce art enthusiasts to a mix of established and emerging artists. Here are some…

Now that there’s photographic evidence that Outkast’s Andre 3000 is shooting a new biopic in Ireland about guitar master Jimi Hendrix, fans have a legitimate hope that hip-hop’s coolest dude will do justice to rock’s late genius. Unlike many proposed biopics of our music idols, the forthcoming film, All Is by My Side, may actually hit…

On Thursday, Aug. 2, at the 2012 London Olympics, 16-year-old gymnast Gabby Douglas became the first black Olympian to win the women’s all-around gymnastics competition. Haitian-born French rugby player Constantin Henriquez de Zubiera became the first black person to compete in the Olympics at the 1900 Paris Games. U.S. hurdler George Poage became the first…

Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas beat out the competition to win gold in the women’s all-around competition at the 2012 London Olympics on Tuesday. Celebrities and other prominent figures hurried to Twitter to voice their excitement and congratulations. Here’s what some of them had to say. 

Austin Muyambela cleans the grounds at the Nangoma Mission Hospital in rural Zambia. He also volunteers as an HIV/AIDS counselor and helps patients stay on their medications. Muyambela (left) also assists Fred Mbewe, a nurse who performs circumcisions, which can reduce HIV infection by 60 percent in men. The Ethiopian village of Galato holds community…

As film audiences look forward to a Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks-led remake of 1976’s Sparkle hitting theaters on Aug. 17, we’ve taken the opportunity to look back at some of the other memorable black movie musicals. (We decided not to include straightforward biopics like Ray or Bird.) From the glitzy big numbers performed by…

The Root continued its yearlong Black, Fit & Healthy series on Friday, July 13, with its Focus on Obesity event at the Washington Post headquarters in Washington, D.C. The event featured panels on how to find solutions to the obesity epidemic in the home, community, medical field and schools; a keynote luncheon with a speech…