representation matters
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Candace Owens Is Big Mad at Netflix and Uber Eats for Having Black Categories, Calls it 'Segregation'
Candace “If Miss Millie Were Black” Owens stays trying it, doesn’t she? This housing complex negro (because sometimes a simple “house negro” isn’t enough to describe it) is so hellbent on getting “I don’t see color” white people to pat her white supremacist lapdog-ass on the head that she’s bringing in 2021 by resurrecting old…
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Ava DuVernay Introduces Diverse Database 'Array Crew'—We Better Not Hear Anymore Excuses, Hollywood
Far too often, Black and other Film/TV crew members of color often hear a variation on trite excuse, “We keep hiring this white person because there aren’t a lot of [insert specific POC identifier here] directors, producers, cinematographers, production designers, costume designers, editors, etc.!” It’s a lie. It’s not that they don’t exist; it’s that…
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How to Get Away With Making Viola Davis 'Disappear': Ma Rainey's Hair and Makeup Leads Talk Transformation
If you’ve yet to watch the Netflix-produced adaptation of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, you are missing out on a moment in Black history—both long past and very recent. While the title evokes one of the great blues singers of nearly a century ago, what is already being considered one of the play’s seminal…
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For Us, By Us—by Any Means Necessary: Daymond John Tells the Story Behind LL's Legendary Gap 'Coo'
You may have been surprised to find FUBU was suddenly trending today, and maybe even did a little digging (as I did), hoping to discover a new drop or collaboration in the works. (There are, by the way, as the pioneering Black-owned brand co-founded by Shark Tank judge Daymond John is still producing streetwear). But…
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For the Culture: Spend This Long Weekend With Some of Our Greatest Authors and Artists
Right about now, you’re hopefully on your third (or fourth) round of leftovers, giving new meaning to the term “comfort food”—and no judgments, since we can use all the comfort we can get as this tortured year comes to a long-awaited close. But as you’re feeding your body, don’t forget to nurture your mind and…
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Academy Dialogues Exclusive Clip: Gina Prince Bythewood Recalls the 1st Time She Saw Herself Onscreen
As part of its Academy Aperture 2025 initiative, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently launched a virtual panel series called Academy Dialogues: It Starts With Us, designed to open up discussions on race and gender equity in filmmaking. For the next panel, The Academy partnered up with ICON MANN (a media and…
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Batwoman's Javicia Leslie Speaks on the Importance of Representation in the Comic Book Universe
Javicia Leslie may be taking over the leading role of CW’s series Batwoman—making her the first Black Batwoman—but the 33-year-old isn’t planning on making the iconic character all about her. She tells The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview that this has “everything to do with my people and little Black girls,” in order to…
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Sterling K. Brown Discusses the Power of Black Storytelling in Media: 'Seeing Yourself on Screen Validates Your Life'
Sterling K. Brown paid a virtual visit to The Daily Show With Trevor Noah to discuss the importance of sharing and telling Black stories in the media. The This Is Us star explained that the beauty of the award-winning NBC series is that it gives an “interesting look at how much people can love each…
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Lena Waithe Discusses the Power of Creatives of Color and Black Queer Representation on Television
Writer, showrunner and actress Lena Waithe spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about a host of topics in a brand new feature released Monday, including the need to support the ideas of creatives of color, as well as Black queer representation on television. The 36-year-old creator of The Chi, Queen & Slim and Twenties discussed the…