Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in “Media/Internet”

GBN Video of the Week: The Amber Ruffin Show’s “Culture Wars” Segment (WATCH)

GBN Video of the Week: The Amber Ruffin Show’s “Culture Wars” Segment (WATCH)

By goodblacknews on May 16, 2021

The fact that some of the best political and cultural commentary in the U.S. is coming out of from  late-evening comedy shows (e.g. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, The Amber Ruffin Show) instead of news or current affairs programs is a reality we’ll attempt to unpack another time.

Today, please take seven and a half minutes to watch Amber Ruffin brilliantly (and amusingly) break down in her “How Culture Wars and White Supremacy Go Together Like ‘Green Eggs and Ham'” segment why “culture wars” serve as a smokescreen for many politicians to avoid real issues and create policies to empower the few over the many in our Video of the Week:

Oh, and in case you missed it, John Oliver and his team pretty much hit it out of the park on the history of discrimination towards Black hair and hairstyles in the U.S:

MUSIC MONDAY: “Manic Monday” – Soulful Cover Songs and Originals (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Manic Monday” – Soulful Cover Songs and Originals (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on May 10, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Monday, you all. This week’s offering is a soulful collection of cover tunes and original versions of songs that went on to become hits for other folks.

The Pointer Sisters‘ version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire” and Whitney Houston’s take on Dolly Parton‘s “I Will Always Love You” are examples of covers that are as famous as the originals.

There’s Otis Redding’s live version of “Respect” where he explains how “This girl, she just took this song” to an amused audience. I’ve included Prince’s demos for “Manic Monday” and “Glamorous Life”, each went on to become hits for the Bangles and Sheila E., respectively.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:7Ium46pI0ASS0HvyPMh3Ty”]

There are so many Beatles covers by Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Black Pumas, and others.

Big Mama Thornton is early through the door of this playlist with her version of a song made world-famous by a young man from Tupelo, Mississippi.

Hope you all enjoy this collection of soul, R&B, reggae, and jazz versions of the songs you know, offered here by other voices.

Have a great week, and stay sane, safe, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
The New York Times Magazine and Pulitzer Prize Winner Nikole Hannah-Jones’ “1619 Project” to Become Docuseries at Hulu

The New York Times Magazine and Pulitzer Prize Winner Nikole Hannah-Jones’ “1619 Project” to Become Docuseries at Hulu

By goodblacknews on April 3, 2021

According to Variety.com, a collaboration between Lionsgate Television, The New York Times, and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films will create a docuseries for streaming platform Hulu based on The 1619 Project from New York Times Magazine’s and Nikole Hannah-Jones‘ journalistic examination of slavery and racism in the U.S. from 1619 to current times.

Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winner Shoshana Guy will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Kathleen Lingo, editorial director for film and TV at The New York Times, will also executive produce along with Caitlin Roper, The Times’ executive producer for scripted film and TV.

Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams will produce and oversee the series with producing partner and co-executive producer Geoff Martz and also direct the first episode.

To quote from Variety.com:

The series falls under a distribution agreement between Lionsgate and Disney General Entertainment Content’s BIPOC Creator Initiative led by Tara Duncan.

The 1619 Project connected the centrality of slavery in U.S. history with an account of the racism that endures in so many aspects of American life today. It was launched in August 2019 on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the English colonies that would become the United States. It examines the legacy of slavery in America and how it shaped nearly all aspects of society, from music and law to education and the arts, and including the principles of our democracy itself.

“The 1619 Project is an essential reframing of American history,” Williams said. “Our most cherished ideals and achievements cannot be understood without acknowledging both systemic racism and the contributions of Black Americans. And this isn’t just about the past—Black people are still fighting against both the legacy of this racism and its current incarnation. I am thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to work with The New York Times, Lionsgate Television, Harpo Films and Hulu to translate the incredibly important The 1619 Project into a documentary series.”

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Documentary “Twenty Pearls,” Narrated by Phylicia Rashad, Premieres March 26 on Xfinity Channel

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Documentary “Twenty Pearls,” Narrated by Phylicia Rashad, Premieres March 26 on Xfinity Channel

By goodblacknews on March 26, 2021

The exclusive premiere of the documentary film Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, starts airing today, Friday, March 26 on Comcast NBCUniversal‘s newly-launched Black Experience on Xfinity Channel.

Narrated by AKA member Phylicia Rashād, directed by filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and produced by Coffee Bluff Pictures, Twenty Pearls closely examines the founding and legacy of the first Black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, which is regarded as one of the most significant and influential Black organizations in history.

The documentary tells a story of sisterhood. In 1908, nine Black women students enrolled at Howard University  created Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.®

Through narration, interviews and rarely seen archival materials, the audience will see the sorority’s impact on World War II, NASA, Civil Rights, Women’s Rights and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) culminating in the historic election of Kamala Harris as America’s first Black and South Asian woman Vice President.

Twenty Pearls features interviews with members of the sorority including Vice President Kamala Harris, Miss Universe Ireland 2019 Fionnghuala O’Reilly, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Fierst, great-granddaughter of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, International President and CEO of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Dr. Glenda Glover and many more.

Other notable AKAs include NASA mathematician and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Katherine Johnson, civil rights activist and icon Coretta Scott King, tennis champion Althea Gibson, and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison.

“This is an extraordinary time to look back at our past to serve our future,” added Deborah Riley Draper. “A future where Black women are centered. Helming this documentary love letter to the founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the generations of women that followed in their footsteps and to all Black women everywhere is an honor. This is an important history for all of us to know and understand.”

“Telling our own story is essential to preserving our history and uplifting the culture,” said Alpha Kappa Alpha International President and CEO Dr. Glenda Glover. “Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated’s remarkable 113-year journey which began on the campus of Howard University is punctuated by stories of history makers, ceiling breakers, public servants and ordinary women who have changed the course of American history.  Through this beautifully written and narrated odyssey, this film highlights in undeniable ways the vision, courage, tenacity, determination and power of Black women while putting to bed the age-old questions about the relevance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the Divine Nine sororities and fraternities.”

Black Experience on Xfinity is a destination of Black entertainment, movies, TV shows, news and more. It features high-quality content from many of Xfinity’s existing network partners, while investing millions of dollars in fostering and showcasing emerging Black content creators.

Black Experience on Xfinity is available at home on Xfinity X1 and Flex, and on-the-go with the Xfinity Stream app,  At home, Xfinity subscribers can visit channel 1622 or simply say “Black Experience” into the Voice Remote to instantly enjoy its content.

Visit https://www.xfinity.com/learn/digital-cable-tv/black-experience to learn more about the Black Experience on Xfinity and other Black programming available on X1, Flex, and the Xfinity Stream app. 

Visit www.aka1908.com to learn more about Twenty Pearls, which premieres on today on Xfinity and is free for subscribers, and will be available on demand nationwide starting on March 30, 2021.

Eleven Years Ago Today: Good Black News Was Founded

Eleven Years Ago Today: Good Black News Was Founded

By goodblacknews on March 18, 2021

GOOD BLACK NEWS proudly celebrates its eleventh anniversary today, March 18, 2021. GBN initially launched in 2010 as a Facebook page (read the story behind GBN’s creation here), and in 2012, we created a dedicated website, goodblacknews.org, which has allowed us to provide archives, search functions and easy access to our most popular social media to you, our readers.

The outpouring of appreciation you’ve shown us over the years via follows, likes, comments, shares, reblogs, DMs and e-mails means the world (even when we are overwhelmed and can’t respond to them all), and inspires GBN to keep working to find ways to expand, improve, and offer more content on the main page as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, YouTube, RSS feed, LinkedIn and Flipboard (new)!

In the past year, we were honored to not only have GBN’s 2016 Editorial “What I Said When My White Friend Asked for My Black Opinion on White Privilege” recirculate across the internet, but also to see the May 2020 editorial, A Letter to Friends Who Really Want to End Racism, spark much-needed conversation on both topics.

Additionally, GBN was featured in the April 2020 New York Times article “The News Is Making People Anxious. You’ll Never Believe What They’re Reading Instead.” and the June 2020 Good Housekeeping piece How To Explain White Privilege to Someone Who Doesn’t Think it Exists.

In July 2020 GBN Founder and Editor-in-Chief Lori Lakin Hutcherson was interviewed about Good Black News on Barry Shore’s Joy of Living podcast and in Fall 2020 finally spoke with Jason, the high school friend whose Facebook post lead to “What I Said When My White Friend Asked for My Black Opinion on White Privilege” on the premiere episode of the Three Uncanny Four podcast Do The Work:

In 2020, Lori also started a Q&A column entitled “Dear Lori” where she responds to questions about white privilege and race she’s been asked by readers that she intends to resume shortly, because the questions just don’t stop.

And after years of promising in these anniversary posts, we finally launched the GBN newsletter via email. The intention is for it to be weekly but for myriad reasons, it hasn’t been consistent. In the coming months, we aim to make it so.

GBN is super proud to announce that in Fall 2021 Workman Publishing will be offering our first physical product: a Page-A-Day® Calendar entitled A Year of Good Black News for 2022, chock full of history, trivia and fun Black facts to enjoy every day of the year. We will offer more information on the calendar and its availability in the coming months.

Good Black News remains a labor of love for Founder/Editor-In-Chief Lori Lakin Hutcherson and co-editor Lesa Lakin, and we must gratefully acknowledge 2020’s volunteer contributors: Susan Cartsonis, Julie Adelle Bibb, Beck Carpenter, Hanelle Culpepper Meier, Jessie Davis, Dan Evans, Gina Fattore, Julie Fishman, Michael Giltz, Eric Greene, Thaddeus Grimes-Gruczka, Ashanti Hutcherson, Warren Hutcherson, Fred Johnson, Epiphany Jordan, Brenda Lakin, Joyce Lakin, Ray Lancon, Lois Leveen, John Levinson, Rob Lowry, Catherine Metcalf, Lara Olsen, Flynn Richardson, Maeve Richardson, Rosanna Rossetto and Becky Schonbrun. 

Special thanks to Zyda Culpepper Mellon for allowing GBN to share her powerful video testimony on how white friends and family can be allies, to TedX speaker and contributor Dena Crowder for creating and sharing her Power Shot video series on GBN, to incredible Tech Jedi Samer Shenouda for migrating and revamping the GBN website to make us bigger, stronger, faster, and to Jeff Meier, Teddy Tenenbaum and Marlon West for creating incredible Spotify playlists and posts covering a variety of genres, sub-genres and artists celebrating the musical diaspora, past and present. You are all deeply, greatly appreciated.

Please continue to help us spread GBN by sharing, liking, re-tweeting and commenting, and consider following GBN here on the main page, as well as wherever you are on social media.

Please also consider joining our e-mail list via our “Contact Us” tab. We will only use this list to keep you updated on GBN and send you our e-newsletter. And, of course, you may opt out at any time.

GBN believes in bringing you positive news, reviews and stories of interest about black people all over the world, and greatly value your participation in continuing to build our shared vision.

Thank you again for your support, and we look forward to providing you with more Good Black News in the coming year, and beyond!

Warmly,

The Good Black News Team

Janet Jackson Two-Night Documentary Event to Debut on Lifetime and A&E Networks in 2022

Janet Jackson Two-Night Documentary Event to Debut on Lifetime and A&E Networks in 2022

By goodblacknews on March 4, 2021

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Finally!

Internationally renowned, Grammy Award-winning, Rock N Roll Hall of Fame inductee Janet Jackson will be the focus of an upcoming documentary on Lifetime and A&E Networks in 2022.

The two-night, four-hour documentary will coincide with the 40th anniversary of Jackson’s first album – no, not Control – that 1986 juggernaut was her third LP and first collaboration with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – but rather 1982’s eponymous Janet Jackson, which was released on the A&M records label and offered her early R&B hits “Say You Do” and “Young Love.”

Jackson is an executive producer with Randy Jackson, and according to Variety.com, producing teams from Workerbee and Associated Entertainment Corporation already have been working on the project with Janet for over three years.

To quote Variety.com:

The doc follows Janet as her family is going through the loss of her father, Joseph, the patriarch of the Jackson dynasty who passed in 2018. Producers were granted exclusive access to archival footage and never-before-seen home videos while developing the documentary for the past three years.

“JANET” will also detail the most talked-about moments of her life, including her 2004 Super Bowl appearance with Justin Timberlake in which she inadvertently exposed a portion of her breast, sparking controversy that would hover for more than a decade. The docu will also explore Jackson’s reaction to the death of her brother, the legendary and also controversial Michael Jackson, and her process of becoming a mother.

It’s about time the impact of Janet Jackson and her legacy on popular music and culture will be realized in-depth and, as a major Janet stan since even before her first LP – I’m talking Good Times and Fame days, people – I can’t wait! And I’m sure I’m not alone.

But until then, we’ll always have THIS:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Produce Documentary on U.S. Protests for A+E Networks History Channel

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Produce Documentary on U.S. Protests for A+E Networks History Channel

By goodblacknews on March 4, 2021

Columnist and former NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be executive producing Fight the Power: The Protests That Changed America with Deborah Morales for the A+E Networks History Channel, according to deadline.com.

The one-hour documentary will examine the effect key protests have had over time on the evolution of America to explore the question: Does the arc of the moral universe bend toward justice when pressure is applied?

This collaboration is the second between the NBA legend and the History Channel, having previously paired up on 2020’s one-hour documentary Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution.

Fight the Power is produced by Six West Media with Abdul-Jabbar and Morales exec producing via Iconomy Multi-Media & Entertainment.

“The history of protest in America is also the history of social progress,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

Read more: https://thegrio.com/2021/03/04/kareem-abdul-jabbar-social-progress-documentary/

(paid links)

Naomi Campbell Welcomes Pharrell Williams on Limited-Time YouTube Series “No Filter With Naomi” Today at 3PM EST (VIDEO)

Naomi Campbell Welcomes Pharrell Williams on Limited-Time YouTube Series “No Filter With Naomi” Today at 3PM EST (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on March 2, 2021

International supermodel, activist and philanthropist Naomi Campbell welcomes musician, record producer, songwriter, singer, fashion designer and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams for an iconic conversation on “No Filter with Naomi,”  a limited-time series under her “Being Naomi” YouTube channel, live today at 3pm EST / 12pm PST.

With more than 500,000 views, the web series has invited fans to #stayhome during this pandemic to save lives and has focused on intimate conversations on multiple topics between Naomi and a diverse collection of her friends, including a variety of designers, musicians, activists, actors and media personalities. Recently, during Black History Month 2021, Campbell used her platform to highlight the “New Black Talent You Need to Know in the Fashion Industry”:

The series debuted on April 6, 2020 and has since featured guests Tracee Ellis Ross, Demi Moore, Mariah Carey, Chelsea Handler, Cameron Diaz, Lenny Kravitz, Whoopi Goldberg, James Charles, Charlamagne Tha God, Mary J. Blige, Gabrielle Union, Kate Hudson, Cynthia Erivo, Cindy Crawford, Marc Jacobs, Nicole Richie, Ashley Graham, Pierpaolo Piccoli, Lee Daniels, Christy Turlington, Adut Akech, Sharon Stone, Paris Hilton, Serena Williams and Venus Williams, Karlie Kloss, Anna Wintour, and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The “No Filter with Naomi” series returned after hiatus on June 23rd and featured a select group of episodes focused on impactful conversations dedicated to #BlackLivesMatter, social justice issues, racial and human inequalities. These critical conversations included featured guests: Opal Tometi, Rev. Al Sharpton, Alphonso Reed, Cleo Wade, Bethann Hardison, Tyler Mitchell, Indya Moore, Chase Strangio and Tori Cooper.

WHERE: Streaming live on Naomi Campbell’s YouTube Channel. View all “No Filter with Naomi” episodes here.

Academy Award Winners Regina King and John Ridley Re-Team to Make Shirley Chisholm Biopic

Academy Award Winners Regina King and John Ridley Re-Team to Make Shirley Chisholm Biopic

By goodblacknews on February 17, 2021

The universe’s desire to honor Shirley Chisholm continues! Yesterday, Good Black News posted a Black History Month tribute to Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to U.S. Congress and a one-time candidate for U.S. President.

Today, Variety.com reported Regina King will produce and star in a new biographical feature on Chisholm, to be written and directed by John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, All is By My Side):

“Regina’s passion for bringing a complete and very human portrait of Shirley to life has been evident since literally the day we first met,” Ridley said. “I’m very thankful to both Regina and Reina trusting me to partner in telling the story of this truly remarkable individual.”

The film is being produced based on the life story rights through an exclusive agreement with the Chisholm Estate.

Ridley and King previously worked together on the ABC anthology series American Crime, for which King garnered two Emmys as Best Supporing Actress in a Limited Series.

Artist Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola’s “Magic City” Installation at John Michael Kohler Arts Center Opens Online Feb. 19

Artist Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola’s “Magic City” Installation at John Michael Kohler Arts Center Opens Online Feb. 19

By goodblacknews on February 15, 2021

[Image: Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola: Magic City installation (detail) at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2021.]

A Cadillac Escalade that morphs into a pulsating sound sculpture. Murray’s Pomade cans as minimalist totems. Durags that replace oil paint as a medium for creating monumentally-scaled action paintings.

Nigerian-American artist Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola examines Black culture through his beautifully innovative, thought-provoking Magic City exhibit. And we are here for it!

Magic City, a large-scale installation, will be on view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, from February 1 through July 11, 2021, and available to see virtually on the museum’s website starting February 19.

[Image: Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola: Magic City installation (detail) at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2021.]
Conceived as a modern-day sanctuary, the site-specific installation explores the commodification of Black culture and the relationship between Africa and Black America. Magic City marks the 29-year-old artist’s first major solo museum exhibition.

The evocative nature of objects is at the core of Magic City. In Akinbola’s mystical space, mass-produced and readymade materials—specifically those with cultural currency in the Black community—are transformed into animistic power objects that communicate the complexities of identity.