Star Trek has a long history of diversity, the original TV series had television’s first interracial kiss and the show consistently showed progressive attitudes around race and gender. It was particularly important and revolutionary, Devon Maloney writes, for people of color who were “seeing faces like their own on television, in un-caricatured roles, for the…
On October 11, development organizations in Africa celebrated the International Day of the Girl. In 2012, the United Nations designated this day to observe the global status of young girls as it relates to their right to equality and socioeconomic opportunity. The main focus this year is “EmPOWER girls: emergency response and resilience planning. In…
New York African Restaurant Week, founded by Akin Akinsaya in 2013, kicked off on the first day of October. Two weeks in, it’s still going strong. The festival lasts until Sunday, October 22. One of the main highlights has been A Taste Of Africa — also known as the Mega GastroAfrique Food Festival and Day…
Tonya Williams believes that there is power in storytelling. As a woman of color working in Hollywood as an actress, director, and producer, she recognized that many voices were underrepresented in storytelling and its power wasn’t being sufficiently harnessed for social good. In 2001, she founded the Reelworld Film Festival to showcase films that explore…
Technology innovation and expansion is in need of constant development by an adequate base of human capital. Major tech companies such as Facebook realize that society demands greater technological advancement, which can only come from human effort. For this reason, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, co-founded by Facebook’s CEO, started investing in Africa a few years…
Cardi B had a huge night at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards, a feather in her cap after a year full of big successes. Born Belcalis Almanzar, the 25-year-old rapper from New York with Dominican heritage had an unusual path to stardom. She was a stripper who became a viral Instagram star. That got…
The 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards aired on Tuesday night. Hosted by DJ Khaled, the show featured a number of great performances and several artists left with well-deserved trophies. In addition to hosting, DJ Khaled also performed. To start the show, T-Pain, Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, and Plies joined Khaled for“I’m So Hood.” Many were…
Kenyan National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential candidate, Raila Amollo Odinga, has pulled out of the repeat elections scheduled for 26th October 2017. Mr. Odinga has pulled out of the elections citing grievances not met by the electoral body in Kenya, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). Following the nullification of the presidential…
The New York Times reported this week that legendary producer Harvey Weinstein has a long history of sexual harassment allegations. A few days after that news broke, Weinstein was fired from his own company by the board. Now, several Hollywood stars are speaking out against Weinstein. According to the Times, Weinstein reached legal settlements with…
For the 53 national teams that make up the Confederation of African Football, commonly shortened to CAF, the road to Russia and the 2018 FIFA World Cup is long and extremely competitive. The tournament format for next year’s World Cup only allows five berths to CAF teams, that is less than 10 percent of a…
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay has had a lot of firsts. She was the first African-American woman to win the US Directing Award at Sundance, the first black female director to be nominated for a Golden Globe, and the first black female director to have her film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Now, with A Wrinkle…
The film Black Panther, part of the Marvel Comics Universe, is breaking global cinema records beyond expectation, and influential figures are taking notice about the positive messages young people can derive from this movie. Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States, took to Twitter to express her gratitude to the Black Panther production team…
In 2018, there will be more than one FIFA World Cup where the best national teams from around the world will match up for a shot at one of the most prestigious football awards in history. Everyone knows about the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which will kickoff in a few months; later in the…
Black Panther is a big deal. In a time of year known for having poor movie turnout, it managed to turn in the third biggest 4-day weekend ever, making over $235 million. The estimated global launch was $404 million. Every social network saw a flood of praise and excitement as people saw the movie. Black…
