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…
Of all the major developments of the Information Age, data visualization has been one of the most significant. Edward Tufte, a prominent American scholar who has been studying examples of data visualization since they first appeared on cave paintings of the Paleolithic period, has said that science and art have something in common: they both…
What were you doing when you were 12? Egypt “Ify” Ufele, a remarkable 12-year-old from Queens, is CEO and designer of her own fashion line while tirelessly standing up against bullying. As if that weren’t impressive enough, she’s a Jr Ambassador of Peace for the United Nations and she teaches other kids how to follow…
‘Becoming’ is a word full of possibility and hope; it’s a word about change and transformation, filled with intention and creative energy. It is this word that Michelle Obama has chosen for the title of her forthcoming memoir. And as we continue to get new details about the book, we are becoming more and more…
When you think of a superhero, does a black middle-aged high school principal immediately come to mind? For most people, the answer is no, but for fans of Black Lightning, he’s exactly the kind of superhero we need. Jefferson Pierce a.k.a. Black Lightning is a lesser-known superhero from the DC comic books that first appeared…
