This month marks the release of Getting To Happy, the highly anticipated sequel novel to Terry McMillan’s New York Times best seller Waiting To Exhale.  When “Exhale” was released her relatable Black female characters were groundbreaking and challenged stereotypes—not to mention definitions of literature. The book revisits those memorable women now in their fifties.

McMillan—who has been sharing excerpts from the novel for over a year—recently spoke with ABC News stating that her revisiting the characters of Waiting To Exhale wasn’t intentional but occured as she begin to pen another story about four women. “It dawned on me where I left these women. They could evolve.”  It appears that evolvement has caught the eye of 20^th Century Fox (they have already purchased the movie rights to the novel). McMillan has also confirmed that three of the original actresses have expressed interest in the sequel—we wonder who the standout is…(raised eyebrow).

You can catch Ms. McMillan on her Getting To Happy book tour and on Twitter .

Beyond The Bricks, a new documentary that explores the continued low performance of Black males in public schools is making it’s way into the national conscience. The documentary takes a closer look at this troubling issue through the eyes of two young men in Newark, New Jersey as they attempt to complete their public school educations. Also featured in the documentary are New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, Schott Foundation for Public Education President/CEO Dr. John Jackson and Dr. Adelaide L. Sandford of the New York State Board of Regents.

Trailer from Centric TV on Vimeo.

Perhaps one of the most urgent issues this nation faces is providing quality public school education for the masses. Not only in New York City but around the country public schools are being phased out and restructured often without the involvement of parents and other community stakeholders. And involvement is just what the producers hope to achieve on a national level through utilization of the film as well as national town halls targeting cities with some of the lowest graduation rates of Black males.

It is high time that we begin to treat education like food, clothes, shelter and health care: a necessity and a human right. As Dr. Sandford states in the film, “It is almost impossible to be able to survive as a human being with dignity…without a rich, potent and meaningful education.” Beyond The Bricks is a manifesto and a call to action on the part of all our communities to take part in the work of insuring our futures; our children.

When Regina King wrote her open letter about the lack of diversity and recognition for actors of color at the 2010 Emmys, it was reminiscent of Halle Berry’s historic 2002 Oscar win and speech. Only eight years ago Halle became the first Black woman to receive the coveted Best Actress title.  Berry named actresses, such as Dorothy Dandridge and Angela Bassett, stating that her win was a victory for, “every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.” Whether or not the Academy Awards— or any other award shows like it—hold weight in your world, you felt the significance of Berry’s words and tears. Read the rest of this entry »

When Idris Elba was cast late last year as Heimdall—a White Norse god— from the Marvel comic book Thor, die hard readers of the series unleashed a fury of negative comments via the net. Why the outrage? Apparently, they have a problem with a Black actor portraying the comic book character, which is loosely based on a figure in Nordic Mythology.

In this case of “color struck” Elba’s superior acting will certainly prevail whether or not folks choose to accept him as a fictional character based upon the color of his skin. Read the rest of this entry »

Rappers crossing over to acting is nothing new but the way 50 Cent (né Curtis Jackson) is doing it with his production company, Cheetah Vision Films, just might be.  Since creating this company a year ago, 50 has secured some major Hollywood talent in the forms of Forest Whitaker, Nicolas Cage and Val Kilmer for film projects. Gun, an action film about two friends who get involved with illegal gun sales is the company’s first release starring Val Kilmer and 50—who also wrote the story. The rapper turned actor told mlive.com he got the idea for the script thinking about “how guns go from the manufacturing point to retail and purchased by law-abiding citizens and how they fall into the wrong hands.”

Making money and business deals has never been a problem for 50 who has made himself a brand by stepping outside of Hip Hop music. Whether it’s his Reebok released G-Unit Sneaker, Playstation2 video game (50 Cent: Bulletproof); or his shares in Glaceau’s Vitamin Water—50 Cent is a creator of opportunities. With Cheetah Vision Films, 50 has been able to challenge himself not only as an actor but also as a writer and producer. Following Gun’s 2010 release will be Things Fall Apart directed by Mario Van Peebles, featuring Lynn Whitfield and Ray Liotta and co-written/produced by 50 as well as a re-make of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde starring Forest Whitaker.

50 Cent remains one of the richest Hip Hop artists/entrepreneur because he understands to remain relevant and continue to thrive in the entertainment industry you have to diversify. Look at the career trajectory of entertainers like Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Sean Combs and Beyonce. 50 foraying into film production is a necessary career move and a viable outlet for more Black film makers, actors/actresses and script writers.

If you still haven’t seen El DeBarge’s surprise performance at this year’s BET Awards or heard his new single, “Second Chance” clearly, you’ve made a conscious decision to live “off the grid.”  Born Eldra Patrick DeBarge, he grew to be the high note hitting balladeer, song writer and front man for the group DeBarge—alongside his siblings Bunny, Randy, James and Mark.  In 1986 El went solo and released four albums with the last one being sixteen years ago.  But fans of the 49 year old entertainer are ardent. Decades later, the music he made with his family—and alone— remains unforgettable. Without question this fifth effort is highly anticipated.  Check out El discuss his triumphant return on the newest on-air installment of The CultureList only on Centric.  

Culturelist// El Debarge from Centric TV on Vimeo.

When Diahann Carroll joined the cast of  Dynasty in 1984, she changed the game for black actresses on primetime time soap operas. Over 25 years later, her predecessors are still knocking down doors. Case in point: Naturi Naughton. Yes, it looks like  the former 3LW member cum actress will be the first black character to play a featured role on AMC’s four-time Golden Globe winning hit, Mad Men.

Details of her character have not been released and even Naughton remains mum, telling Vibe.com, “I’m a new character and I can’t really talk about it too much because it’s super hush-hush.” She will make her debut on the tenth episode of the series, set to air sometime in September.

Set during 1960’s New York, the show follows the lives of white advertising executives on Madison Avenue. The series—now in its fourth season—continues to be historically accurate not only through its award winning costuming, but close dipiction of the racial divide during that era. 

Any Mad Men fans out there? What do you think of Naturi joining the cast?

“The ladies will kick it, the rhyme that is wicked, those that don’t know how to be pros get evicted…” The year was 1989 and the lyrics are from Queen Latifah’s chart topping single, “Ladies First”.  Fast-foward. It’s been over two decades and those rhymes never meant more. With females trying (and in many cases continuing) to make waves in Hip-Hop, Director and Writer Ava Duvernay dives into the history with her newest documentary, My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women In Hip Hop.

Airing as BET’s first original music documentary on August 30^th this highly anticipated doc explores the contributions and obstacles for female emcees. Duvernay, expertly delves into the subject of females in Hip Hop through interviews with everyone from MC Lyte to Questlove to Eve to Russell Simmons. Read the rest of this entry »

Sonia Sanchez was quoted in Brian Lanker’s, I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America that she writes ” To keep in contact with our ancestors and to spread truth to people.” And perhaps that is why she remains such an enduring and influential figure in the landscape of American literature. With her newest book, I’m Black When I’m Singing, I’m Blue When I Ain’t and Other Plays; fans of Ms. Sanchez receive for the first time all of her plays which span five decades. Read the rest of this entry »

What a coup for Blackglama Fur Company when they recently secured Janet Jackson as the new face for their, What Becomes A Legend Most? campaign. When Ms. Jackson signed on the dotted lines she joined the rank of ‘Boss Ladies’ like Lena Horne, Cher, Leontyne Price, Sophia Loren, Diana Ross and countless other icons who did it their way.

But doing it your way often comes with a price and lately Jackson has felt the backlash from choosing to endorse fur—a controversial product in the world of political correctness. So far People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Senior Vice President, Dan Matthews and actress/anti-fur advocate Pamela Anderson have publicly slammed Jackson for supporting the high end furriers.  Matthews even went so far as to reference Michael Jackson’s death in his open letter stating, “I’ve admired your grace ‘Good Times’ to your family’s recent hard times. I sincerely hope that the events of recent years haven’t hardened your heart to the suffering of others.” Read the rest of this entry »