Category: The Arts

Thrilling Story of Bumpy Johnson Godfather of Harlem

EPIX’s Godfather of Harlem chronicles the struggle of one of America’s most notorious African-American mobsters as he fought to reclaim his neighborhood after more than a decade in prison. Oscar winner Forest Whitaker stars as real-life Harlem mob boss Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, who has been portrayed in multiple films, most notably Ridley Scott’s 2007 American…

Kehinde Wiley’s Times Square Monument: That’s No Robert E. Lee

The sculpture, of an African-American man in streetwear and mounted on a horse, was unveiled Friday and will eventually move to Richmond, Va., home to a number of Confederate memorials.ImageThe sculpture, called “Rumors of War,” is Kehinde Wiley’s first work of public art and his first major piece since his portrait of President Obama.CreditCreditRachel Papo…

Rudy Ray Moore AKA Dolemite Early Rap Pioneer

Many people say that hip-hop was birthed by DJ Kool Herc on a 1973 summer evening in the Bronx. Others point to the release of the 1979 Sugarhill Gang song “Rapper’s Delight” as the moment when the genre was catapulted into the national consciousness. But several years before either of those moments, Rudy Ray Moore…

See hip-hop evolve through photos at the African American History and Culture Museum

Public Enemy in 1987 by Jack Mitchell. (Image courtesy Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture) In the late 1970s, hip-hop burst onto the scene in the Bronx in a cultural explosion of rapping, breakdancing and beatboxing, but it didn’t happen in a vacuum. Hip-hop built on traditions developed over decades by African-American

Jesse Williams Speech 2016 BET Awards

Jesse Williams  Speaks on Police Brutality 2016 BET Awards Grey’s Anatomy actor and social activist Jesse Williams prophetically addressed America during his awards speech at the 16th annual BET Awards on June 26, at the Microsoft Theatre at L.A. Live. Presented with the Humanitarian Award by BET Chairman/CEO Debra Lee, Williams used the stage to

The Dream Keeper and Other Poems

The Dream Keeper and Other Poems - Kindle edition by Langston Hughes. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Dream Keeper and Other Poems.

The Black Arts Movement: Literary Nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s (The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture)

The Black Arts Movement: Literary Nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s (The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture) (9780807855980): James Smethurst: Books

The Greatest Michael Jackson Music Videos

   Michael Jackson – King of Pop and Music Videos Michael Jackson was not only a music legend, he transformed the music industry with his style of elaborately produced music videos. While music videos are everywhere now, it was Michael Jackson who pioneered what many artists and music fans now take for granted. Michael Jackson's

Remembering DJ E-Z Rock – "It takes Two"

On April 27, 2014, the legendary DJ E-Z Rock died:     “According to a Facebook post from longtime partner MC Rob Base, DJ E-Z Rock died on Sunday April 27, 2014. While no official cause of death was revealed at that time, On April 27, 2014 Biz Markie announced on Twitter that DJ E-Z Rock had died

The Afro Hair Do – Then, and Now

Afro Blowout Justine Zwiebel/BuzzFeed, Eduardo Munoz / Reuters (de Blasio), Gallo Images / Rex (Jackson), Everett Collection (Grier), Lee Lockwood/Time Life Pictures / Getty Images (Newton), Hulton Archive / Getty Images (Davis), Everett Collection (Roundtree) Dante de Blasio’s Afro undoubtedly helped boost interest in the New York mayoral candidacy of his father, Bill de Blasio,

Blind Tom, Slave Turned Civil War-Era Pop Star

Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins (May 25, 1849 – June 14, 1908) was an African- American musical prodigy on the piano. He had numerous original compositions  …  Blind Tom – an African- American Musical Prodigy  Several years ago I encountered the story of Thomas Greene Wiggins in the pages of Oliver Sacks’ wonderful study of unusual

African American Artists: from history to art

black artists during the civil rights and liberation movements.

Black Musicians In Rock n Roll You Should Know

Chill out and rock out with these  Black  Rock n Roll musicians. 1. Ma Rainey Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=S8EB78QYrCM. Via YouTube Future Influences: Bessie Smith (who was her pupil), Janis Joplin 2. Bessie Smith Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA. Via YouTube Future Influences: Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin 3. Sister Rosetta Tharpe Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=JeaBNAXfHfQ. Via

[1/7] The Black Power Mixtape (1967-1975)

The Black Power Mixtape examines the evolution of the Black Power Movement in the black community and Diaspora from 1967 to 1975. The film combines music, startling 16mm footage (lying undiscovered in the cellar of Swedish Television for 30 years), and contemporary audio interviews from leading African-American artists, activists, musicians and scholars. Writen and Directed

GIL NOBLE ON THE GILCHRIST EXPERIENCE 20130222 194501 446

Gil Noble talks about Malcolm X / Dr. Clarke Gilchrist Experience Sept. 10th 2003 (LIVE)