Fashion Spiece

Within a corporate sports landscape where athletes’ moves are carefully orchestrated and each media interview strategically choreographed, Kyrie Irving has always resisted – and still rebels against conformity. During Ramadan, Islam’s holy month when nearly 2 billion adherents observe the daily fast from sunup to sundown, Irving has embraced a new cause that encompasses the pillars of social justice, anti-racism and humanitarianism that have come to define the 29-year-old superstar’s walk, on and off the court. On April 12, rumors began to spread that Irving had recently converted to Islam and was taking part in Ramadan fasting. Images of Irving kneeling before tipoff, in line with the Islamic prayer custom, began to circulate on Twitter, Instagram and beyond. In previous weeks, Irving had posted tweets crediting Allah for matters personal and political. On April 23, after Irving’s Brooklyn Nets topped the Boston Celtics, the rumor was elevat...

A new group is aiming to make a sea change on Broadway by vaulting Black people into some of its most powerful positions.  Broadway producers Barbara Broccoli ( Once, The Band’s Visit ), Lia Vollack ( MJ the Musical , Almost Famous ), Alecia Parker ( Waitress , Chicago ), Patrick Daly ( The Mountaintop ; August: Osage County ) and Travis LeMont Ballenger ( MJ the Musical , Almost Famous ) have founded a new nonprofit organization, The Theatre Leadership Project (TTLP). Its goal is to train and support a new generation of producers, general managers, company managers and stage managers by partnering with the Black Theatre Coalition and Columbia University to create a series of paid fellowships that will fund moving expenses, child care if necessary, and provide a stipend for living expenses, along with health care. “We want to break down as many barriers as possible so they can actually focus on the fellowship,” Ballenger said. TTLP is partnering with ...

I’m only 17% ashamed to admit that the first thing I did after hearing about the bikini pic Khloe Kardashian didn’t want the world to see was go search for the said pic. It was supereasy to find. Kardashian is in a two-piece assembled from animal print fabric strung together on black thread. Her legs are slightly crossed at the thighs, she’s wearing no makeup and she has the soft smile you make when a grandma who cherishes you wants to take your photo. In other words, Kardashian looks really, really normal. It’s not that I lack empathy for Kardashian. I’m a woman who’s had terrible photos of herself slapped on the internet. But this is not that. She looks pretty and soft and happy – just not staged and prepped for the consumption that keeps capitalism churning. For years, the Kardashians have cashed in on their contributions to the unattainable beauty standards set by pop culture that paradoxically persuade young women that this level o...

* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

About two years ago, I made a conscious decision to look away.  The 2019 video of Andrew Johnson, the 16-year-old Black wrestler who was forced to cut his locks, broke me. I watched as the white female trainer took blunt scissors to Johnson’s locks and cut them off, one by one, sometimes two or three at a time. With each clip, Johnson’s shoulders slumped deeper into his body. Although he would go on to win the match, in that moment, he looked defeated. The humiliation was too great. My heart broke. I am still mending my broken heart. The videos of Black trauma, humiliation and death have not stopped. Now that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of all charges in George Floyd’s death, it’s time to stop replaying the video of the killing. Like many others, I mourn the loss of Floyd’s life, which was taken as Chauvin pinned him to the ground with his knee for more than nine minutes. Claudia Rankine writes that ...

Years of taking on roles as legendary Black changemakers such as Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall only touch the surface of the mark Chadwick Boseman left on Hollywood. The performances hold even more meaning after Boseman’s death in August 2020 from colon cancer. Since 2013, The Undefeated’s entertainment reporter Kelley Carter has covered Boseman and his journey. At times, he got personal about his experience and one of those moments was in an exclusive, never-before-seen interview with Carter in 2018. During NBA All-Star Weekend, Boseman talked with Carter after the January 2018 release of the groundbreaking film Black Panther , sharing thoughts about his career, the pivotal moments, Black and African pride and more. In the 16-minute interview, Boseman talked about how becoming a real-life superhero fulfilled his childhood desires for superpowers and what that means to young children who look up to him. “As a kid you grew up playing su...

For the past few years, the best documentary category of the Academy Awards has been devoid of Black stories by Black directors. But A Love Song for Latasha changes this. One of two Oscar-nominated documentaries by Black female directors this year, A Love Song for Latasha is a 19-minute short that uses memories and voice-overs to recontextualize Latasha Harlins’ life. If you’re unfamiliar with her story, Harlins was a 15-year-old girl living in South Central Los Angeles when she was murdered on March 16, 1991, by a liquor store owner who wrongly believed she was shoplifting a bottle of orange juice. Although her death was a catalyst for the LA riots, this documentary is not about rebellion (or rage) but rather about giving agency to Black women to tell their own stories. Through the memories of Harlins’ cousin, Shinese Harlins-Kilgore, and her best friend Tybie O’Bard, they were able to give a fuller sense of who Latasha was as a person. The director, ...

It’s been more than a year since the start of the pandemic and, despite many pivots, directors, producers and stars found creative ways to produce award-winning content. This makes the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony unique. During that time, senior entertainment reporter Kelley Carter launched Another Act to speak with actors, entertainers and filmmakers about their journey. This season, Carter sat down with more than 20 stars whose films are in the running for an Oscar. Hear from some of the most prominent names in Hollywood as film enthusiasts prepare for the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday evening. Judas and the Black Messiah Nominations: Actor in a supporting role Cinematography Music ( original song) Best picture Writing (original screenplay) Daniel Kaluuya LaKeith Stanfield H.E.R. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Nominations: Actress in a leading role (Viola Davis) Actor in a leading role (Chadwick Boseman) Costume design Makeu...

MINNEAPOLIS – Relief. Validation. Jubilation. Justice arrived Tuesday for George Floyd, unleashing a wave of emotion that spilled out across America from the street corner where Floyd drew his last, ragged breath under the murderous knee of Derek Chauvin. Justice arrived in the form of three guilty verdicts for the former Minneapolis police officer. And it arrived in the sense that finally, albeit so painfully, Black life mattered to a criminal justice system and a nation that has so often said otherwise. As the jury returned to the courtroom to deliver its verdict, hundreds of people were drawn to George Floyd Square, at the intersection of 38 th Street and Chicago Avenue. This is where Floyd’s soul left his body last May 25 but remained in the hearts and minds of neighborhood activists, who barricaded the streets for a full block in each direction and built a living memorial to Floyd and the social justice movement that was launched by his murder. People cele...