By Kyra Azore Cornrows have a rich history in the black community, a traditional hairstyle that traveled to America in the belly of the slave ship 400 years ago and can still be seen marching in the streets for freedom today. But cornrows have a more engrained purpose in the history of African Americans. It…
By Sabrina Shanghie What if I told you the trendy cornrow styles of 2019 once served as a gateway to freedom for enslaved African Americans hundreds of years ago? In the past decade, many cultures have embraced the beauty of cornrows, including some who don’t understand the deep history that the style holds. Braids may…
By T’Keyah Hayes Betty Boop is widely recognized as one of the most notable cartoon characters and one of the first cartoonized American sex symbols. Her vocal trademark, “Boop Oop A Doop,” and her contoured figure in a form-fitting dress traces back to a black woman by the name of Esther Jones. Esther “Baby Esther”…
By Sydney Stallworth You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone today who isn’t a fan of mega-star Beyonce. She is described as a musical genius, the best dancer in Hollywood, and the ultimate triple threat. But if you’re a fan of Queen Bey, you need to know the OG queen of performance. A woman who…
February commemorates the annual celebration of Black History Month, which highlights the important contributions by people of African descent. Each year, however, we discover that there are many more black individuals and groups that significantly contributed to today’s world, yet remain unacknowledged in today’s history lessons. Black people have made (and continue to make) considerable…
By Jessica O’Donnell WASHINGTON — As more states move to pass strict voter ID laws, cries of voter suppression have grown louder. But that’s not really new: Voter suppression in the U.S. is as old as the nation itself. From the beginning, white women and enslaved black people were barred from the polls. After the…
BLACK HISTORY: Activists of the Past and Present By Judayah Murray Jackie Aina, a popular beauty YouTuber, is stepping up in the world and emerging as an important voice in the black community. Using her platforms of over 2 million subscribers on YouTube, 829,000 followers on Instagram and 280,000 followers on Twitter, Aina regularly distributes…
By Sydney Davenport Some people crave the spotlight. They want to see their name in lights and are willing to do what it takes to make it to the big time. Not vocalist Jazmine Thomas of Savannah, Georgia. She’s hoping to find success is not behind the scenes, but in the background. Thomas, a music…
Denzel Washington’s film adaptation of August Wilson’s “Fences,” which premiers on Christmas Day, is being praised as an original remake of the Broadway play. However, this story has been an essential work in American theater for more than 30 years, and it didn’t originate with Washington. Oscar-winning actor James Earl Jones originally portrayed Troy Maxson,…
In an iconic scene in the 2001 historical war movie “Pearl Harbor,” a cook fired one of the .50 caliber machine guns on the ship, shooting down four planes. The film, directed by Michael Bay, was a dramatic retelling of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 75 years ago on Dec. 7, 1941. It was…