Posted in New Trailer Alerts!!, On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts!!

Closing out the month of September with a fresh slate of new trailers!! Check them out below:

The Visitor (Streaming on EPIX October 7)

Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (In theaters October 7)

Halloween Ends (In theaters and Streaming on Peacock October 14)

Season 1-The Peripheral (Streaming on Prime Video October 21)

Strange World (In theaters November 23)

They Cloned Tyrone (Streaming on Netflix December 30)

Secret Invasion (Streaming on Disney+ Early 2023)

Posted in Dr. G's Weekly Hot Topics, On the Desk..., On The Radar

Dr. G’s Weekly Hot Topics!!

Happy Monday!! Boy do I have some goodies to share with you all this week!! So let’s dive right on in:

  • For all my ATL folks…The High Museum of Art is hosting the first museum survey dedicated to photographer Deana Lawson. From this global lens “working primarily in photography, Lawson investigates and challenges conventional representations of Black identities and bodies.” The Deanna Lawson exhibition opens on Oct. 7, for more details go to HighMuseum.org .
Deana Lawson (American, born 1979), “DL Roxie and Raquel” pigment print and collaged photograph, courtesy of the artist; Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York; and David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles. © Deana Lawson.
  • The Dutch Government has created a fund to apologize for their historic role in slavery. From 1596 to 1829, the Dutch took part in transporting nearly a half a million Africans across the Atlantic Ocean. The fund is set to be announced after the nation officially apologizes for its role by the end of this year or the beginning of 2023. It is said that the fund may be as large as 200 million euros. Additionally, European Central Bank Governing Council member Klaas Knot, who is also president of the bank, addressed his apology to the descendants of enslaved people and set up a fund to finance projects worth 5 million euros over the next 10 years in the Netherlands, Suriname and the Caribbean.
  • Ben & Jerry is rebranding their “Change is Brewing” flavor as a way to help protect voting rights and encourage young Black voter turnout ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections. The rebranded ice cream is being distributed at historically Black colleges and universities and in large cities and rural communities across Southern states as part of the Black Voters Matter Fund’s  “We Won’t Black Down” tour, which kicked off Sept. 14.
  • Michelle Obama Portraitist Amy Sherald is set unveil her first European show!! Sherald’s collection of paintings titled, The World We Make is set to be housed at Hauser & Wirth London from October 12 to December 23. Through her paintings, Sherald sees them as “a place to reflect. I want it to be as open, expansive and universal in a sense. I want my work to be a gift to Black people.”
The Make Believer (Monet’s Garden), [Artwork by Amy Sherald-Hauser & Wirth]
“For Love, and For Country”,
[Artwork by Amy Sherald-Hauser & Wirth]
  • Meet Princess Isis Lang, the creator of the “Cardinal Divas” at the University of Southern California. Lang, is currently a musical theater major at the University of Southern California (USC), and the creator of the school’s first-ever majorette team. The Cardinal Divas made their formal debut at the USC vs. Fresno State football game on September 17th. As noted by Lang, “you can look forward to seeing us at these home games on the big screen, showing young Black girls that they can do anything that they think to do.” 
  • And lastly, just as the football season gets to rolling, we get some major news about Super Bowl LVII...Rihanna, with style and grace, has officially confirmed that she will be performing at Super Bowl LVII!! The 57th Super Bowl will take place on February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Posted in New Trailer Alerts!!, On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts!!

A little bit of this…And a little bit of that!! Check out this week’s new hot trailers!!

Don’t Worry Darling (In theaters September 23rd)

Entergalactic (Streaming on Netflix September 30th)

My Best Friend’s Exorcism (Streaming on Prime Video September 30th)

Hocus Pocus 2 (Streaming on Disney+ September 30th)

Let the Right One In (Streaming on Showtime October 7th)

The School for the Good and Evil (Streaming on Netflix October 19th)

Devotion (In theaters November 23rd)

Posted in A Professor's Thoughts..., Feature Spotlight

Featured Upcoming Community Talk with Dr. G!

Anytime I can get a chance to give a talk in the community especially to the youth, I welcome the opportunity. This coming Saturday I have the great pleasure of serving as the “Kick off” speaker for the “Saturday Sojourners Program” put on by The Light Community Church (Richmond, VA).

The kick-off program will be a “Table Talk” discussion on “Behind the Veil: Who Do You See?”!

See the flyer below for more details:

Posted in Monthly Book Recommendations, On the Desk...

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-September 2022

Fall is upon us…the autumn leaves are changing colors, the air is becoming a bit more brisk and cool, and the days will soon become shorter. Per usual make sure to stack up your coins, dive into your bookstore shopping baskets, and get ready for some Fall reading!! Check out this month’s book recommendations below, which include a few treats in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month!!

Photo by Marta Wave on Pexels.com
  • Skye Falling ~Mia McKenzie
  • Cooking from the Spirit: Easy, Delicious, and Joyful Plant-Based Inspirations ~Tabitha Brown
  • Glory ~NoViolet Bulawayo
  • How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water ~Angie Cruz
  • The Chilean Kitchen ~Pilar Hernandez & Eileen Smith
  • What’s Coming to Me ~Francesca Padilla

And remember you can always go back and check out the previous month’s list and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!!

“We must recognize and nurture the creative parts of each other without always understanding what will be created.”Audre Lorde

Posted in A Professor's Thoughts..., Feature Spotlight, On the Desk...

Dr. G Featured in a New Edited Book Collection

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!

Family and Friends….I got some exciting news for you!! I have a chapter featured in the latest collection Teaching with Comics: Empirical, Analytical and Professional Experiences (2022) (Palgrave Macmillan) !!

Here is a brief description of the book:

This edited collection analyses the use of comics in primary and secondary education. The editors and contributors draw together global research to examine how comics can be used for critical inquiry within schools, and how they can be used within specific disciplines. As comics are beginning to be recognised more widely as an important resource for teaching, with a huge breadth of topics and styles, this interdisciplinary book unites a variety of research to analyse how learning is ‘done’ with and through comics. The book will be of interest to educational practitioners and school teachers, as well as students and scholars of comic studies, education and social sciences more broadly.

Now the title of my chapter is, #BlackFemaleIdentityConstructions: Inserting Intersectionality and Blackness in Comics !!

You can find the full text here!!

The physical copies will be available for purchase late September early October, but you can access it now!!

Posted in Dr. G's Weekly Hot Topics, Feature Spotlight, On the Desk..., On The Radar, Resources

Dr. G’s Weekly Hot Topics

And we are back with some new hot features!! A lot is happening in the world, and I’m all for sharing with you!! Check out this week’s new hot topics!!

  • History Being Made!! An E-Sports degree is coming to a South Carolina HBCU!! With the popularity of gaming and e-sports on the rise, as a billion dollar industry, it is only fitting that HBCU’s pick up the baton and make their mark in this arena. Two years in the making Benedict College is offering a major in E-Sports (to go along with their already existing esports gaming room), making it the first HBCU to do so.
Photo Credit: Benedict College
  • Looking for a southern-inspired meal on your next Delta flight, starting September 1st Delta Airlines travelers leaving out of Atlanta will be able to enjoy a variety of dishes curated by a Black Woman Chef, Mashama Bailey. Chef Bailey is a James Beard Foundation award-winning chef and also serves as the co-founder and Executive Chef of The Grey in Savannah, Georgia.
Chef Mashama Bailey
Some of the dishes that will be featured on the in-flight menu (Photo Credit: Delta Air Lines)
  • Making your way to DC anytime soon?? Well make sure you visit the 15 new murals that are part of DC’s 15th anniversary celebration of MuralsDC art program. The first mural (seen below) can be found on the parking lot of the Chik-fil-A on Maryland Ave. in NE DC. More of the installations will be housed in the “Art Allery” an art gallery in an alley on H Street.
MuralsDC first 15th anniversary mural (Photo Credit: MuralsDC)
  • Gospel singer and civil rights activist Mahalia Jackson now has a dedicated public plaza named in here honor. Mahalia Jackson Court is an 8,500-square foot space housed on 1 E. 79th St. in Chatham, IL that will feature daily food trucks, music, curated art and a playscape for children. Visitors will also be able to check out a history display, which will feature various artifacts.
  • This past week it was announced that a prequel series revolving around the high profile Netflix show Bridgerton will showcase the glamorous and fierce Queen Charlotte just wrapped up production!! The show’s director Tom Verica announced it on his Twitter…
  • Imagining a Utopian Future for Queer Nigerians is a new idea being portrayed in Nigerian photographer Daniel Obasi’s latest book “Beautiful Resistance” an artistic collaboration with Louis Vuitton, which chronicles the LGBTQ+ experience in Lagos.
An image featured in Obasi’s newest book. (Photo credit: Daniel Obasi)
Posted in New Trailer Alerts!!, On The Radar

Weekly Trailer Alerts!!

Another week, Another set of trailers…So save the dates, add to your calendars, and get your popcorn ready!! Check them out below:

American Gigolo (Streaming on Showtime September 9th)

Terim (Streaming on Netflix September 15th)

Dead for a Dollar (In theaters September 30th)

Jungle (Streaming on Prime Video September 30th)

Ticket to Paradise (In theaters October 21st)

The Menu (In theaters November 18th)

Posted in On The Radar, Uncategorized

Things To Do This Fall!!

Looking for your next adventure, family vacation, or weekend getaway, check out these exhibition and museum openings, art installations, cafes and markets below:

  • Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898-1971 (On view at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures now through April 9th, 2023): An exhibition spotlighting Black artists who shaped American filmmaking from 1898-1971. Some of the things that you will be able to see include one of Louis Armstrong’s trumpets, screenings Oscar Micheaux’s silent films, Lena Horne’s gown from the 1943 Stormy Weather musical, the Nicholas Brothers’ tap dancing shoes, and so much more!!
The Sphere at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in March 2021
  • Representin’ for the Midwest… Carver 47 Food & Wellness Market a casual cafe and market that serves the greater Chicago community through “a well-crafted menu of healthy and soulful offerings.” The cafe and market which reflects upon the life of George Washington Carver also includes a greenhouse bar, art gallery, farm table, and outdoor garden.
  • LEGO is celebrating 90 years of fun and joy with a new installation called, “Fly Away Isles” (The Brotherhood Sister Sol) designed by Harlem community Black and Latinx childred in collaboration with artist Hebru Brantley. Fly Away Isles serves as a dual space of both an art installation and fun play space for children. It’s located at 140 Hamilton Place in Harlem, NY. The installation will remain on display to the public through November 5th, 2022 with a street mural on display through July 2023.
  • Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial (Washington, DC) [Artist: Robert Berks] This is the first statue erected on public land in Washington, DC to honor and African American and woman. The bronze statue was unveiled on the anniversary of her 99th birthday, July 10, 1974. It is located in Lincoln Park (East Capitol Street and 12th Street NE, Washington, DC)
  • Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Statue (Riverfront Esplanade, Daytona Beach, FL) [Master Sculptor Nilda Comas]…This is a bronze replica of the marble one which is housed in Statuary Hall in Washington DC.
  • The Jackie Robinson Museum : “The Jackie Robinson Museum seeks to bring people from all walks together to commune and appreciate each other’s humanity and diverse experiences. We create a forum for debate and discussion, reflecting the ways in which we as a society can make progress by working together to solve difficult social issues and by appreciating how one life can make a difference” (TJRM Mission Statement). The museum will include a series of interactive exhibits, rare artifacts and memorabilia. It is set to open to the public on September 5th.

Happy Travels!! Soak it all up!! Enjoy!!