Posted in Celebration, Feature Spotlight, Holiday Celebration!!, Monthly Book Recommendations, On the Desk..., On The Radar

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations and Holiday List-December 2023

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com

Season’s Greetings!! We are officially in the Christmas Holiday Season!! A wonderful time of the year to sing Christmas carols, light a candle for Hanukkah, bake some gingerbread cookies, check out the neighborhood Christmas decorations, or even travel with family and friends! While you are doing these fun things make sure you add a couple of literary treats in the mix too!!

Check out these December Book Recommendations below:

  • The Color of Family ~Jerry McGill
  • Joy and Pain: A Story of Black Life and Liberation in Five Albums ~ Damien Sojoyner
  • A Quick Ting on Crime ~Franklyn Adoo
  • The Changeling ~Victor Lavalle
  • The New Brownies Book: A Love Letter to Black Families ~Karida L. Brown
  • The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation ~Raquel Willis
  • Like Thunder ~ Nnedi Okorafor
  • The Spite House ~ Johnny Compton

As an extra bonus, here’s a Holiday Book List to get you further in the spirit!!

Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com
  • Love in Winter Wonderland ~Abiola Bello
  • Christmas in Lagos ~Sharon Abimbola Salu
  • A Christmas to Remember ~Beverly Jenkins
  • Twelve Dinging Doorbells ~Tameka Fryer Brown
  • A Piece of Black Cake for Santa ~Yolanda T. Marshall
  • Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas ~Maya Angelou
  • Brown Baby Jesus ~Dorena Williamson

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!

“Christmas enters, streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope and singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.”

~Maya Angelou, Amazing Peace

Posted in Celebration, Holiday Celebration!!

Dr. G’s Holiday Movie Watchlist-2023 Edition

Now this is not a post about the best Christmas movies (although all my faves are on this list), but more of a celebration of Christmas movies. This is literally my favorite time of year when it comes to movies!! You have your classics that never get old and then the newbies that hopefully become classics! With this list, I made sure to include a good mix for both the kids, the adults, and everyone in between.

Photo by Adriaan Greyling on Pexels.com

So as you continue to celebrate the Holiday Season make sure to take a little time to watch a movie or two with your family and friends, maybe even throw a Holiday Watch Party!! Nothing like starting some new traditions!

See my 25 Must-Watch Holiday Movies below:

  • Candy Cane Lane (Prime Video) [2023]
  • Dashing Through the Snow (Disney+) [2023]
  • The Naughty Nine (Disney+) [2023]
  • Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (Netflix) [2020]
  • Klaus [2019]
  • Almost Christmas [2016]
  • The Best Man Holiday [2013]
  • Elf [2003]
  • This Christmas [2007]
  • The Holiday [2006]
  • The Preacher’s Wife [1996]
  • The Santa Clause [1994]
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas [1993]
  • The Muppet Christmas Carol [1992]
  • Home Alone [1990]
  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation [1989]
  • Scrooged [1988]
  • Die Hard [1988]
  • Trading Places [1983]
  • A Christmas Story [1983]
  • Frosty the Snowman [1969]
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas! [1966]
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas [1965]
  • Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer [1964]
Posted in Black Joy, Celebration, Feature Spotlight, On The Radar

Highlighting Black Excellence in the 2023-24 Golden Globe Nominees!!

It’s that time of year again…Award Season is upon us!! With the releasing of the Golden Globe nominations on yesterday many of us could not wait to see who was in the running. Considering the lack of content (due to the writers and actors strikes) I was very curious as to who would get a chance at winning the golden statue. This was especially the case regarding Black excellence !!

So let me take a moment to highlight Black Excellence with the 2023-24 Golden Globe nominees, check them out below:

Best Actress in a musical or comedy (Film)

  • Fantasia Barrino, Celie in The Color Purple

Best Supporting Actress (Film)

  • Danielle Brooks, Sofia in The Color Purple
  • Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy (Television)

  • Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

Best Actor in a Drama (Film)

  • Colman Domingo, Bayard Rustin in Rustin

Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy

  • Jeffrey Wright, Thelonious “Monk” Ellison in American Fiction

Best Actor (Limited Series, Anthology, or TV Movie)

  • David Oyelowo, Bass Reeves in Lawmen: Bass Reeves

Best Original Song

  • Lenny Kravitz, “Road to Freedom”

Best Musical or Comedy Series (Television)

  • Abbott Elementary

Best Animated Film and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement in Motion Pictures

  • Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

Best Stand-Up Comedian On Television

  • Trevor Noah: “Trevor Noah: Where Was I”
  • Chris Rock: “Selective Outrage”
  • Wanda Sykes: “Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer”

The Golden Globes Ceremony will air live on CBS on January 7th, 2024, 8-11 pm/ET (You can also stream on Paramount+ and the CBS app).

Posted in A Professor's Thoughts..., Black Joy, Celebration

GRADUATION SEASON-FALL 2023

#GraduationSeason…. It’s that time of year again and once again I was overwhelmed with excitement and pride!! These AFAM graduates 🎓 were the highlight of the weekend !! Being able to watch many of them grow and mature as budding scholars fills my heart with joy !!

Every semester these students continue to affirm and confirm my purpose as a professor and a Black woman in higher ed!!

Thank you Kai Cumberbatch-Smith, Stephani Fowlkes, Taylor Givens, Taylor Gray, Amiya Hairston, Tarazha Jenkins, and Tania Kendrick !!

Another great class that goes in the books!!

A little snapshot into the Fall 2023 AFAM Graduation festivities!!

Congratulations 🍾 !! Now it’s time for you to change the world 🌍 !!

Posted in Celebration, Holiday Celebration!!, On The Radar

What to Watch on Turkey Day?-TV and Film Watchlist

Whether you have a Thanksgiving routine with your family or want to start some new traditions check out this Turkey Day watch list…

Network Television

  • Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade [8:30 AM- 12:00 PM/ET, on NBC]
  • The 2023 National Dog Show [12:00 PM/ET on NBC]
  • Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions [12:30 PM/ET on FOX]
  • Washington Commanders vs. Dallas Cowboys [4:30 PM/ET on CBS]
  • San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks [8:20 PM/ET on NBC]

Streaming Networks

**Netflix

  • Rustin: Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and homophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington.
  • Best. Christmas. Ever!: After a twist of fate brings their families together for Christmas, Charlotte sets out to prove her old friend Jackie’s life is too good to be true.
  • The Killer: After a fateful near miss, an assassin battles his employers — and himself — on an international hunt for retribution he insists isn’t personal.
  • Leo: A coming-of-age musical comedy about the last year of elementary school as seen through the eyes of a class pet.

**Hulu

  • The League: The dynamic journey of Negro League baseball’s triumphs and challenges is told through previously unearthed archival footage and interviews with legendary players.
  • Quiz Lady: A hilarious and heartfelt comedy starring Awkwafina and Sandra Oh as estranged sisters forced to cover their mother’s gambling debts, set out to get the cash the only way they know how – by turning Anne (Awkwafina) into a bona-fide gameshow champion.
  • Season 5-Fargo: In this anthology series inspired by the 1996 film, each season follows a mostly new cast of characters who get involved with murder investigations in different Midwestern towns, with seemingly unrelated crimes sometimes being connected in some way.

**Disney+

  • Dashing Through the Snow: After a traumatic experience, Eddie Garrick, a social worker, no longer believes in the magic of Christmas. At the request of his estranged wife, he brings his daughter Charlotte to work where a magical adventure begins for them.
  • The Naughty Nine: Mischievous fifth grader Andy finds himself without a visit or presents from Santa on Christmas morning. Realizing he must have landed on the “naughty list” and feeling unfairly maligned, Andy pulls together a team of eight other “naughty listers” to help him execute an elaborate heist at the North Pole to get the presents they feel they deserve. Along the way, the group comes to realize that the very best way off the naughty list is to redirect their unique talents for good — instead of mischief.
  • Season 2-Loki: The second season of the American television series Loki, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name, sees Loki working with Mobius M. Mobius, Hunter B-15, and other members of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to navigate the multiverse in order to find Sylvie, Ravonna Renslayer, and Miss Minutes. 

**Max

  • Blue Beetle: Jaime Reyes suddenly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology called the Scarab. When the Scarab chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he’s bestowed with an incredible suit of armor that’s capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero Blue Beetle.
  • The Gilded Age: The Gilded Age follows a young woman who moves in with her old-money aunts and quickly gets entangled in the social war between them and their new-money neighbors. In a world on the brink of the modern age, will she follow the rules of society or forge her own path?
  • Rebuilding Black Wall Street: A six-part docu-series focusing on the ongoing reconstruction of the Greenwood District of Tulsa, which was destroyed in the 1921 massacre.

**Paramount +

  • Good Burger 2: Dexter Reed and cashier Ed reunite at fast-food restaurant Good Burger with a hilarious new group of employees.
  • Lawmen: Bass Reeves: American Western television series based on the life of the first African American Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi River, Bass Reeves
  • Milli Vanilli: The story of Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, featuring interviews with the real singers, record executives, the producer mastermind behind the deception and exclusive interviews with Rob and Fab.

Apple TV+

  • A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving: Peppermint Patty invites everyone to Charlie Brown’s for Thanksgiving, even though he’s going to see his grandmother; Snoopy decides to cook his own version of a Thanksgiving meal with help from his friends.
  • Lessons in Chemistry: In the 1950s, Elizabeth Zott’s dream of being a scientist is challenged by a society that says women belong in the domestic sphere; she accepts a job on a TV cooking show and sets out to teach a nation of housewives way more than recipes.

**In Theaters

  • Wish
  • Thanksgiving
  • The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
  • Napoleon
  • The Marvels
Posted in A Professor's Thoughts..., Celebration, Feature Spotlight, On The Radar

Dr. G Feature and Top 20 Fave Horror/Thriller Movie List!!

For those preparing to celebrate Halloween, I wanted to share a recent feature that I am included in as well as my Top 20 Fave Horror movies!! Now while I’m not necessarily an active Halloween participant (anymore), I am a fan of a great horror/thriller movie!! On this past Monday I was featured in a VCU News article, “What’s your favorite scary movie? A horror film watch list for October.” The article features recommendations from VCU faculty, staff, and students on their favorite horror movies! I selected the 1992 classic film, Candyman! See an excerpt below:

“Candyman” is a classic example of how a film can and does eloquently have a conversation surrounding racism, Black pain and historical memory. This in many ways is what separates it from other horror films, telling the story of a mysterious Black man who comes back to life after being brutally executed.

Lead character “Daniel Robitaille” (played by Tony Todd) from Candyman (1992)

You can check out the full feature here!!

In addition to the above feature, I wanted to share my Top 20 Fave Horror/Thriller films! You can watch these on Halloween or any other day when you need that horror fix!

Now this list is in no particular order, just simply a feature list:

  • Candyman (1992 and 2021)
  • The Blackening (2023)
  • His House [Netflix] (2020)
  • Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
  • Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019)
  • Master [Prime Video] (2022)
  • Eve’s Bayou (1997)
  • The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (2023)
  • Get Out (2017)
  • Night of the Living Dead (1968)
  • Ganja & Hess (1973)
  • Tales from the Hood (1995)
  • Us (2019)
  • Smile (2022)
  • Nosferatu (1922)
  • Midsommar (2019)
  • The Exorcist (1973)
  • Carrie (1976)
  • The Craft (1996)

So many stories to tell, so many viewpoints to share, and plenty of chills to crawl up your spine!! Try one, or try them all, trust me there is at least something for everyone!!