Now I know it has been quite a few months since I have posted… life has been life-ing!! 2025 has been moving and shaking, and I cannot wait to share more with you!! However, I could not this chance pass me by to share a recent article in which I was interviewed about the smashing cinematic hit, “Sinners”!
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Saturday, May 3rd, 2025
Shout out to the AMAZING Michael Paul Williams for his invitation to share some of my thoughts, I truly enjoyed the movie!!
While these are just a few snapshots of my thoughts, let me just say that Ryan Coogler is a GENIUS!! I have seen the movie twice already and will probably catch it again!!
Run, tell your friends to check it out, and then make sure you go with them too :-)!!
We are deep into the summer as we close out another HOT month! You know I could not leave you without another list of literary goodies!! Plus it’s Leo Season! As we continue to dive into Summer let me make sure I share some more finds to get you through the next month! This list is packed with lots of romance, thriller, coming of age, some poetry, a literary manifesto, and trust me every one is a page turner!! So let’s not delay the wait any longer!!
Check out July’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:
Midnight Rooms ~Donyae Coles
Bluff: Poems ~Danez Smith
Beyond Policing ~Philip V. McHarris
Blessings ~Chukwuebuka Ibeh
Red at the Bone ~Jacqueline Woodson
Did Everyone Have An Imaginary Friend? (Or Just Me): Adventures in Boyhood ~Jay Ellis
Sounds Like a Plan ~Pamela Samuel Young & Dwayne Alexander Smith
Bridges Instead of Walls: The Story of Mavis Staples ~Carole Boston Weatherford and Mavis Staples
And as always, Don’t forget to support your local bookstores!!
If you need a few recommendations check these out:
Let’s jump right into it this week, 2024 Times 100 list honoree and Golden Globe winning actress Taraji P. Henson just dropped her debut children’s book. Her book, “You Can Be A Good Friend (No Matter What!) was released on June 18th and tells a story that “shows kids the great things that can happen when we approach others and ourselves with empathy, patience, and love.” It’s the perfect story for classroom story time, bedtime reading, easing those back-to-school jitters, promoting friendship over bullying, and embracing the importance of standing in one’s own uniqueness. You can find her latest book anywhere books are sold
Need a refresher on Season 1 of the Onyx Collective/Hulu legal drama Reasonable Doubt ? Check out this 1-minute breakdown featuring the show’s lead, Emayatzy Corinealdi:
Season 2 premieres on Hulu on August 22, with episodes dropping every Thursday. And while you wait you can stream the first season now.
Looking for a new wine to jumpstart your summer?? As we celebrated another Juneteenth on last week, Mother New York (of Mother Design) launched Auntie Whine, a limited-edition wine that honors all the aunties and their signature dance moves. “Named for how aunties whine their hips at family gatherings, this wine captures the essence of these joyful moments.” It’s the perfect blend of cocoa butter notes and a smooth, silk bonnet-like mouthfeel just right for your next BBQ! In addition to the wine it comes with a sweet, soulful Spotify playlist of songs!!
In some more good TV news, STARZ is dropping the “Down in the Valley” premiere a WEEK early!! Aww shucks, you know who is a happy camper…that would be ME!! It is set to drop on this Friday June 28th at midnight/ET on STARZ. Hosted and executive produced by Nicco Annan, who is best known as Uncle Clifford in STARZ’s critically acclaimed tv show “P-Valley,” the six-episode half-hour docuseries follows Annan as he explores the people, sensuality, music, culture and stories of the South. “The series confronts uncomfortable truths, challenges societal norms, and advocates for a more inclusive and enlightened future.” Check out the trailer below:
This Jeopardy! host for 37 years is being honored with a Forever Stamp…Who is Alex Trebek? The well-known hostess who passed away in 2020 from pancreatic cancer is getting his own stamp!! Each stamp will read “This naturalized U.S. citizen hosted the quiz show ‘Jeopardy!’ for 37 seasons.” And underneath upside down, you can find the answer: “Who is Alex Trebek?” The new stamp will become available on July 22nd.
For all my foodies, check out these Black-owned restaurants in the Fort-Worth area of Texas:
And to close us out we got Four Features blazing this week’s Tiny Desk Concert-Black Music Month, a nice mix of gospel, soul, r&b, country, hip hop and pop!! Yes to ALL of this, check them out below:
Let me start you off with something to ‘perk’ you up…Pun intended (lol)….For all my coffee drinkers, especially Café Bustelo fans, the brand is launching 3 new ‘Espresso-Styled’ Iced Coffee drinks. This is the first in their 96-year history!! The new Iced Coffee collection includes three different flavor options: Unsweetened, Sweetened, and Vanilla. Great thing about these new iced coffees is that they are designed to be consumed straight out of the fridge, just open and pour into a glass. Now the Sweetened and Unsweetened versions of the iced coffee will be available at several retailers starting with Kroger and Walmart, and the Vanilla, called “Vainilla,” is a Target exclusive. So stay tuned, all three should start popping up in the refrigerator aisle very soon.
In television news, leading up to the Season 4 premiere of the Emmy-nominated series The Boys, creator Eric Kripke announced that the Amazon Prime Video show will close out in Season 5. Kripke explained his decision to end the run on its fifth season in a conversation with the Hollywood Reporter, “From the very beginning, I wanted to wrap it out around Season 5…And then I would say plans really solidified that we were going to actually do it years ago. I think we were probably in the middle of making season three, so it could have been three or four years ago that we always knew.”
#TheBoys Season 4 Premiere Week is a good time to announce: Season 5 will be the Final Season! Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final OK from Vought. Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax. Watch Season 4 in 2 DAYS, cause the end has begun! pic.twitter.com/3p7Wt4jGA6
Prime Video will drop the first three episodes of The Boys Season 4 on Thursday, June 13.
There’s a NEW MAYOR in town, on June 3rd, Lilian Seenoi-Barr made history becoming the first Black Mayor of Northern Ireland (Derry City and Strabane.) Truly a historic moment for the country of Ireland, as Ms. Seenoi-Barr came to the country 14 years ago as a Kenyan refugee. Growing up in a Maasai village she would grow up in “a home filled with love, unity, hard work and commitment to justice and freedom” – values she plans to carry forward into her service. This is also not her first time making history. Ms. Seenoi-Bar also broke barriers when she became the first Black woman to become an elected member of the “public office in Northern Ireland” as a councilor. Seeing news like this gives me hope that there is still for progressive change!! During her tenure as Mayor Ms. Seenoi-Barr seeks to to eradicate “poverty, attract investment and support young people to achieve their full potential, create jobs and advocate for quality affordable housing.”
Looking for something to do Labor Day weekend, why not check out Nas With the Las Vegas Philharmonic! In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of his debut album “Illmatic,” hip hop legend Nas is doing three performances (August 29-September 1) at the Encore Theater (Las Vegas). In a statement from Nas he notes, “I am excited to partner with the Las Vegas Philharmonic to bring this first-of-its-kind performance to Encore Theater and to showcase my music to my fans in Las Vegas in a whole new way.” Tickets have gone on sale and can be purchased here.
Talk about reclaiming space, this next feature spotlights two Black Hotel owners reclaiming a “gentrified space” in the Venice Beach area. Co-Founders Kamau Coleman and Michael Clinton have established a new boutique hotel, The Redline Venice (perfect name), as a way to provide a beautiful space and to tell the stories of Black and Brown folks who played a role in the Venice Beach area as a haven for artists, musicians, and creatives. The naming of the hotel is a direct and deliberate nod to the practice of redlining. As a boutique hotel it consists of four suites (studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom) and an amazing rooftop that can be used to rest, relax, and build networks! What a great way to ensure that the history of Black folks who made a innovative mark to the area get their just due and for an opportunity to build long-term economic wealth and power.
Lastly, as an HBCU grad, I am super siked about this news right here and the fact that Cali is where it’s happening is an extra bonus!! Beginning in the Fall 2024 school year, California will get its first HBCU!! Through a landmark initiative and collaboration between Huston-Tillotson University (HTU), the National College Resources Foundation (NCRF), the San Diego County Office of Education, and the University of La Verne there will be two satellite campus housed in San Diego and Los Angeles County. This is HUGE as we can see the expansion of HBCUs moving towards the West Coast!!
And to close us out we got a triple header for this week’s Tiny Desk Concert-Black Music Month Feature, a nice mix of soul, hip hop, and jazz!! I’m so loving this, check them out below:
We are jumping right out the gate with this one!! A new documentary from Shonda Rhimes/Shondaland and Netflix tells the story of how the first Black Barbie doll came to be in 1980. Directed by Lagueria Davis and produced by Shondaland’s Shonda Rhimes, Black Barbie “shows the impact of three Black staffers at Mattel on the doll’s debut, and how they influenced generations of young Black girls and the Barbie brand as a whole.”
Want to get some fashion inspiration? Or find out just how top stylist Law Roach has created a fashion legacy… Well stylist to the stars Law Roach is dropping his first book, How To Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence. It’s available for pre-order on Banks Square Books and Amazon and will hit shelves, on September 24, 2024.
A Black Feminist icon has been immortalized with a statue in the very spot where she gave an empowering speech. On May 29th the city of Akron and the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund unveiled a plaza and statue dedicated to abolitionist Sojourner Truth. In 1851 Sojourner Truth gave the seminal speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” to a crowd gathered at the Universalist Old Stone Church in Akron for the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention. This statue and plaza represent a space to tell one of America’s inspiring story of faith, truth, justice, and freedom!
In more inspiring news, the Kenyan government has partnered with several HBCUs to help boost STEM Education across the waters. Representatives from Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Howard University, and executives from higher education and business circles signed a framework agreement pact to establish an exchange between Kenyan universities and HBCUs. With many STEM programs on the rise here in the U.S., Kenya has established itself as the “Silicon Savannah of East Africa”and according to Kenyan president Dr. William Samoei Ruto, it has also “been a global player in shaping the growth of the technology industry.”
During an official state visit to Spelman College last week, the president of Kenya signed an agreement with the U.S. to establish an exchange between Kenyan universities and HBCUs. https://t.co/5ZxM46Ju3u
This next feature is all about food and nourishment! Whether you are going for the first time or revisiting an oldie but goodie food spot….Check out these Black-owned restaurants that can be found all across the U.S.:
As an extra bonus, with June being Black Music Month each week I will bring you the latest Tiny Desk concerts featuring some of the hottest Black musical artists!! This year’s Black Music Month-Tiny Desk Concert series features Black women artists all across the spectrum from “veterans who’ve paved the way for what we hear today in Black music, to those who are carving out their own paths.”
Happy Tuesday!! You didn’t think I forgot about ya??!! Not at all!! April Showers bring May Flowers!! Well at least here in Richmond :-)!! As those rainy days turn into days full of sunshine, don’t forget to pick up a book or two to get you through the day! Closing out the month with some literary goodies!! And as always, Don’t forget to support your local bookstores!!
Check out April’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:
Skin & Bones ~Renée Watson
Summer on Highland Beach ~Sunny Hostin
Little Rot ~Akwaeke Emezi
Sports Superheroes ~Stephen Curry
Great Expectations ~Vinson Cunningham
I Just Keep Talking: A Life in Essays ~Nell Irvin Painter
Come & Get It ~Kiley Reid
Allow Me To Introduce Myself ~Onyi Nwabineli
Anita De Monte Laughs Last ~Xochitl Gonzalez
One Of Us Knows ~Alyssa Cole
As an Extra Bonus…If you are in the Atlanta area, check out The Negro Motorist Green Book, an exhibition developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian, Candacy Taylor. This exhibition offers an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America and how the annual guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising African American middle class and evidence of a vibrant business class. The Negro Motorist Green Book exhibit will be on display at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, GA till June 23rd, 2024…See More Info Here
(l-r and 1940 cover edition, “Separate but equal” in practice a separate “Negro Area” at Lewis Mountain in Shenandoah National Park, and founder/creator Victor Hugo Green, Photo Credit: New York Public Library copy and National Park Service)
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And as always, remember you can always go back and check out 2023’s lists and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!
Excited to share another upcoming event that I will be participating in this Thursday with my friends at Suffolk Public Library!!
Suffolk Discovers: Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism expresses notions of Black identity, agency and freedom through art, creative works and activism that envision liberated futures for Black life. With musicians such as Sun Ra, Parliament, and Janelle Monáe, visual artists like Wangechi Mutu, and authors such as Octavia Butler, Afrofuturism imagines the potential of African diasporic futures without the effects of colonialism, capitalism, and racism among other things. In recent work like the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Panther movies though, there is a strain of doubt introduced into the hopefully utopian vision of Afrofuturist societies such as Wakanda.
Thursday, April 18th, 2024, 6-7:30 pm
North Suffolk Library (Conference Room), 2000 Bennetts Creek Park Road Suffolk, VA 23435
During the panel discussion we will explore the following questions/thoughts:
On Tuesday, I will be participating in a roundtable discussion on “Medicine, Marginalization, and Resistance: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.” As a 2023 Humanities Research Center (HRC) Fellow at VCU, the goal of the fellowship is to “foster intellectual exchange and to enhance the quality of research at VCU by exposing faculty to different perspectives and methodologies.”
The event takes place on March 12, 2024, 3-4:30 pm on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University [Virginia Room B-University Student Commons].
Join us for a roundtable discussion of medicine, marginalization and resistance with the HRC’s residential fellows Grace Gipson, Adin Lears, Gabriela León-Pérez, and Victoria Tucker. The fellows will discuss their work during their 2023-24 residency, exploring health humanities topics ranging from Black womanhood and disability in Marvel Comics’ Misty Knight, conceptions of medicine and the body in late medieval England, the health and well-being of Indigenous immigrants from Latin America to the US, and the experiences and contributions of Black nurses in Virginia during the transition from segregation to desegregation.
The presentations will be followed by a panel Q&A. All are welcome!
Cover Art for Heroes for Hire #4 (May 2011), Art by Doug Braithwaite
Misty Knight (played by Simone Missick) in the television series Marvel’s “Luke Cage”
During the roundtable, I will be able to discuss one of the chapters in my book project on Marvel Comics “Misty Knight” discussing Blackness, womanhood, and disability.
If you are in the Richmond Area come and check it out!! You can register for the event here!
While the city of Houston may be known for some famous celebrities, their basketball team, as a Black Mecca, the fourth most populous U.S. city, it also houses some prominent murals dedicated to the Black community. Everything from Black boy joy, to unsung military heroes, to a U.S. first these murals are shining bright! Check them out…
Ketanji Brown Jackson (Finnegan Park-4900 Providence St.)
Social Equity (405 Main St.)
Black Mount Rushmore (The Breakfast Klub-3711 Travis St.)
Zero Hunger (710 Crawford St.)
The Steam Crosses The Path (the Julia C. Hester House-2020 Solo St.)
The Old Soldier (Buffalo Soldiers National Museum-3816 Caroline St.)
George Floyd (3112 Ennis St.)
Whether you live in H-Town or stopping through for a visit, make sure to check out these murals! While you are at, go ahead and get a selfie with them too :-)!
Black Future Feminist 