We are back for the new year!! And you know the recommendations don’t stop!! Got a fresh new slate of literary goodies to fill your book shelves!! I’m bringing you all the heat with this list!! Feel free to share with your friends!!
Check out January’s list below:
Boys Come First ~Aaron Foley
Land of Love and Drowning ~Tiphanie Yanique
On the Roof Top ~Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
American Spy ~Lauren Wilkinson
Grace ~Natashia Deón
The Keeper ~Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes
The Stars Beneath Our Feet ~David Barclay Moore
Beasts of Prey ~Ayana Gray
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!!
“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations…If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won’t exist because you’ll have already shut it out…You can hear other people’s wisdom, but you’ve got to re-evaluate the world for yourself.” —Mae Jemison
With all the conversations and reactions surrounding the teaser trailer of the upcoming spring film “The Little Mermaid” myself and another colleague of mine Bethan Jones decided to put digital pen to paper and share some of our thoughts. The piece is titled, “Part of Your World”: Fairy Tales, Race, #BlackGirlMagic, and The Little Mermaid.”
Here are a few excerpts…
In 2016 Disney announced a live-action adaptation of its 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid. Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale, the animation earned critical acclaim, took $84 million at the domestic box office during its initial release, and won two Academy Awards (for Best Original Score and Best Original Song). Given Disney’s recent foray into creating live-action adaptations of some of its most successful animated films, it’s no surprise that The Little Mermaid was added to the list. Yet controversy rose when Black actress Halle Bailey was announced as Ariel in July 2019. Among the critiques was the argument that the adaptation should be as close to the original as possible, and the original featured a white mermaid; that if a Black character was re-cast as white in a remake there would be uproar; and while representation in all forms is important it shouldn’t override the history of the characters…
We even provided some history and background into the significance and importance of Black mermaids.
While the original fairy tale from Hans Christian Andersen does describe Ariel’s character as “her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea” this does not mean that there were no mermaids who were of color. In fact, water spirits and Black mermaids existed even before Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale. It is important to note the global history of mermaids and water spirits due to the fact that the existence of Black characters in fantasy, magical realism, and science-fiction is often non-existent. If we think about this from an Afrofuturistic lens, these early Western tales did not see Black characters as even being a part of these narratives. The waters have always been seen as a sacred space literally and figuratively within African folklore. Housed within many African traditions, the water serves as a bridge between otherworlds, life and the afterlife. And the sea deity Mami Wata or La Sirene (which translates as Mother Water or Mother of Water) serves as the beginnings of many African mythical tales.
In celebration of Dr. King’s Birthday I wanted to share some of my favorite speeches from him as well as a few films, documentaries, and television series that feature his life and legacy. I wanted to make sure I shared some hidden gems, along with a few speeches and films that I have learned about through my time as a student and now professor. Check them out below:
“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.” ~Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Another week, another set of HOT TOPICS!! Let’s see what I got for you this week. Check it out below:
Fresh off of a huge night, Abbott Elementary fans can breathe a sigh of relief know that there WILL be a Season 3!! This news comes after the show and several actors winning big, Tyler James Williams (Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Television Series-Musical or Comedy), Quinta Brunson (Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series-Musical or Comedy), and the show winning Best Television Series-Musical or Comedy.
Looking to change up your meal plan or simply add a little flavor and spice you are in luck! Tabitha Brown has a new limited-edition collection that just launched at Target on January 8th. This is her third collection which includes cookware and vegan/plant-based food options. Brown’s food items feature vegan cream cheese spreads, pastas and plant-based patties and the cookware includes cast iron skillets, utensils and towels.
#BlackWomenMakingMoves … Angela Bassett made history at this year’s Golden Globes!! Bassett won “Best Supporting Actress-Motion Picture” for her as ‘Queen Ramonda’ in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever making her the first to win a Golden Globe for a Marvel movie. If this is in preparation for Bassett winning a long-overdue Oscar, I’m all in!! See her acceptance speech below:
There’s a new “American Girl”-2023 Girl of the Year doll in town and her name is Kavika “Kavi” Sharma. The first South Asian American Girl Doll. As noted by the AG company, “Kavi joins the company’s long line of contemporary characters, introduced more than 20 years ago, that represent a wide range of backgrounds to reflect what it means to be an American girl today.” Here is a tangible product that represents progression and hope!! In addition to the doll to purchasing the doll, various accessories can be purchased alongside the doll: the “Song & Dance Bundle,” that includes a red, blue, and gold lehenga (a traditional form of South Asian clothing), matching South Asian jewelry including a tikka (head piece), necklace, and a pair of bangles. Other accessories also include backstage wardrobe essentials and various sparkly outfits. The doll is available for purchase now!
For all my MCU fans, Phase 5 is going to be a pretty exciting time!! I know I am looking forward to the upcoming line-up!! And just in case you have not seen the latest news, check out what is coming in 2023:
110 years ago today on January 13th, 1913 on the campus of Howard University 22 college-educated, distinctive, devoted, delightful, dedicated women lit the the torch into the eternal Delta light!! They envisioned a new day of more than just a social life, they desired a larger vision, purpose, and vision that laid a foundation to build upon. A strong and solid legacy that remains even today!
As I embark upon 20 YEARS in this AMAZING, ILLUSTRIOUS sisterhood, I just have to give thanks to #The22!! Thank you for paving the way for a young woman like me to be a part of this wonderful sisterhood now and forever more.
May we continue the legacy of our founders of Sisterhood, Scholarship, Service, and Social Action!!
Intelligence is the torch of wisdom.
Oh to be a Delta Girl!! #SigmaMade #SoonToBe20YearsIn
We are back!! Starting out the year with a few goodies for you to either visit, stream, buy from your grocery store, or add to your calendar!! Nothing like a few hot topics to get you through the mid-week hump! Check them out below:
For all my Toni Morrison fans this coming February her papers will be part of an exhibition called, “Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory” at Princeton University in the Millberg Gallery-Firestone Library. Conceived by Autumn Womack, Assistant Professor of African American Studies and English, the exhibition is a multi-faceted, immersive journey into the archives of Toni Morrison. Before she passed away, Morrison gave her archives to Princeton in 2014. The exhibition will consist of essays, speeches, day planners, and letters. The exhibition will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. through June 4, 2023.Looks like I’m gonna need to take a trip to New Jersey!!
Items from the Papers of Toni Morrison, Special Collections, Princeton University Library (PUL)
If you have been keeping up with the latest Netflix movies or series, you will know that the heist-drama Kaleidoscope just dropped on New Years Day! The eight-part series centers around master thief Leo Pap (Giancarlo Esposito) and his crew attempting an epic heist worth $7 billion! However, there is a little twist, the episodes can be watched in any order and it still make sense; the introduction “Black” explains the concept of the show, while the episode “White” is intended to always be the series finale. According to various outlets they have offered some suggestions:
Stars Giancarlo Esposito and Tati Gabrielle recommend no particular order or watch it “in the colour scheme that appeals to you.” When it is all said and done the ball is in your court, choose as you wish!
Award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay is partnering with Ben & Jerry’s to launch its newest flavor, Lights! Caramel! Action! DuVernay, who is the first Black woman to be a featured partner on the Ben & Jerry’s pints, will have a flavor that is an ensemble of vanilla ice cream, salted caramel swirls, graham cracker swirls and chocolate chip cookie dough pieces. MMM Good!! The new flavor will begin shipping out this month!! Proceeds from Lights! Caramel! Action! will benefit DuVernay’s non-profit ARRAY Alliance (a woman-led nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, works to advance social justice through art)! According to DuVernay, “Ice cream is a simple joy of life. A comfort food that I’ve turned to on many days—making sunny ones brighter and dark ones sweeter,”
Sneak peak into the 15th Doctor Who…BBC has released some first looks into the upcoming continuation of the “Doctor Who” series. Ncuti Gatwa (also known for his role in “Sex Education” will star as the 15th doctor. It’s unclear when Gatwa will take on the mantle and pilot the TARDIS, but it looks like he will be featured in the 60th anniversary special in November 2023.
And last, but not least, for all my Black Panther: Wakanda Forever fans, just in case you missed it in the theaters it’s coming to Disney+ on February 1st!! So hang tight only a few more weeks till we can watch it on repeat!!
It’s the last day of 2022, we are almost there folks!! So the pandemic is still real, but somehow we are managing it. Let’s just say this was another unforgettable year!!
Definitely had some moments that shook the nation with such things as abortion no longer being a constitutional right, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the tragedy in Uvalde (TX), banned books, the retirement of a tennis legend Serena Williams, we got the slap of the century when Will Smith cold clocked slapped Chris Rock, and jaw-dropping seasons of Euphoria and Bridgerton.
In sports news, Argentina wins the World Cup, the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl (along with an AMAZING halftime show-Hip Hop and R&B reigning supreme), the Houston Astros win their second World Series title…then you got the suspension of Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka (and his split from Nia Long), Tom Brady retired…back in the game and then divorced, Brittney Griner is released from a Russia prison and returns home to the U.S….and one of my fave moments the Golden State Warriors reclaimed the NBA Title throne!!
Lena Horne became the first Black woman to have a Broadway theater named after her…Two Literary Pioneers were honored with USPS stamps, Toni Morrison and Ernest J. Gaines!
In politics, for the first time in history the four largest U.S. cities New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston will all have Black mayors after this year’s midterm elections…Karen Bass sealed the deal with her historic win! And THANK GOD Georgia did not elect Herschel Walker into the U.S. Senate, we can all breathe a sigh of relief!
The elements are still having their way whether its the frigid winter storm in Buffalo, Hurricane Ian and Fiona, and heat waves coming in July, August and October!!
The Little Mermaid teaser trailer…Just wow!! I’m so ready!!…Also, definitely gotta shout out some good friends for putting me on to Billions and Yellowstone, talk about some good tv!!
Speaking of good tv let me just drop a few more nuggets:
Riches (Amazon Prime Video)
Reasonable Doubt (Hulu)
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Blood & Water (Netflix)
Dahmer: Monster-The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
Wednesday (Netflix)
P-Valley (STARZ)
Raising Kanan: Power Book III (STARZ)
Final season of OWN Network Queen Sugar and FX Atlanta
Cherish the Day (OWN)
The Bear (Hulu)
Let’s Go To The Movies… I was so glad that the theaters have opened back up again, feels good to sit back and relax at my local AMC!!
The Woman King: Finally these stories are being told!!
Everything Everywhere All at Once: Brilliant movie that definitely did not get the pub it should have…such a good movie!!
Top Gun: Maverick: Now that was a fun ride!!
Descendant (Netflix): Gotta love history, especially when they speak the truth!
Confess, Fletch: Pure laughs!!
Bullet Train: Who knew you could enjoy a movie that is set on a bullet train…
Nope: Layered and complex!!
Prey (Hulu definitely knows how to drop those gems!!)
Devotion: A piece of history that I didn’t know about but glad I do now!
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Not a dry eye!! Ryan Coogler & Ruth E. Carter you did it again!! Angela Bassett proved once again why she is that one!!
Remembering those we lost in 2022…Folks that definitely made some sort of impact on my 41 years of life!!
Sidney Poitier (January 6th): The epitome of elegance and stage presence!
Lani Guinier (January 7th)
Bob Saget (January 9th)
André Leon Talley (January 18th)
Charles McGee (January 23rd): One of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen!
Cheslie Kyrst (January 30th): Mental Health is real!!
Ivan Reitman (February 13th): Ghostbusters!!
Johnny Brown (March 2nd): Ohhhhh “Good Times”
Traci Braxton (March 12th)
William Hurt (March 13th)
Madeleine Albright (March 23rd)
Gilbert Gottfried (April 12th)
DJ Kay Slay (April 18th): Ahhhh takes me back to my undergrad days
Naomi Judd (April 30th)
Bob Lanier (May 10th)
Ray Liotta (May 26th)
Sam Gilliam (June 25th)
Paul Sorvino (July 25th)
Nichelle Nichols (July 30th): SO Grateful and Thankful for the barriers she broke and the history made!
Bill Russell (July 31st): A legend in every sense of the word!!
Roger E. Mosely (August 7th): I will always remember those days of watching Magnum, P.I. (the original)
Olivia Newton-John (August 8th): Such a sweet soul taken from this earth!
Hanae Mori (August 11th): Haute Couture at its finest!!
Denise Dowse (August 13th)
Mikhail Gorbachev (August 30th)
Queen Elizabeth II (September 8th)
Ramsey Lewis (September 12th)
Pharoah Sanders (September 24th)
Coolio (September 28th): One more “Fantastic Voyage”
Charles Fuller (October 3rd)
Loretta Lynn (October 4th)
Angela Lansbury (October 11th): Murder Mysteries will never be the same!!
Leslie Jordan (October 24th)
Rev. Calvin O. Butts III (October 28th)
Takeoff (November 1st)
John Aniston (November 14th): Soap opera’s will never be the same!
Irene Cara (November 26th): I just wanna dance forever!!
Dorothy Pitman Hughes (December 1st): Co-founder of the prominent feminist publication Ms. Magazine
Kirstie Alley (December 5th)
Paul Silas (December 11th)
Stephen “tWitch” Boss (December 14th)
Franco Harris (December 21st): There will never be another “Immaculate Reception” … One for the books!!
Pelé and Vivienne Westwood (December 29th)
Barbara Walters (December 30th)
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (December 31st): The longest-living pope, having surpassed Pope Leo XIII in September 2020, known as “God’s Rottweiler”.
Beyoncé gave us her 7th studio album, Renaissance...Afrobeats continues to rise and I’m here for all of it! Usher’s Las Vegas show makes huge waves…Ari Lennox brought us Age/Sex/Location…And another bomb soundtrack from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever!!
The housing market was a win for sellers, but it looks like that is taking turn back for buyers (I hope so, cause your girls will definitely be looking in 2023). Twitter was bought by Elon Musk…We witnessed our first Black woman Supreme Court Justice, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (RBG is definitely smiling)…and soooooo much more!!
For me 2022, was all about roller coaster rides of life. I had many valley lows and just as many high moments. Sold my house in ATL (the end of an era)…I dealt with with anxiety, some depression, some trauma, and deep loss. Losing my Uncle Oscar hit me deep in my core! And if I am being honest, I am still grieving and probably will for some time. He meant so much to me, he will never be forgotten. There is not a day that doesn’t go by where I just want to shoot him a ring and ask for him to pray with and for me. But when it is all said and done I know he is watching over me, smiling, and having a good laugh with my Grandma!! I definitely got a chance to travel and collect some more passport stamps. I went to New Mexico for the first time, tried real Belgium waffles IN Belgium (Twice)!! Presented at Wonder-Con (Anaheim, CA), gave a keynote lecture at Ghent University (Ghent, Belgium). Got to celebrate Black History Month twice once in the US and in London!! Went to the Roots Picnic in Philly…Celebrated many of my friends 40th Birthday’s….that was fun!
Even got me a new ride…a Christmas gift to myself!!
This year I got to spend a lot of time on several beaches and oh was that therapeutic (Thank you Turks and Caicos and Playa del Carmen)…Lord knows I love the water!!
…It was good to be back in the classroom for another semester with some AMAZING students!! I am truly grateful to have this job/career. I look forward to completing 2023 as I will (I’m claiming) get through my Third-Year Review and become another step closer towards Tenure!! Oh and I got boosted again! I launched a new project, Black Girl Magic in Media (BGMM) and let me tell you I am very excited about what is in store! Be on the lookout for what is in store!
I continue to learn more about myself…grow…find balance…navigate all the moving parts of my life…and taking one day at a time!
Let me just say I am also very thankful for my BFF family and friends!! I look forward to bringing you more good news and culture in 2023!!
As we walk into December let’s check out some new and exciting things happening in the world!! Check out this week’s goodies below:
A new children’s book that discusses grief and healing, the Many Shapes of Clay: A Story of Healing by Kenesha Sneed.
SNEAK PEEK-First images of the upcoming Luther film from Netflix!! I am SOOOO ready!! Luther is set to be released in March 2023. #LutherFan
Idris Elba in “Luther” Photo Credit: Netflix
Idris Elba in “Luther”, Photo Credit: Netflix
As archaeologists recover remains from the “Clotilda,” visitors can now prepare to visit the forthcoming Africatown Heritage House in Mobile, Alabama. As described by Mobile County commissioner Merceria Ludgood, the museum is “a collaborative effort to share the long-doubted, inspirational story of the Clotilda, its captives, and their unique place in the history of this country.” The Africatown Heritage House is set to open in the Spring of 2023. In the meantime, to learn more about Africatown and the Clotilda, check out the Netflix documentary “Descendant” .
Running, the arts, and Philadelphia…Mural Miles is a nonprofit running and art curation group, running (pun intended) on a “mission to inspire human potential through community fitness and art.” And their inaugural mural “Equilibrium,” was unveiled this past Thanksgiving weekend. The piece depicts two local runners, Aaron Leon Nixon and Valentina Viana, in stride alongside birds and a dog. Through this mural and other it is sure to spark a movement. To see the mural you can access it at 638 Christian St. in South Philadelphia.
“Equilibrium” artist Eric Okdeh Photo Credit: Mural Miles
Lastly, a new exhibition featuring photographs and artifacts from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture collection will be on display (opening December 2nd), Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism, and Popular Culture. Visitors can check out the exhibition until November 2023 in the Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts (CAAMA) gallery. As noted by NMAAHC, “The exhibition spotlights the presence of religion in African American popular culture through three sections [Blurred Lines: Holy | Profane, Bearing Witness: Protest | Praise, Lived Realities: Suffering | Hope], providing a visual exploration of religion’s shadow in both the sacred and secular through images and artifacts.”
Photo Credit: National Museum of African American History and Culture
Black Future Feminist 