Tag: Black-owned

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

Dr. G’s Weekly Hot Topics!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

So much goodness, I had to share! Check out this weeks “HOT Topics”!!

On this coming Super Bowl Sunday history will be made through Autumn Lockwood!! Feb. 12 Philadelphia Eagles assistant performance coach Autumn Lockwood will stand on the sidelines as the first Black woman to coach in the event’s history.

For all my gamers, check out this Humble Gaming Bundle! Humble has created a bundle of games by Black creators as well games featuring Black lead characters. By purchasing this bundle you are helping to support a new generation of game developers and tech talent.

The gaming bundle includes Mafia III and Shadow Man, along with the work of Black developers like Interabang Entertainment’s Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl, Strange Scaffold’s An Airport for Aliens Currently Run By Dogs, and much more. Making a purchase will also help support Gameheads, an organization that “envisions a world where low income youth and youth of color are equipped to thrive and succeed in any field they choose, including the tech and video game industries.” To make a purchase see here!

If you want to know more about how Humble is celebrating Black History Month, check them out on their blog.

Also, in honor of Black History Month-AMC Theaters is doing a $5 Movie Ticket special for select films and participating theaters. Some of the films include:

  • Till (February 3-9)
  • The Woman King (February 17-23)
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (February 24-March 2)

As noted by AMC Theaters, “AMC Theaters is giving moviegoers the opportunity to revisit some of the most recent biographical dramas, military epics, and dramatic action movies created by or starring outstanding Black filmmakers and actors.”The offer begins on Feb. 3 and ends on March 2, with each film being shown in theaters for $5 for one week only.

Need to up your wine game, check out this list of Black-owned Wine Brands that you can purchase online:

  • McBride Sisters Collection: “Break the rules. Drink the wine.”
  • Theopolis Vineyards: “Theopolis Vineyards is a small lot vineyard and hand-crafted winery located in California’s prestigious Yorkville Highlands of the Anderson Valley.”
  • Kai-Simone: “Bringing elegance and sophistication to the rustic Texas Hill Country, Kai-Simone promises a wonderful experience for everyone who visits.”
  • Edelheiss : “By the cultivation of traditional, precious materials, the team at Edelheiss works closely and cooperatively with well respected local winegrowers and suppliers to ensure that it makes the most of its long-term relationships.”
  • Shoe Crazy Wine: “Wines for Your Me Time”
  • Flo: “FLO represents the journey through which we discover those things in life that fulfill us and make each experience a little better; for the love of life, self, happiness, passion, joy…love itself.”
  • P Harrell Wines
  • Brown Estate
  • Ole Orleans Wine: “Ole’ Orleans is a collection of well-balanced wines with a luxurious, delicate, and lingering finish.”
  • Maison Noir Wines
  • Wade Cellars

Publishing Company to offer free Black History e-books!! Haymarket Books will offer 40% off of books centered around the Black Liberation struggle and the following e-books for free to download: “From Black Lives Matter to Black Liberation” by Keeanga Yamahtta, which explores why the Black Lives Matter movement is necessary; “Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice,” edited by Jesse Hagopian and Denisha Jones, which details how the Black Lives Matter movement has challenged institutional racism; and “1919” by Eve L. Ewing, a collection of poems depicting the Chicago race riots of 1919.

Image Credit: Haymarket Books

Viola Davis is now a part of the EGOT club!! At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, Davis would secure her status with a Grammy Award for the audiobook recording of her memoir, Finding Me. The exclusive [E]mmy-[G]rammy-[O]scar-[T]ony winner list only has 18 names on it. Viola is the fourth Black artist to accomplish the feat, following in the footsteps of Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, and Jennifer Hudson. Davis’ previous awards are Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2017 for Fences, an Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015 for How to Get Away With Murder and two Tonys, one for Featured Actress in a Play in 2001 for King Hedley II and for Lead Actress in a Play in 2010 for Fences.

Posted in A Professor's Thoughts..., Dr. G's Weekly Hot Topics, On The Radar

Dr. G’s Weekly Hot Topics!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

It’s a new month and the HOT TOPICS are here!! As always a few goodies for you to put on your calendar, add to your grocery list, cue up in your AirPods, dig into and find some more info about, or to make your coffee table stand out!! Check out this week’s hot topics below:

For all my nature lovers or ones that aspire to be, I got a new book that might just pique your interest. Described as a 192-page visual book, author and “Outdoor Afro” founder Rue Mapp compiled various experiences to highlight “Black joy in nature” via Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors. Nature Swagger includes portraits and personal essays by Black travelers, highlighting their experiences in the outdoors—from breakthroughs had while scaling the highest mountain in Africa, to learning (and teaching) about sustainability through beekeeping, and beyond. Here is a book that is rewriting the script that Black folks not only celebrate nature, but are active participants in discovering it. For Mapp, she was very intentional “about breaking barriers, literacy, and accessibility.” Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors hit book stands on November 1st.

Leave me a voicemail… New Exhibition to honor Black and Brown lives that were taken at the hands of police brutality. Created by Iranian-American artist, filmmaker and Even/Odd founder, Mohammad Gorjestani, in collaboration with curator Klaudia Ofwona Draber and art director Neil Hamamoto, “1-800 Happy Birthday” sets out “to transcend the subject matter to new channels both physical and digital and have it live in aesthetic and community in places born from the culture it represents”. Originally as an online voicemail project, callers could leave a message for people who were unjustly killed by law enforcement on their birthdays. Wow!! The power of a message. The exhibition will be on view at WORTHLESSSTUDIOS (7 Knickerbocker Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11237) till January 16th, 2023.

Need a morning pick me up or something for your late night study grind?? Well hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Jadakiss is teaming up with his father and son to bring you the Black-owned coffee brand, Kiss Café . Described as “created with honesty and accessibility” Kiss Café seeks to highlight a legacy of three generations that bring you premium coffee. Now this is right up my alley!! Cannot wait to make my purchase!!

A.S. degree program in Cannabis Studies….Soon students at Olive Harvey College (a predominately Black community college) will be able to get an Associate Degree in “Applied Cannabis Studies a first of its kind in the state of Illinois. The degree was designed for students to gain an advantage in the cannabis industry and offer pathways to acquire the proper licensing. As noted by the president of Olive-Harvey College, Dr. Kimberly Hollingsworth, “Olive-Harvey College has always been a leader in the study of cannabis agriculture and operations because of the exponential job growth in the industry and due to its numerous upward mobility opportunities in the mainstream economy.” For more information about the program, see here.

Photo credit: Olive-Harvey College Hemp House

For all my Theater folks…Check out the 20th-anniversay of Suzan-Lori Parks Broadway revival of Topdog/Underdog starring Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Directed by Kenny Leon, Topdog/Underdog is a “play that chronicles the adult lives of two African-American brothers as they cope with poverty, racism, work, women, and their troubled upbringings. Lincoln lives with Booth, his younger brother, after being thrown out by his wife.”

As noted by Parks about the play, “I think the meaning of the play isn’t just confined to a man’s experience… I think it’s about what it means to be family and, in the biggest sense, the family of man, what it means to be connected with somebody else.”  

You can see Topdog/Underdog at the John Golden Theatre (252 W 45th St. New York, NY 10036) till January 15th, 2023. Purchase tickets here.

As we prepare for the much anticipated sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, writer Ta-Nehisi Coates is giving fans a little taste of the comic book mythos. Set to debut on November 3rd, the “Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast,” hosted by Coates, will bring fans into the making of the larger-than-life sequel.

The podcast will be a 6-episode series that features interviews with director Ryan Coogler, producer Kevin Feige, cast member Angela Bassett, and much more. The first three episodes will premiere on November 3rd (in advance of the film) with the remaining episodes dropping weekly in January 2023 connecting to the 5-year anniversary of the first film, Black Panther.

“Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast,” is a production of Proximity Media in partnership with Marvel Studios, Marvel Entertainment, and The Walt Disney Studios. The series is produced by Paola Mardo. Executive Producers are Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, and Paola Mardo. 

For a quick preview, check it out here:

You can tune into the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pocket Casts, and Pandora!

See you on the next round!! ~Dr. G

Posted in Feature Spotlight, On The Radar, Resources

Mmmm Good!!…Celebrating Black History Through Tasty Drinks & Delicious Eats!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

To All My Chefs & Mixologists (novice and professional) out there, this is for you!

Who doesn’t love a mouth-watering, soulful meal or a delightful spirit to cap off the night?!! Well I wanted to add to your “must-see and must-try” lists by highlighting the spirit and culinary world with a few cookbooks, wineries, breweries, creators and organizations that are making Black History!!

Not surprisingly, Black Americans have contributed significantly (and still do) to the culinary world and cocktail/wine/brewery culture. We have been tastemakers and drink-makers since the beginning of time :-). Cooking and feeding the soul is in the DNA of African Americans (check out Netflix’s High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America if you don’t believe me)!

As it relates to the spirit world, I recently learned that there was a Black Mixology Club that was founded in 1898 by R. R. Bowie and J. Burke Edelin that was a “marquee professional association,” and a gathering place for African Americans who were trying to move up the ladder of social mobility within professional bartending [Check out these pioneers as well: Cato Alexander, John Dabney, Tom Bullock, and Dick “Uncle Dick” Francis]. 

Now let me say this…. the following below is by no means the only folks that have been and are in the game just a few to wet your palette (literally and figuratively), because I know there are tons of Black folks making history!!

So get ready to pop some bottles, plan your next couple or friends getaway, pull out those pots and pans, turn on your ovens, and make some magical memories!!

Black Winemakers, Wines, and Sommeliers

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is pexels-photo-5050190-1.jpeg
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com

Black Breweries & Cideries

Photo by ELEVATE on Pexels.com

Recipe, Cocktails, and other Cookbooks

  • Black Mixcellence: A Comprehensive Guide to Black Mixology ~Tamika Hall
  • Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails ~Shannon Mustipher
  • The Ideal Bartender* ~Tom Bullock [First cocktail book by an African American]
  • Holy Spirits! Charleston Culture Through Cocktails ~Taneka Reaves & Johnny Caldwell
  • After Hours Cocktail Book ~Martina Jackson
  • My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef ~Kwame Onwuachi
  • Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora ~Bryant Terry
  • The Art of Fufu: A Guide to the Culture and Flavors of a West African Tradition ~Kavachi Ukegbu
  • Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing ~Jerrelle Guy
  • The Church Ladies’ Divine Desserts ~Brenda Rhodes Miller
  • Soul Food Love: Healthy Recipes Inspired by One Hundred Years of Cooking in a Black Family ~Alice Randall & Caroline Randall Williams
  • In Pursuit of Flavor ~Edna Lewis
  • Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day ~Alexander Smalls and JJ Johnson
  • Son of a Southern Chef: Cook with Soul ~Lazarus Lynch
  • The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South ~Michael W. Twitty
Photo by DapurMelodi on Pexels.com

Cheers and Bon Appetit!!

Posted in Feature Spotlight, On The Radar

For All My Readers Out There!!

Posted on by drblackfuturefeminist

So as I was going through my emails this weekend (the neverending saga lol), I came across one from my colleague about a new Black-owned bookstore opening up here in Richmond. I immediately clicked on the message to get more info on this discovery!!

For all my Richmond folks, or folks who will be coming through the area there is a new bookstore coming to the Shockoe Slip area in February 5th, 2022 (right around the corner) called “The Book Bar”!!

The Book Bar is “a Black-owned, woman-owned bookstore that centers BIPOC authors and brands in effort to uplift and support a culture that is often silenced.” Owned by New Jersey native Krystle Dandridge, The Book Bar will be one of the few Black-owned bookstores in Richmond. The importance of having a space such as this is very personal for Dandridge, “growing up, I don’t think I walked into any business where the owner looked like me,” she says. “Worked there? Yes. But owned it? No. Representation matters. I used to walk into any bookstore and it was difficult to find books by authors who look like me. It’s just not considered what is mainstream even though there are a lot of them out there. Our country is diverse, so I wanted to create a space where folks can find diverse reads.”

The Book Bar logo

For me this is essential as well, considering I am always trying to find safe spaces to chill and relax as well as support. [The Book Bar has also be added to my list of Black owned bookstores, which you can find in the “Resource Guide” section.] And as an added bonus a potential new hang out spot!!

Intentional Reading | Books | Style Weekly - Richmond, VA local news, arts, and events.
The Book Bar owner Kyrstle Dandridge (Photo credit: Scott Elmquist)

In addition to this being a bookstore customers will also be able to support and purchase from other vendors and Black-owned businesses. And if you want a little something extra you can take part in the quarterly subscription box, which includes a book and a range of products (i.e. wine, bath bombs, socks and snacks). And as you shop, customers will be able to enjoy a lounge style setting with relaxing R&B and neo soul vibes as their soundtrack to keep you in the mood.

Let me just say I look very much to visiting The Book Bar and making some regular purchases!!

And when it is all said and done, mark your calendars, get your coins ready, and if you are out of town (prepare for a visit)!! Now while you wait for the physical grand opening (Feb. 5th) make sure to check out The Book Bar online at rvabookbar.com as well their corresponding social media outlets: Facebook, Instagram= @rvabookbar , and YouTube!!

Happy Reading & Happy Shopping!!