Another week of hot topics hot off the press!! Lots of goodies to get your week started!! Check them out below:
A Black Twitter docu-series is headed to Hulu!! Inspired by Jason Parham’s detailed oral history, A People’s History of Black Twitter, comes the story of “the rise, the movements, the voices and the memes that made Black Twitter an influential and dominant force in nearly every aspect of American political and cultural life.” The three-part docu-series is led by showrunner and executive producer Prentice Penny (Insecure) and will be his first project under Onyx Collective . As tweeted by Penny, “For those who know me you know how much love, respect, fear, and admiration I have for #BlackTwitter so I can’t be more excited and scared to a doc about the culture – just remember im doing this in love.”
Brown Twitter birds. Shown top left is the original illustration by Alex Eben Meyer (http://www.eben.com) that appeared in the Slate article, “How Black People Use Twitter”. The remaining birds are parodies by Twitter user @InnyVinny illustrating the diversity of the Black Twitter community. The resulting #browntwitterbird hashtag game went viral, as users adopted or suggested new Twitter birds
According to Crayola Executive James Wells, “creativity is currency” for young children!! And starting on January 23 through January 29th, teachers, children, their families can celebrate “Crayola’s Creativity Week!!” As part of the week-long celebration there will be free-virtual events, resources, and opportunities for kids to earn lots of prizes! Youth will be able to tap into their creative side whether in the classroom or in the comfort of their home.
As we prepare for the Mardi Gras season you gotta make sure you have your King Cake!! Well you are in luck I have a few places where you can order your own special “Fat Tuesday” treat online:
What do Nikki Giovanni and Sundance have in common…well a documentary titled Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project made its debut in Park City on January 20th. Directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson “craft a vision fit for the radical imagination of Nikki Giovanni.” The synopsis reads, through intimate vérité, archival footage, and visually innovative treatments of her poetry, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project pushes the boundaries of biographical documentary film to reveal the enduring influence of one of America’s greatest living artists and social commentators.
And lastly, if you plan to be out in the Bay Area, you should check out the new exhibit at the ICA San Francisco!! Two Black women California artists Tahirah Rasheed and Autumn Breon “are celebrating Black beauty and relaxation ” in the exhibition Resting Our Eyes. As a new institution, the ICA San Francisco will celebrate the work of Rasheed and Breon along with work from Carrie Mae Weems, Derrick Adams, Sadie Barnette, Genevieve Gaignard, and Simone Leigh. “Focusing on the liberation and celebration of Black women through the lens of leisure and physical adornment, Resting Our Eyes features new and existing works from 20 multi-generational Black artists working across sculpture, photography, video, mixed media, painting, and textile.” Resting Our Eyes will be on display from January 21-June 25!
[The images above include Ja’Tovia Gary, Citational Ethics (Saidiya Hartman, 2017), 2020; Curators Tahirah Rasheed and Autumn Breon at “Resting Our Eyes” at the ICA San Francisco (Photo by Vikram Valluri for BFA); and the ICA-SF]
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.
And we are back for another season of engaging the Black experience!! As always gotta give a special shout-out to Auburn Avenue Research Library!! In this season of Conversations with Beloved & Kindred we will have a thematic focus on “Black Cinematic Horror”!!
Our first episode/discussion explores the 2019 documentary Horror Noire: A Black History of Black Horror and the 1973 film Ganja & Hess. You can watch the event live here on February 10th at 3 pm!!
And if you want a preview of the two films check them out below:
Horror Noire: A Black History of Black Horror (2019)
Ganja & Hess (1973)
“Black history is black horror.” ~Tananarive Due
*Conversations with Beloved & Kindredis a freeform dialogue on creative works of speculative fiction (i.e. literature, film, television, and art) grounded in the Black lived experience. Inspired by the work of two legends, Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, Dr. Gipson and Dr. Robinson engage the lived Black experience via reimagined speculative Black pasts and presents, giving voice to the silenced narratives.
Lots of good content that dropping this month! Got a mix of thriller, some docu-series, a little drama and leave you with some laughs! Check out some of the newness below:
KIMI (Streaming on HBO Max February 10th)
Everything’s Gonna Be All White (Streaming on Showtime February 11th)
Lincoln’s Dilemma (Streaming on Apple TV+ February 18th)
All American: Homecoming (Streaming on The CW February 21st)
As we close out another month and enter a new season, I look forward to what it is set to hit our tv screens and theaters. A nice mix of this and that for you!! Check them out below:
Britney vs. Spears (Streaming on Netflix September 28th)
Passing (Streaming on Netflix November 10th)
Nightmare Alley (In theaters December 17th)
The Tragedy of Macbeth (In theaters December 25th and Streaming on Apple TV+ January 14th, 2022)
Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk (Streaming on Disney+ in 2022)
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Black Future Feminist 