The Empire’s New Clothes

OK, spoiler alert .. I’m not feeling Empire. And no I haven’t watched it, yeah I said it. Partly because I’m living In Bangkok, Thailand where a lot of the foolishness from the US doesn’t make it onto the airwaves. And mostly because I don’t need to be putting more silliness into my mind-space. I’m particular about that area. And third, on a business side I’ve seen the Black viewing audience get pimped out so many times by FOX and other television networks and then kicked out after their services have been performed.

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How the afro returned to the catwalk – and why it matters

For 15 years – or 30 runway seasons in fashion speak – Prada had no black models on its catwalks. After the 1990s, a decade of fashion in which the clothes were being overshadowed by the larger than life supermodels wearing them, Miuccia Prada took control of matters by hiring a seemingly endless stream of white, eastern European models. Then came Jourdan Dunn in 2008, followed by a growing list of black, Asian and Hispanic models, including Malaika Firth, Prada’s first black campaign star in 19 years. It’s a known fact within the fashion world that where Prada goes, the rest of the industry follows.

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Puerto Viejo, Colombia, holds first-ever African Diaspora Film Festival

The activities continued with a screening of the documentary “Caribe Sur: Coast, History, and Resistance,” which was a production of Era Verde from Channel 15 of the University of Costa Rica. Next up was the tribute “Entre Amigas,” an award presented to Hazel Miller, Cristina Smart, Isilma Baker and Delfina León, who were selected by the community for their contribution to their community. During the tribute, the women wre presented with a portrait photo taken by documentary photographer Lucas Iturriza, who specializes in indigenous cultures. After the tribute, the film “Holiday Heart” starring Alfre Woodard and directed by director Spike Lee was shown. Then musical group RAkACHAN performed.

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Justice is a Black Woman: The Amazing Constance Baker Motley

You may not know her name, but you have been affected by the legal battles she won and the precedents she set that helped shape civil rights, women’s rights and human rights. A brilliant lawyer and distinguished federal judge for over forty years, Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005) quietly helped change the course of American history. She is one of many unsung civil rights heroines who waded into the Big Muddy of American racism, but whose name today remains relatively unknown.

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