Black Excellence
Black Excellence
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Charles ‘Chuck’ Harrison, the Most Important Person You Never Heard Of, Dead at 87
The man once called the “Jackie Robinson of design,” who invented so many products that Sears changed its policy on hiring blacks; who created many of the household items you take for granted, has passed away at the age of 87. Charles “Chuck” Harrison is considered the greatest black industrial designer who ever lived, and…
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Beyoncé And Jay-Z Headline the 2018 Global Citizen Festival to Honor Nelson Mandela's Legacy
At a respectable hour—2:47 p.m. EST on Sunday, to be exact—Beyoncé and husband Jay-Z’s philanthropy and benevolence blessed the world with a performance during the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. Unlike Beychella, which aired at an ungodly hour, Beyoncé and the father of her children hopped on South Africa’s…
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Cardi B and the Women of Black Panther Lead EW's 'Entertainers of the Year'
A group of women warriors (each a star in her own right), and a self-propelled social media phenomenon who turned authenticity into a platinum-selling career, Cardi B and the women of Black Panther cover two of four issues promoting Entertainment Weekly’s 2018 Entertainers of the Year. Of the 24 entertainers EW identified as this year’s…
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Ahead of the Global Citizen Festival, Beyoncé Pays Tribute to Mandela
It’s been almost 15 years to the day since Beyoncé met Nelson Mandela while performing at his foundation’s “Give 1 Minute To AIDS” concert in late 2003. But on Tuesday, the megastar published a poignant letter to the late humanitarian icon, also fondly known as “Madiba,” recalling their time together and Mandela’s incredible and enduring…
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Marvin Gaye Is Here to Make Your Mail Grown and Sexy
So, boom. You just splurged on the biggest Chanel bag in the store. You decided to two-tone your Patek, having worn it around enough to finally decide what should be done with your luxury timepiece. You’ve got a bad little vibe who’s been on your mind, but your phone is elsewhere (we’re living in a…
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Pose Sweeps the Out100—and Adds Some Major Melanin to the List
Last week, Out Magazine announced the Out100, their annual list of influential movers and shakers, and this melanin-filled list showed that black people have always been part of what makes the LGBT+ community shine. In a statement, Executive Editor R. Kurt Osenlund said that this is the most diverse Out100 in the 24-year history of…
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I Got to See Michelle Obama at Her Becoming LA Tour Stop and She Is as Magical as You’d Imagine
Last night, I was part of the sold-out crowd that gathered at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., to see the only first lady I will recognize—Michelle Obama—at her Los Angeles tour stop for her new book, Becoming: An Intimate Conversation With Michelle Obama. The Forum was packed. There was not an empty seat in the…
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Mamma Tina Knowles Lawson Says Blue Ivy Has Been a Performer Since Birth
In a recent interview with US Magazine, Tina Knowles Lawson, the mother who blessed us with the gift known as Beyonce, said that her granddaughter Blue Ivy has been performing since birth. It is said that when a new Supreme starts to flower, the old one loses their power and Blue’s 1, 2 step might…
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The Greatest American Heroes: A Friendship Forged During 5 Years as Prisoners of War
On Saturday, when President Donald J. Trump passed on celebrating American war heroes because … rain, it immediately reminded me of stories I was told during a couple of cookouts I attended. The first was when I visited one of my best friends. He was a soldier in the U.S. Army and stationed at Fort…
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New Web Series Blacker Tackles Race With a Little Help From Some Actual #BlackGirlMagic
Wouldn’t it be amazing to turn the tables on the unseasoned for their ill-advised antics? Imagine getting reparations with a carefully worded incantation that gives a pompous bigot a taste of his own medicine. That’s what happens in Blacker, a new short web series about racism that was co-created by Rhett Owen and Eric Lockley,…