Denzel Washington and Viola Davis stars in the movie Fences. The movie is nominated for an Academy Award.
For the Oscars, it's going to be a tad bit diverse. After two consecutive years of all-White nominees, the Academy Awards has decided to get things right.
The Academy nominated 10 black actors and filmmakers. It also has six-African American themed films, an Indian adventure, and Pacific Islander-themed movie.
Name recognition goes to Barry Jenkins, who scored a nomination for Moonlight. Ava DuVernay's 13th was nominated for her documentary as well as Raoul Peck's I Am Not Your Negro and OJ: Made In America from Ezra Edelman.
The black themed movies for Best Picture include Moonlight, Fences and Hidden Figures.
Denzel Washington, Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, Ruth Negga, Mahershala Ali, and Naomie Harris were nominated for an Oscar.
Birth of Nation was snubbed. Nate Parker's hit movie was scarred by allegations of rape being brought to light.
Hollywood is trying to make strives in diversity. Of course, during the 2014-15 session, #OscarsSoWhite became a lightening rod in the entertainment industry. Many actors of color denounced the awards for not advocating diversity.
Well one face I don't have to look forward to seeing is the aging Black conservative agitator who once was a man's fantasy girl. The political agitator and actress Stacey Dash got fired out the cannon.
Dash, George Will, Cal Thomas and Ed Roĺlins were loaded into a cannon and fired out of it.
The folks over at the Trump supporting Fox News Channel decided that these agitators will not have their contracts renewed. Their services are no longer needed at Fox.
Dash, 50 caused a great deal of controversy during her three years at the network. She had said some foul shit about Jay-Z, Beyonce, former president Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Prince, Jesse Williams, Jada Pinkett Smith and Colin Kaepernick.
She was a huge supporter of the fuhrer.
They hired a white extremist named Nigel Farage as a contributor to the network.
Black Twitter is enjoying every moment of this. They say that karma came a bit this beeyotch in the ass.
Remember former Fox president Roger Ailes said that she was the "black girl"
Dash was best known for being in the movie and television series Clueless. Also had a role in Mo' Money and was a video vixen in Rick Ross, Kanye West and The Game music videos.
Dash is officially a washed up celebrity for those who didn't know. And her politics are like Sarah Palin, tired and played out.
Janet Jackson and Wissam Al Mana welcome their first child.
The junk food media is also reporting that Damita Jo bore a son. The 50 year old media mogul and singer and her husband Wissam Al Mana told the news through her publicist.
They named the boy Eissa Al Mana.
When she was on tour, Janet Jackson abruptly stopped it citing personal reasons. She hopped on social media to make news about being a family. It led to speculation the singer was pregnant.
The singer was promoting her last album Unbreakable. The singer's personal business was leaked by brother Tito in an interview with Andy Cohen.
Jackson gave birth on Tuesday.
Jackson semi-retired from music and may have converted to Islam.
"Janet had a stress-free healthy delivery and is resting comfortably."
Jackson has a total of 11 albums and is a seven time Grammy award winner.
She was married to James DeBarge and Rene Elizondo, Jr. She dated Jermaine Dupri, the former CEO of So So Def Recordings. She married Wissam in 2012. He is a Qatari business man and billionaire.
Twenty years ago, Tupac Shakur was shot in Las Vegas. His death remains a mystery. The rapper left a legacy.
Today marks 20 years since the fatal shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur. On September 7, 1996, Shakur and Marion "Big Suge" Knight were ambushed by an unknown gunman after driving on the Las Vegas strip.
After leaving a Mike Tyson boxing match, 'Pac and Suge were on their way to an afterparty when this event happened. Suge was driving his black BMW when a pearly white Cadillac sedan pulled alongside and fired upon the car.
'Pac was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support. He would die of his injuries on September 13, 1996. The case remains open and to this day, no one has come forward with information.
Many in the junk food media accused Orlando Anderson as the gunman. He was known as "Baby Lane" in the South LA area. He was a Crip member who was brutally beaten at the MGM Grand Hotel by 'Pac and his bodyguards.
When the video of the attack on Anderson came to light, they saw that Big Suge was throwing them bows. So he violated his parole and sent back to the iron college for nearly 10 years.
Anderson was later gunned down in a Los Angeles car wash. He was primarily the focus of the Las Vegas Metro Police.
As of today, we mourn the loss of Tupac Shakur, a poetic, spiritual, troubled and controversial figure in hip-hop. Hailed as one of the greatest rappers known, Tupac Shakur was a product of his environment.
His father and mother were both active in the Black Panthers movement. Tupac learned the rules of the game at an early age. He was artistic, gifted, intelligent and savvy.
He wanted to strive for great things.
His life was cut short at age 25. He was engaged in a bitter feud with rival rappers from the east.
Notably the Notorious B.I.G. who 'Pac accused of setting him up at a recording studio in New York.
That led to the great war of the coasts.
To this day, 'Pac's life is fascinating.
Note: Afeni Shakur passed away this year after suffering from a heart attack. Big Suge is currently facing a murder charge after he ran over a man on the filming set of Straight Outta Compton.
Muhammad Ali passed away at the age of 74. The Associated Press confirms the American boxing legend died of pneumonia and complications from Parkinson's disease. President Barack Obama was notified of Ali's death tonight.
Ali who was considered the greatest boxer of all time fought through racism, his personal struggles, his conversation to Islam and Parkinson's disease.
Beloved by many for being fast on his feet, fast on his fists and fast on his wits.
Legally known as Cassius Clay, Ali converted to being a Muslim through the Nation of Islam. He rejected his birth name after an awakening. He and his family grew up being in a strict Baptist family.
Ali rejected the Christian teachings on grounds of violence and intolerance. He chose Islam as a spiritual path to happiness. He stood firm in those beliefs and it riled up people.
He won an Olympic medal for boxing. When he returns to the United States, he saw racism in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
It was said that he threw his medal in the Ohio River.
He was arrested for dodging the draft. He was opposed to the Vietnam War. He believed that he shouldn't fight for White imperialism. He was stripped of his World Boxing Association championship. It took three years for him to win the right back into the ring.
His bouts with George Foreman, Smokin Joe Frazier and the career win against Sonny Liston made him a legend. The most iconic image of Ali was the one where he took on Sonny Liston and knuckled him in a first round bout.
He was born in Jan. 17, 1942 in a segregated South. He started his career as a boxer when he got his bicycle stolen at age 12.
He won a Gold medal in Rome at age 18. He defeated Polish boxer Zbigniew Pietrzykowski in a light heavyweight final.
Regarded as the most charismatic sportsman of the modern generation, Ali kept his victories on top and his critics at the bottom. He was the first boxer to win the world heavyweight title three times.
He retired in 1981 with a record of 56-5 with 37 knockouts.
He was known as the most recognizable person on the planet. Outpouring of sympathy is coming from politicos, celebrities and athletes worldwide.
Me and S. Baldwin thank Muhammad Ali. May peace be with you and the spiritual Allah. Ali told us to stand up and fight for what's good for the world. He was never afraid to speak his mind. He never let the critics weigh him down with the negativity. He fought the battles and came out forever a champion.
World News Today send our condolences to the family of Muhammad Ali.
I will continue to post more on this story as soon I get info....
Whoopi Goldberg and Raven-Symone are considering an exit from daytime agitation program The View.
The famed entertainer and moderator of ABC's The View is considering an exit from the show.
She may not be the only leaving as well. The former Cosby kid, Raven-Symone could be on her way out too.
Mediaite reports that ABC big wigs are hoping that Whoopi Goldberg and Raven-Symone (Pearlman) may stick around. Contract negotiations are being worked out and they are having some ice melt throughout the cold tension building up there.
Whoopi is asking for a little more pocket change in order to stay. ABC big wigs might consider the option.
Whoopi has been the host and chief moderator of the hit daytime show. It's struggling against Julie Chen, Melissa Gilbert and Sharon Osbourne's CBS daytime show The Talk.
Whoopi along with Raven-Symone, Paula Faris, Joy Behar, and Candace Cameron-Bure have hosted the show throughout the 2015-16 season.
If Whoopi bounces from the show, who are they planning on bring onto the program. I mean it's difficult to replace a fixture that's hosted the seat since 2007. You know the 2005-07 season was one of The Views most controversial.
Former hosts Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck have often sparred on the show and it generated huge ratings. O'Donnell who engaged in a feud with Donald Trump was being trashed by Fox News.
Hasselbeck who appeared on Fox programs was defending rhetoric from that annoying conservative agitator Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Trump. It led a major fallout between the two and Whoopi had to come in and save the show.
Hasselbeck joined Fox News in 2012 and left late last year. ABC might consider rehiring the controversial agitator back to the seats. At least she won't be the odd woman out. Co-host Candace Cameron-Bure and guest host Melissa Joan Hart are conservative and they've often clashed with the women on issues.
Raven-Symone is a former child star who joined The View in spring 2015. She formally took on the role as pop culture agitator in the fall. She cause a bit of controversy when she defended the McKinley, Texas cop who slammed a girl on the ground. She defended the South Carolina sheriff's deputy who flipped a girl out of her seat. She said she wouldn't hire any "Black sounding" names to her companies. She said that people comparing First Lady Michelle Obama to an ape or transexual is perfect fine.
There were calls to have Raven-Symone fired out the cannon. ABC said that they're willing to keep her on if she chooses to stay.
Legendary singer Billy Paul passed away on Sunday.
The Associated Press reports that Billy Paul has passed away at the age of 81 years old. The famed singer was known for the 1972 hit single "Me and Mrs. Jones."
Paul passed away from pancreatic cancer in his New Jersey home.
Paul was a part of the Philadelphia Sound. The sound that brought a genre of soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featuring sweeping strings and piercing horns. The subtle sound of a vibraphone can often be heard in the background of Philly soul songs. The genre laid the groundwork for disco and what are now considered quiet storm and smooth jazz by fusing the R&B rhythm sections of the 1960s with the pop vocal tradition, and featuring a slightly more pronounced jazz influence in its melodic structures and arrangements.
Known by his beard and large glasses, Paul was one of many singers who found success with the writing and producing team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, whose Philadelphia International Records also released music by the O'Jays, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and Lou Rawls.
"Me and Mrs. Jones" was an extramarital confession and a characteristic Gamble and Huff production, setting Paul's thick tenor against a lush and sensuous arrangement. Many fans best remember the moment when Paul's otherwise subtle vocals jump as they reach the title words, stretching out "Me" and "And" into multiple syllables and repeating "Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones." (Paul himself was married to the same woman for decades).
Paul's voice made him "one of the great artists to come out of Philly and to be celebrated worldwide," Gamble and Huff said in a statement late Sunday.
"Our proudest moment with Billy was the recording of the salacious smash 'Me and Mrs. Jones.' In our view, it is one of the greatest love songs ever recorded," they said.
The song was one of the top singles of 1972 and brought Paul a Grammy the following year for best male rhythm 'n blues performance, with runners-up including Ray Charles and Curtis Mayfield. Paul remained identified with the song for the rest of his life.
Paul continued to perform live until he fell ill and his manager said he had been lining up numerous appearances at the time of his death. Among his favorites in concert was a cover of Prince's "Purple Rain." (Prince died last Thursday).
He was born Paul Williams but later agreed to his manager's suggestion that he change his name to Billy Paul to avoid confusion with songwriter Paul Williams and other musicians with the same name. A Philadelphia native, he sang much his life, performing with such jazz stars as Charlie Parker and Dinah Washington and being featured on a handful of singles while still in his teens.
Paul was drafted into the military in his early 20s, and found himself on the same base in Germany with a couple of famous show business names, Elvis Presley and Gary Crosby, Bing Crosby's son.
"We said we're going to start a band, so we didn't have to do any hard work in the service," he told bluesandsoul.com in 2015. "We tried to get Elvis to join but he wanted to be a jeep driver. So me and Gary Crosby, we started it and called ourselves the Jazz Blues Symphony Band."
By the mid-1960s, the Beatles had inspired him to incorporate more rhythm 'n blues into his singing and he had found a new home for his recordings after meeting Gamble at a Philadelphia music shop. His early albums with Gamble and Huff, including "Ebony Woman" and "Going East," sold modestly, before "Me and Mrs. Jones" briefly made him a superstar.
He will be missed.
Paul faced numerous obstacles following his biggest hit. Radio stations resisted his more socially conscious follow-up song, "Am I Black Enough for You" and the Rev. Jesse Jackson was among those who objected to the explicit "Let's Make a Baby."
Years later, Paul sued Gamble and Huff and other industry officials over unpaid royalties and was awarded $500,000 by a Los Angeles jury in 2003.
Paul is survived by his wife, Blanche Williams, with whom he had two children. Although he endured many difficult moments with Gamble and Huff, he would look back on those years as a lost golden age.
"It was like a family full of music," he told bluesandsoul.com. "It was like music round the clock, you know. And I reminisce and I still wish those days were here."
World News Today send our condolences to the family of Billy Paul. His memorable song will forever etched in stone as one of the greatest soul hits.
No disrespect to Chris Rock, I choose to not watch the 88th Academy Awards show. I am not interested in that stuff. I don't find no interest in watching entertainers show off their dresses, their new relationships, their new baby bumps or the social media buzzing about what happened.
I tend to be very reclusive when it comes to the social media and what people do. I get jealous of people bragging about their successes. Hollywood is a part of that.
Many others who struggle to get acting roles are often shunned because of their race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, political and disability. Some say it's the talent that judges you!
But given that some of the most critically acclaimed movies being shunned, I figured that I wouldn't watch this regardless. Even if a Black comic who addresses racial issues hosted it, I find no interest in awards shows. I just going to summarize it and give an honest take to what happened.
The country's most notorious racial agitator splashed this on his conservative Criagslist today.
Chris Rock's performance at the Academy Awards was good. I mean it was brutally honest. It opened up a discussion to why no person of color being nominated for an Oscar for a second time in a row.
The comedian's monologue and skits were so funny and yes really straight to the point.
The junk food media was talking about it all morning. They were picking apart every skit. They had praised Rock for being upfront about the Academy Awards being inclusive.
He took on #OscarsSoWhite.
He took jabs at fellow comedians such as Kevin Hart.
He took jabs at Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. The Smiths were boycotting the event after Jada took to the internet to protest the nomination. She and Spike Lee became the most visible faces of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
Leonardo DiCaprio won an Academy Award for the first time.
"What happened this year? People went nuts. Spike [Lee] got mad. Jada went mad. Will [Smith] went mad. Everyone went mad!" Rock said about all the celebs wanting to protest the Oscars. "Jada said she's not coming. I was like, ‘isn't she on TV show?' Jada's gonna boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. I wasn't invited!"
People gasped and laughed at the joke. But when Rock when back to monologue, he sympathizes with Jada and Spike Lee's grievance.
"Her man Will was not nominated for Concussion. I get it. You get mad. It's not fair that Will was this good and didn't get nominated. You're right," he said. "It's also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West!"
Chris opened his monologue with a jab at the montage that played at the beginning of the show, featuring all the movies the Academy is celebrating during the show.
"I counted at least 15 black people in that montage!" he laughed. "Well, I'm here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White Peoples Choice Awards."
"You realize if they nominated hosts, I wouldn't even get this job. Y'all be watching Neil Patrick Harris right now….I thought about quitting. I thought about it real hard. But I realized, they're going to have the Oscars anyway. They're not going to cancel the Oscars because I quit," Rock reasoned. "And the last thing I need is to lose another job to Kevin Hart!"
Rock was also quick to point out that a lack of diversity among nominees has always been a problem, long before this year's Oscars.
"Why this Oscars? It's the 88th Academy Awards, which means this whole 'no black nominee' has happened like 71 other times. You gotta figure it happened in the ‘50s, in the ‘60s...and black people didn't protest. You know why? Because black people had real things to protest at the time. Too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won Best Cinematographer. You know, when your grandmother is swinging from a tree, it's hard to care about Best Documentary Foreign Short."
"This year, things are going to be a little different at the Oscars," he promised. "This year in the In Memoriam package, it's just going to be black people who were shot by the cops on their way to the movies."
He also had a pretty easy solution for getting more nominations for black actors.
"If you want black people every year at the Oscars, just have black categories, like 'Best Black Friend.' And the winner for the 18th year in a row is Wanda Sykes!" Rock quipped, before finally turning serious. "What I'm trying to say is, it's not about boycotting. We want opportunity. We want the black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors. That's it! Not just once."
Chris Rock brought on Girl Scouts to sell cookies to some of the entertainers. That drew high the biggest applause of the night.
Well I heard that Leonard DeCaprio finally got his Oscar for the performance in The Reverent. From the days of being a teen actor, Leo has dreamed that day would come. He was nominated over five times and never earned an Oscar for them. Today, he is finally an award winner.
Leo's is a devoted environmentalist who believes that the time is now to get things done about climate change. And yes, he devoted his Oscar to those who struggled for this opportunity.
Vice President Joe Biden was there in attendance. He had an opportunity to introduce Grammy award winning/Oscar nominated singer/actress Lady Gaga.
Vice President Joe Biden gives message to America about sexual abuse.
Biden was pressing the audience to address sexual abuse on college campuses. This was a prime issue among the vice president and President Barack Obama.
“Despite significant progress over the last few years, too many woman and men on and off college campuses are still victims of sexual abuse,” the Veep told industry power players and the tens of millions watching on TV. “Tonight, I’m asking you to join millions of Americans including me, President Obama, the thousands of students I’ve met on college campuses and the artists here tonight to take the pledge.”
“The pledge says I will intervene in situations where consent has not or can not be given,” Biden said. “Let’s change the culture, we must and we can change the culture.”
Lady Gaga’s performance of the performance of Best Original Song nominee “Til It Happens To You” from the documentary The Hunting Ground.
Whoopi Goldberg was mistaken for Oprah Winfrey by Total Beauty.
She performed the song with victims of sexual and child abuse.
Total Beauty did the digital dash. Of course, they couldn't tell the difference between Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey.
Goldberg is an Oscar award winning actress who is the host of The View. The beauty brand company noticed that Whoopi is heavily tattooed. They expressed surprise that the person who they thought was in the photo, talk show host and actress Oprah Winfrey, had tattoos.
They said: “We had no idea @Oprah was #tatted and we love it.”
Social media went brutal on Total Beauty. The Independent reports that the hashtag “ThatsNotOprah” quickly went viral.
The mix-up prompted anger and frustration on twitter, with one user saying: “Are you fucking kidding me?!? The ONE black woman at the #Oscars and you fuck it up.”
Many people also took to social media to jokingly post pictures of white actors and deliberately name them incorrectly.
Total Beauty quickly went to social media to apologize for the error.
We’d like to apologize to Oprah and Whoopi, as well as everyone we’ve offended. It was our error, and there are no excuses. We’re sorry.
Goldberg will likely address this controversy on The View as well as her former friend who turned into a conservative agitator.
Washed up actress Stacey Dash puts her two cents into the Chris Rock performance. The actress who is also political commentator came onto stage shocking many in the audience. People didn't even recognize her. She was a part of the Rock skit for "minority outreach".
"I cannot wait to help my people out," Dash announced to a baffled audience. "Happy Black History Month!"
The reaction, both in the live audience where even Oscar nominated/Grammy award winning singer The Weeknd was like "What the fuck!"
While many panned her for even showing up, Dash basically laughed it off. "When they added ME to increase the diversity, I'm sure many Black people rolled their eyes. I'm not 'Black enough', they say. But guess what? I've heard that all my life. I would rather be a free thinking Black than a cookie cutter Black who thinks and votes---just like all my friends".
Well here's a clue for the "Clueless". Dash, you're the cookie cutter and you're baked!
Anyway when the Nielsen ratings come out, we'll find out if the viewership is high or low!
The creator and star of the hit ABC comedy black-ish went there. Anthony Anderson is the star, co-executive producer of the Kenya Burris show about a Black upscale father trying to get his suburbanite children hip to the "Black experience".
Anderson took a shot at his former friend in the entertainment industry after she made some stupid ass comments last month. And the actress clapped back at him.
Washed up actress and political agitator Stacey Dash once again stirred the pot of shit and cause another controversy.
There's a movie that's going to have a White actor play the role of Michael Jackson, sparking outrage among entertainment industry. British actor Joseph Fiennes. The movie (Elizabeth, Michael & Marlon) is facing harsh scrutiny.
Dash on the other hand, applauded the notion of a White guy playing the iconic pop star. By the way, Michael Jackson is Black and he's always identified himself as such. Although his antics were much tabloid sensation, Michael had a legacy and people respected it. Some will always judge him as a molester of children and a wack-a-doodle.
But his own children will judge him as a great father and a humanitarian to the world.
Most of Black America views Stacey Dash as "clueless".
Anderson had enough of Dash acting "clueless". So at the NAACP Image Awards, Anderson clapped at her. “Everybody give a round of applause for Stacey Dash,” the host joked on Friday. “What the hell is she doing? Doesn't she know that the Fox network is using her? She's just an Ann Coulter dipped in butterscotch.”
“Baby, don't let 'em use you,” he continued. “Come back to the black people and get back to work on some of those beautiful C-movies that you used to do!”
Anderson also made several pointed jokes about the diversity in the audience, a not-so-thinly veiled reference to the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
“Look at all of these beautiful shades of people in the audience. Hollywood needs to know that this is what diversity is supposed to look like,” he said during his opening monologue. “I love seeing all these faces; black people working.”
“Everybody keeps saying it’s a comeback,” he added. “But hell, don't call it a comeback — we've been here for years.”
He also addressed Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, who made waves when they announced a boycott of the Oscars.
“Will and Jada are in the audience tonight,” Anderson quipped. “Hell, they better be here after all this ish they started.”
As for Dash, she shot back at Anderson on Twitter on Friday night, saying, “Well it’s funny how woman who weighs 105 wet! Can get grown a– men to act like llittle girls! Haha.”
Well it's funny how woman who weighs 105 wet!
Can get grown ass men to act like llittle girls! Haha
Actor Nate Parker directs and produces a movie based on the life of rebellion leader Nat Turner. The Birth of A Nation is coming to theaters and it's already getting praise. Given the situation surrounding the Oscars and the lack of diversity in the entertainment industry, many see this movie as a perfect timing.
The movie was not inspired by the KKK-theme movie produced by D.W. Griffith.
Parker who plays the role of slave-turned Baptist leader Nat Turner. Turner lead a revolt across Virginia killing White slave owners and led many slaves to the North. The Southampton revolt (known as the Nat Turner Rebellion) in August 1831. Led by Nat Turner, rebel slaves killed anywhere from 55 to 65 people, the highest number of fatalities caused by any slave uprising in the Southern United States. The rebellion was put down within a few days, but Turner survived in hiding for more than two months afterwards. The rebellion was effectively suppressed at Belmont Plantation on the morning of August 23, 1831.
There was widespread fear in the aftermath of the rebellion, and White militias organized in retaliation against the slaves. The state executed 56 slaves accused of being part of the rebellion. In the frenzy, many non-participant slaves were punished. At least 100 African Americans, and possibly up to 200, were murdered by militias and mobs in the area. Across the South, state legislatures passed new laws prohibiting education of slaves and free black people, restricting rights of assembly and other civil rights for free black people, and requiring white ministers to be present at all worship services.
Turner eluded capture by hiding in the woods until October 30, when he was discovered by a farmer named Benjamin Phipps, where he was hiding in a hole covered with fence rails. While awaiting his trial, Turner confessed his knowledge of the rebellion to attorney Thomas Ruffin Gray.
Nate Parker plays the role of Nat Turner, the rebellion leader of the Southampton massacre.
On November 5, 1831, he was tried for "conspiring to rebel and making insurrection", convicted and sentenced to death. Turner was hanged on November 11 in Jerusalem, Virginia. His body was flayed, beheaded and quartered. Turner received no formal burial; his headless remains were either buried unmarked or kept for scientific use. His skull is said to have passed through many hands, last being reported in the collection of a planned civil rights museum for Gary, Indiana, despite calls for its burial.
In the aftermath of the insurrection there were 45 slaves, including Turner, and five free blacks tried for insurrection and related crimes in Southampton. Of the 45 slaves tried, 15 were acquitted. Of the 30 convicted, 18 were hanged, while 12 were sold out of state. Of the five free blacks tried for participation in the insurrection, one was hanged, while the others were acquitted.
Soon after Turner's execution, Thomas Ruffin Gray took it upon himself to publish The Confessions of Nat Turner, derived partly from research done while Turner was in hiding and partly from jailhouse conversations with Turner before trial. This work is considered the primary historical document regarding Nat Turner.
The film The Birth of a Nation will be released to select theaters. The 2016 film uses the same title as "the title of D.W. Griffith's 1915 KKK propaganda film in a very purposeful way", said The Hollywood Reporter. Nate Parker said his film had the same title "ironically, but very much by design".
It's gotten praise for the graphic and historical take on Turner's rebellion. It is written, produced, and directed by Nate Parker, who also stars as Nat Turner. Parker wrote the screenplay and petitioned financiers to invest in the film. It ultimately had a $10 million production budget and was filmed in the U.S. state of Georgia in May 2015. Along with Parker, the film features Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Jackie Earle Haley, Penelope Ann Miller, and Gabrielle Union.
The film premiered in competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2016. Fox Searchlight Pictures bought worldwide rights to the film in a $17.5 million deal, the largest deal at the film festival to date.
Cable network strikes back at washed up celebrity Stacey Dash
Stacey Dash getting hammered by Black entertainers. The washed up actress who appeared on that right wing network to blast a cable network that caters to Black culture.
BET got a taste of the venom Dash delivered a week ago. She went on that right wing network to say that Black America should eliminate Black History Month, BET and the NAACP Image Awards.
Dash believes that these awards are solely handed to Black entertainers and not White ones.
Of course, she got that wrong. BET fired back at her for that one. They even said that she's one to talk. Her ass appeared on the BET comedy-drama The Game.
BET devoted Jams to her. They played every video of her with the hashtag #NeverForget,
Videos that featured Stacey Dash included Memphis rapper MJG "That Girl", Carl Thomas' "Emotional", Kanye West's "All Falls Down", and Rick Ross' "Super High".
I am guessing BET is playing "Moving", "Mo Money", "Clueless" and Renaissance Man. These were movies Dash appeared in.
Rick Ross and Stacey Dash on the set of his music video.
Dash got slammed by her cousin Dame Dash, the former CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records. He says his cousin is doing "world class coonary"
She blasted Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee for boycotting the Oscars after they failed to nominate Black entertainers. Jada's husband Will Smith was snubbed in his role in Concussion.
Many agitators in the junk food media claim that Jada and Will's Overbrook Entertainment doesn't do enough for the Black community. They claim that now "they want to take action after it affects them".
For the record, Jada and Will have donated $$$$$$$$$$$ to charity and invested in working in the communities they've grown up in. Will grew up in Philadelphia and Jada grew up in Baltimore.
As usual the concern troll nonsense that drives attention from reality. Out of 2,900 awards being handed out, only 31 Black winners of the Academy Awards.
That's a real problem that needs to be solved.
Now that it's gotten attention, many of the detractors are working overtime to discredit #OscarsSoWhite and #BlackLivesMatter.
Dash lit up a shit storm from many in the Black community.
Hollywood conservatives speak out against #OscarsSoWhite and Jada Pinkett Smith's boycott of the Oscars.
Did you know that some entertainers in Hollywood are conservative?
Chuck Norris, Ted Nugent, Patricia Heaton, Kelsey Grammer, Clint Eastwood, Jenna Jameson, Rob Schneider, LL Cool J, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Shannen Doherty, Adam Corolla, Dennis Miller, Vince Vaughn, James Woods, Jon Voight, Adam Sandler, Stacey Dash, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Melissa Joan Hart are notable Republicans celebrities.
Hollywood does have celebrities who are dye in the wool Republicans. They happened to be some on the A-list all the way down to the D-list.
Many of these celebrities have spoken on the boycott against the Academy Awards.
Even some in the nomination committee sparked a tad bit of outrage.
Lionel Chetwynd a member of the Academy board said, "It's shortsighted that people are making these accusation and, frankly it's insulting. He added, "I'm quite capable of judging and marveling at a performance without being conscious of the actor's skin color, What's wrong with you all? It's not the Academy of Diversity."
Chetwynd, believes that the votes weren't inspired by bigotry.
"Sometimes it takes a long period of time for culture change to be reflected the time, and they're going to be replaced by a new generation of artists But that doesn't happen overnight. And it shouldn't," said Chetwynd.
Actor Michael Caine an Oscar winner himself found himself catching some heat. The British actor said that Black actors should be "patient" for Oscar nominations and that he wouldn't vote for a Black actor solely based on his race.
"There's are loads of black actors; I think in he end you can't vote for an actor (just) because he's black. You can't say, 'I'm going to vote for him, he's not very good but he's Black, (so) I'll vote for him.' You've got to give a good performance."
British actress Charlotte Rampling fought back tears when she went on record to say that the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag and the boycott was "racist to White people." She went as far to say that Black actors aren't good enough for a nomination. By the way, Rampling is nominated for an Oscar for the movie 45 years.
"One can never really know, but perhaps the Black actors did not deserve to make the final list," said Rampling. Asked if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should introduce quotas, a proposal which no current advocate of increased diversity has mooted, Rampling responds with this tepid response: "Why classify people? These days everyone is more or less accepted. People will always say 'Him, he's less handsome'; 'Him, he's too Black', 'He is too White'.... someone will always be saying 'You are too [this or that] ... But do we have to take from this that there should be lots of minorities everywhere?"
Truly sad and pathetic that we have people who continue to undermine the real message to why the Academy Awards have to change. When will they realize that this issue has been active for years.
Rap duo release a single that touches a nerve. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis release "White Privilege" off their sophomore album, The Unruly Mess I've Made.
Grammy award winning rap duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are dropping a single that will have people talking. The duo released White Privilege II, a sequel to the White Privilege single from Macklemore's 2005 underground release The Language of My World.
The song gets the nation's attention.
The Huffington Post spotlights the single. Believe me that the song singles out Iggy Azalea, Miley Cyrus and numerous other White entertainers who embraced Black culture.
The duo's lyrics to the song touch on racial tensions, the Black Lives Matter movement and the toxicity of being passive in one's own white privilege. The nearly nine-minute song, which features Jamila Woods, points out that too often white people stand up against racial injustice when it is convenient for them.
The song also tackles the exploitation of black traditions, calling out Miley Cyrus, Iggy Azalea and Elvis for cultural appropriation. “We take all we want from black culture, but will we show up for black lives?" Macklemore, who's been accused of appropriation himself, raps.
In anticipation of the follow up to their smash album The Heist, the duo releases The Unruly Mess I've Made in February.
The song, which is free on iTunes, is the result of the artists' ongoing dialogue about race in Seattle and across the country as they seek to engage with and invest in black-led organizations like Black Lives Matter and Black Youth Project 100.
"[W]e will continue to find ways in which we can leverage our platform and network towards strengthening the work of organizers and initiatives framed by genuine racial and social equity," the artists said in a statement. "We wish to support direct organizing and be led by the expertise and experience of those on the front lines as we proceed."
Macklemore is passionate about #OscarsSoWhite and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
He released the song to show solidarity to Jada Pinkett Smith.
Jada called upon a boycott of the Oscar Awards and it's managed to gain traction.
Some individuals in the industry have spoken against the boycott. Besides Janet Hubert, you have two others involved in the controversy. Gerald Molen and Charlotte Rumpling have called the boycott bullshit and blast #OscarsSoWhite as racist.
Out of the freezer after a two week thaw, washed up actress turned political agitator Stacey Dash once again appears on the right wing network to throw shade on Black America.
She turns 49 this week. And for her birthday, she wants Black America to stop whining about grievances.
Dash is a commentator on Outnumbered.
On the right wing network Dash went on to slam Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee for advocating a boycott on the Oscars.
"I think it’s ludicrous. We have to make up our minds; either we want to have segregation or integration. If we don't want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET Awards, and the [NAACP] Image Awards, where you're only awarded if you're black. If it were the other way around, we would be up in arms. It's a double standard […] Just like there shouldn't be a Black History Month. We're American, that's it."
Once a Democrat, Dash found love with a perennial loser by the name of Mitt Romney.
She faced some major heat from her fans when she announced she coming out as a proud Republican.
BET fired back at her. They posted on their official social media pages slamming the washed up actress for being like I've said, "Clueless".
BET then responded with the below tweet, writing, “Soooooo @REALStaceyDash can we get our check back… or nah? #Remember #YouWereOnTheGame #AndWeDontMeanTheRapper.”
Aww dang. I loved you in "Clueless". I had no idea that you actually were. https://t.co/b1FozElKYg
You know the trolls of the racist right are out! Ever since Jada Pinkett Smith made the call to boycott the Oscars after another year of no Black nominees, conservatives have jumped on the bandwagon to attack her, Spike Lee and President Barack Obama.
The concern trolls, the White extremists and the flagrant flamers are working overtime in trying to undermine the message.
The most common theme among conservatives is "BET gave awards to Black people, what's the big deal?" or "You guys should stop complaining, the movies sucked!".
The creator of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag April Reign praises Jada's boycott. She believes the time is now to address the controversy and keep pressure on the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences to change course, fast.
The Drudge Report (which I refer to as the conservative Craigslist) spotlighted the washed up celebrity Janet Hubert's vicious rant on Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband Will Smith.
Hubert, who once played Aunt Vivian on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was fired out the cannon. She blames Smith for getting her blackballed in Hollywood. She jumped on the concern troll wagon telling stories about how Will's refusal to stick up for her during a contractual dispute lead to the bitter feud. Hubert says that Blacks have more concerns than some statue. I happen to agree with her only in that sense. But unfortunately, if this is swept under the rug, we condone this and that's what Hubert is missing.
Michael B. Jordan in the movie Creed.
Conservatives have seen Aunt Viv's rant as a way to denounce the boycott.
But it hasn't stopped many others from rallying to her defense. George Clooney, Snoop Dogg, Lupita Nyong'o, Idris Elba, Michael Moore, David Oyelowo, Whoopi Goldberg, and even Oscars host Chris Rock have spoken in favor of Jada's boycott.
Spike Lee appeared on Good Morning America to say that he'll be watching a New York Knicks game instead of watching or going to the Oscars. Lee said that he supports his brother Chris [Rock] and his decisions are his to own. He also said that Academy's president Cheryl Isaacs Boone is a sister of the cause but in a dilemma of her own creating.
A British film critic agitated the controversy even more. Mediaite reports that Jason Solomons basically said that Blacks should be snubbed if they're playing minstrel characters. He said that black people shouldn't win covet nominations for playing "gangster rappers" like the Straight Outta Compton cast, or an "African savage" like Idris Elba‘s Beasts of No Nation character.
Now this probably a member of the Academy voting committee basically saying that Black talent isn't valued.
Jada Pinkett Smith went to social media to protest the Oscars. Will Smith hasn't commented on his wife's decision to boycott the ceremony.
Entertainer Jada Pinkett Smith, had call upon Black entertainers in Hollywood to do a boycott of the Oscars in February. It's sparked by the anger of many who believe the Oscars deliberately snubbed Black and Hispanic actors and actresses.
On her official social media pages, Pinkett Smith remarks about the Oscars once again leaving talent of color off the table. She also said that she asks entertainers who are upset over the situation to join her in the boycott.
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Pinkett Smith decided the time is now to address this.
At the Oscars...people of color are always welcomed to give out awards...even entertain, (pt. 1)
"Today is Martin Luther King's birthday, and I can't help but ask the question: Is it time that people of color recognize how much power, influence, that we have amassed, that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere?" Pinkett Smith said on her video.
She added, "Begging for acknowledgement, or even asking, diminishes dignity and diminishes power. And we are a dignified people, and we are powerful. So let's let the Academy do them, with all grace and love. And let's do us, differently".
Janet Hubert took to social media to slam on Jada Pinkett Smith's boycott. Hubert blames Will Smith for her being fired out the cannon from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She's hasn't done much since and she faults him.
One person isn't supporting Jada's boycotts is Janet Hubert. Hubert was the original "Aunt Vivian" on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She took to social media to slam her down.
Hubert took a shot at her husband, entertainer Will Smith for not being nominated in the movie Concussion.
"First of all, Miss Thing, does your man not have a mouth of his own with which to speak?" Hubert said in a video message. "Second thing is, girlfriend, there's a lot of s—t going on in the world that you all don't seem to recognize. People are dying, our boys are being shot left and right, people are hungry, people are trying to pay bills, and you're talking about some…actors and Oscars. It just ain't that deep." Hubert said that the Smiths are asking people to jeopardize their careers, and she finds it "ironic" that Pinkett Smith has made "millions and millions of dollars from the very people that you're talking about boycotting."
Hubert was fired out the cannon after she got into confrontations with Will Smith and Alfanso Ribeiro, the show's breakout stars.
To this day, Hubert is blackballed from Hollywood and she blames Smith for her shortcomings.
Hubert is often criticized by her former castmates as being a "drama queen". Hubert says that Will Smith is an ego-driven asshole who throws temper tantrums when he can't get his way.
Jada Pinkett Smith got a friend in Spike Lee.
Jada got one supporter. Filmmaker Spike Lee decided to join her boycott. After his controversial movie Chiraq got snubbed, Spike Lee decided to make it clear that he's not attending or watching the Oscars as well.
"We cannot support it and I mean no disrespect.... But, how is it possible for the second consecutive year all 20 contenders under the acting category are white? And let's not even get into the other branches, said Spike Lee.
The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts & Sciences president is Cheryl Isaacs Boone. She is a woman of color herself. Boone is truly disappointed that Black entertainers are upset. She said that she promises that she'll get to the bottom of this.
The members of a nearly 7,000 voting committee are mostly White, older, male and pretty much out of touch with the movie trends.
Reminds me of those conservative agitators Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Mark Levin and Bill O'Reilly. They're old, white, and out of touch with reality.
Jada also blessed her friend Chris Rock on a great performance. She hopes him the best but she said that she'll sit this one out.
By the way Chris Rock went to social media to address this.
