Entertainment

Photo: MoAR By Constance Garcia-Barrio Years ago, Adrienne Whaley, director of education and community engagement at the Museum of the American Revolution (MoAR), located at Third and Chestnut Streets, had expected to stroll into corporate boardrooms in three-inch heels carrying a hand-tooled leather briefcase. But history cast its spell and swept her in a different…

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ABOVE PHOTO: Regina King arrives at the premiere of “Shirley” on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) By Kharisma McIlwaine Shirley Anita Chisholm was, without a doubt, one of the most dynamic women in history. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1924, and raised in Barbados…

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ABOVE PHOTO: From left, Justice Smith stars as “Aren” and David Alan Grier stars as “Roger” in writer/director Kobi Libii’s “The American Society of Magical Negroes”, a Focus Features release. By Kharisma McIlwaine “The American Society of Magical Negroes” has received its fair share of backlash since its release. The controversy surrounding the film centers…

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ABOVE PHOTO: MUSIC MOGUL AND ENTREPRENEUR SEAN “DIDDY” COMBS arrives at the Billboard Music Awards, May 15, 2022, in Las Vegas. Two properties belonging to Combs’ in Los Angeles and Miami were searched Monday, March 25, 2024, by federal Homeland Security Investigations agents and other law enforcement as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation,…

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ABOVE PHOTO: Actor Louis Gossett, Jr. poses in his manager’s home in Beverly Hills, Calif., in Feb. 1993, during an interview. (AP Photo/Doug Pizac) By Beth HarrisASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES — Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV…

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ABOVE PHOTO: Terence BlanchardPhoto courtesy: Ensemble Arts Philly By Kharisma McIlwaine New Orleans is known for its deep-rooted love and celebration of music. It is also known for giving the world a wide array of incredible musicians, and Terence Blanchard is among them. The six-time Grammy award-winning, Academy Award-nominated trumpeter, pianist and composer has blessed…

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ABOVE PHOTO: Dominic Dorset as Kristoff in the North American Tour of “Frozen.”Photo credit Matthew Murphy By Kharisma McIlwaine Disney’s ‘Frozen’ took the world by storm with its 2013 release. Its popular song, “Let It Go,” was sung worldwide. Children and adults fell in love with the story of the princess sisters Anna and Elsa,…

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Powerful art exhibits, engaging discussions, author events and more… ABOVE PHOTO: The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote Exhibit at the National Constitution CenterPhoto by J. Fusco for VISIT PHILADELPHIA® visitphilly.com Some people hear “history” and immediately think of old men in gray wigs. And we get it (ya know, Founding Fathers and revolutions…

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By Kharisma McIlwaine The trope of the “magical negro” is one many of us are familiar with. A Black character whose sole purpose is to support their white counterparts in various ways. In those scenarios, the feelings of the Black character are either ignored completely or only addressed if they propel the white character’s story…

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By Kharisma McIlwaine Philadelphia native Jay Fluellen is an accomplished pianist, organist, composer, professor and choir director. Classically trained, Fluellen received a doctorate in music composition from Temple University. As a composer, he has been commissioned by various institutions including Main Line Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra FIRST EDITIONS, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Relâche, Singing City,…

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