Entertainment

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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By Jonathan Landrum Jr.ASSOCIATED PRESS ABOVE PHOTO: STERLING K. BROWN, FROM LEFT, RYAN MICHELLE BATHE AND GIL ROBERTSON attend the 15th Annual AAFCA Awards on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File) LOS ANGELES — Filmmaker Ava DuVernay remembered working as a publicist years ago, struggling to draw major…

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By Ronald BlumASSOCIATED PRESS ABOVE PHOTO: Singer Marian Anderson, a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations, appears in her New York apartment on Aug. 5, 1958. (AP Photo, File) The Philadelphia Orchestra’s home is being renamed Marian Anderson Hall in honor of the pioneering Black American contralto, a rare case of an…

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