Viola Davis in W Magazine. (Photo Credit: Google Images.)
Viola Davis in W Magazine. (Photo Credit: Google Images.)
The Root is reporting that Viola Davis responded to being called “less classically beautiful”, by Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times, during an appearance on The View. The comment was made in the very same article that labeled Shonda Rhimes an “angry black woman.” The article read:
“The actress doesn’t look at all like the typical star of a network drama… Rhimes chose a performer who is older, darker-skinned and less classically beautiful than Kerry Washington, or for that matter Halle Berry…
The article by Stanley was commenting on Davis’s lead role as Professor Annalise Keating in the new hit show How To Get Away With Murder, which is produced by Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal‘s Shonda Rhimes.
Davis responded to the article on The View saying:
“I think that beauty is subjective. I’ve heard that statement [less classically beautiful] my entire life. Being a dark-skinned black woman, you heard it from the womb. And “classically not beautiful” is a fancy term for saying ugly. And denouncing you. And erasing you. Now … it worked when I was younger. It no longer works for me now. It’s about teaching a culture how to treat you. Because at the end of the day, you define you.”
Viola Davis. (Photo Credit: Google Images.)
Davis also took to Twitter, quoting Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise:
“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise!!!”
The article received an enormous amount of backlash via the internet. Many African American women have begun adding the hashtag#LessClassicallyBeautiful to their tweets and posting pictures showcasing themselves as “Less Classically Beautiful.”
Though upsetting, the comment made by Stanley and the debate surrounding it is nothing new to African American communities. The 1940’s “Landmark Doll Test” examined the psychological effects of segregation on black children. The test was used to determine racial perception and preference in children. It was found that when giving a choice between two dolls, one white and the other black, the majority of the children selected the white doll and associated positive attributes with it.
Color discrimination has existed in the black community for many generations. Authors Kathy Russell, Midge Wilson, and Ronald E. Hall discuss the issue of light and dark skinned people, how they relate to one another, and how they are influenced by the legacy of racism in their book “The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color Among African Americans.”
The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color Among African Americans.”
Following the backlash from the public, the New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan issued a statement promising to have Stanley explain her intended meaning, but also added that the articles true intent was not to offend. Sullivan said:
“Intended to be in praise of Ms. Rhimes, it delivered that message in a condescending way that was – at best – astonishingly tone-deaf and out of touch.”
This post was written by Reginald Calhoun, editorial assistant for The Burton Wire. He is a junior Mass Media Arts major at Clark Atlanta University. Follow him on Twitter @IRMarsean.
Celebrated actress Elizabeth Peña dies at 55. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
Celebrated actress Elizabeth Peña dies at 55. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
Writing for the Latino Review, Mario-Francisco Robles is reporting that celebrated actress Elizabeth Peña has died. Peña is best remembered for her critically acclaimed performance in John Sayles’ Lone Star (1996), also starring Chris Cooper, Matthew McConaughey, Miriam Colón, Jesse Borego, Joe Morton, Ron Canada, Tony Plana and Kris Kristofferson. Peña won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Pilar in Lone Star at the 1997 Independent Spirit Awards. Robles, who is also Peña’s nephew, writes:
“Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey and raised by her Cuban immigrant parents, Peña was destined for a career in the arts. Her father, Mario, was a playwright, director, actor, and designer in their native Cuba, who opened up the Latin American Theatre Ensemble after establishing a life for he and his family in New York. As a teen, Peña began making a name for herself as a formidable young actress in the New York theatre scene. She attended, and graduated from, the High School of Performing Arts and began her professional film career in 1978 with León Ichaso’s El Super. A few years later, the ambitious Cubana would set off to try her fortunes over on the west coast.”
Peña starred in the ABC prime time series,I Married Dora (1987), which co-starred actress Juliette Lewis. She appeared on numerous television shows including CSI: Miami, The Ghost Whisperer, Without a Trace, L.A. Law, Resurrection Blvd., Boston Public and Modern Family. Peña starred in many films including La Bamba (1987), Blue Steel (1989), Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (1990), Rush Hour (1998), Tortilla Soup (2001) and Transamerica (2005). She also was the voice of Mirage in The Incredibles (2004) and performed voice over work on American Dad and Maya & Miguel.
In 2001 Elizabeth Peña won an ALMA award for outstanding actress in a new series for Resurrection Blvd. In 2002, she won the outstanding actress award in film for Tortilla Soup.
She had recently wrapped work on the first season of the El Rey Network’s action series, Matador, where she played the title character’s mother Maritza.
Peña is survived by her husband, two teenage children, her mother and her sister. She died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. No cause of death has been officially released. She was 55.
Nasir 'Nas' Jones
(Photo Credit: Tribeca Film Institute)
Nasir ‘Nas’ Jones (Photo Credit: Tribeca Film Institute)
Nas: Time is Illmatic is a feature documentary that chronicles the preconditions and circumstances leading up to the making of the rapper’s seminal 1994 debut album, Illmatic. Unlike most music-centered documentaries, which would usually take viewers through the album’s 10-track sequence, lyrical content and creative process, Time is Illmatic abandons this approach to music documentaries.
Time is Illmatic, narrated predominantly by the optimistic, raspy-voiced Queensbridge emcee, interrogates topics like the lack of arts programs in public education, divorce, love, poverty, death, the inner city, the crack epidemic, mass incarceration, youth violence, hopelessness and despair.
“It’s something that has a lot of feeling and emotional depth to it,” says Parker via phone. “[Nas] is talking about these issues from a first-hand perspective of living it without preaching.”
Parker, formerly Vibe Magazine’s music editor, was revising a story commemorating Illmatic’s 10th anniversary in 2004. He thought the article lacked depth, so he decided to collaborate with One9 to create something more meaningful.
“It’s easy to get seduced by the poetry of Illmatic and stop there without trying to make an understanding of the messages,” says Parker.
“There’s a lot of tragedy and cases where institutions fail young boys coming-of-age on their way to becoming men. We’ll never really get an understanding of them or their story if we don’t tell it from the inside out.”
Illmatic, with its vivid social commentary, riveting introspection and incredible production, left quite an impact on both recording artists and intellectuals. Erykah Badu and Kendrick Lamar are heard giving audio testimonials in one of Time is Illmatic’s segments. Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Pharrell, Cornel West and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. offer additional commentary throughout the film.
Parker, on the other hand, directly correlates his own life to Nas’ detail-oriented scenarios and cautionary tales about growing up young and black in America.
“[Nas] let us know that his worldview was our worldview, but I wasn’t able to express it that way,” says the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumnus. “Art has a way of validating your existence. While we celebrate the great poet, it’s important for all audiences to understand the people for whom he was speaking.”
Shot using Super 8 visual aesthetics, Time is Illmatic is captured in still photographs, live concert footage, virtual tours throughout Queensbridge, candid interviews and archive news footage.
One9 says he came away from making Time is Illmatic with the inspiration to look at all of his relationships more closely. “We learned a lot about our relationships with our communities,” says One9.
“I learned how to tell a story by listening to people’s backgrounds. I wanted to know more about my family history and how I came to be. We’re hoping this film inspires a new generation to look at their roots, culture and identity.”
Parker, referring to his creative partner as a “visual storyteller,” amplified One9’s comments on their approach to the film.
“[One9] knows how to look at things in a different way,” he says. “I focus on trying to get the most out of a story and make sure there is a certain amount of the subject that we need.”
The workshop provided the first time filmmakers with opportunities to network with other film industry professionals and flesh out their ideas.
“There are so many deep layers that go into the art of what we really do,” says One9. “We wanted to convey that, but we were learning a lot about how to do it. We had some great people around us that helped up refine our story.”
Forty-eight New York City schools will allow 20,000 students to screen the film and discuss its subject matter. An undergraduate course on research and documentary filmmaking will be offered at NYU and available via live stream. Parker and One9 will be available for a live Q&A.
The filmmaking pair will also tour and screen Time is Illmatic over a year in high schools, prisons, museums, colleges and community centers. Associate producer Martha Diaz chimes in via phone to elaborate more on the community platform.
“We can’t do this without community engagement,” says Diaz. “We really wanna unpack these issues and have an intergenerational conversation. It reveals another trajectory around black male achievement.”
Parker and One9 are still in disbelief that they’re traveling extensively to show Time is Illmatic worldwide. Two decades ago, the two never would’ve imagined that they would be making a monumental film about one of hip hop’s most seminal works.
The two agree that Time is Illmatic is more than just a hip hop film. One9 hopes the film will serve as the firestarter for emerging filmmakers to create more films of this type.
“We have to tell our own stories,” says One9. “Our culture gets diluted when other people do it. You never know what will inspire the next thing. It’s not just a hip hop story; it’s an American story.”
Making direct references to films made by Ken Burns, Parker agrees with One9 that Time is Illmatic is an American story. He hopes their film will go on to warrant a similar level of respect that Burns’ films have earned.
“We wanted to do something that’s a great American story from our generation that we think everybody should know,” says Parker.
“These stories get a treatment and a stamp that lets everybody know they’re important. The hip hop generation is a great generation, so let’s talk about our time in this world because we have a lot more to offer.”
Christopher A. Daniel is a pop cultural critic and music editor for The Burton Wire. He is also a contributing writer for Urban Lux Magazine and Blues & Soul Magazine. Follow Christopher @Journalistorian on Twitter.
Fallen Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius' sentencing hearing started today. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
Fallen Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius’ sentencing hearing started today. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
The sentencing hearing for Paralympian runner Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted of culpable homicide last month, in the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has officially begun. According to Rebecca Davis of The Guardian, day one of the hearing involved
Pistorius’s defense team has called three out of four witnesses to testify in mitigation of sentencing: a psychologist, a Correctional Services social worker, and the athlete’s manager.
Social worker Joel Maringa told the court that he recommended Pistorius undergo house arrest for three years, with 16 hours of community service per month.
The state’s Gerrie Nel, who will be pushing for the most punitive possible jail term, called this suggestion “shockingly inappropriate”.
Pistorius’s psychologist and manager, respectively, have painted the picture of a broken man who is nonetheless humble and charitable, and who poses no danger to society.
Tomorrow, state prosecutor Gerrie Nel will have the opportunity to cross-examine Pistorius’ manager Pete Van Zyl.
The trial is not expected to last more than a week.
Read more at The Guardian. For a timeline of the events from the murder of Reeva Steenkamp to Pistorius’ sentencing, visit The Mail & Guardian (South Africa).
Indigenous Peoples Day is replacing or supplementing Columbus Day celebrations across the United States. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
Emanuella Grinberg of CNNis reporting that many cities in the United States are replacing ‘Columbus Day’ with ‘Indigenous People Day’. Grinberg reports:
“For the first time this year, Seattle and Minneapolis will recognize the second Monday in October as ‘Indigenous People’s Day.’ The cities join a growing list of jurisdictions choosing to shift the holiday’s focus from Christopher Columbus to the people he encountered in the New World and their modern-day descendants.
The Seattle City Council voted last week to reinvent the holiday to celebrate ‘the thriving cultures and values of Indigenous Peoples in our region.’ The Minneapolis City Council approved a similar measure in April ‘to reflect upon the ongoing struggles of Indigenous people on this land, and to celebrate the thriving culture and value that Dakota, Ojibwa and other indigenous nations add to our city.’
The Seattle School Board followed suit along with Portland Public Schools, where officials say Indigenous People’s Day will not replace Columbus Day but supplement it. Schools across the country have been working for years to clarify Columbus’ role in history.”
Based on the largely erroneous metanarrative that has developed around Christopher Columbus, who actually died in the West Indies and never made it to what we now call North America, many people are “pushing back” against the “holiday” or identifying other Italians to celebrate since the “holiday.” Columbus Day is considered by many to be a celebration of Italian-American culture and history that is greater than one explorer.
What are your thoughts? Share in the comments section below or @TheBurtonWire.
Caribbean 360 is reporting that the National Carnival Commission (NCC) may postpone Carnival celebrations in 2015 due to fears associated with the Ebola virus that has claimed the lives of thousands of people mainly in West Africa.
NCC chairman Alison Demas said the threat of an Ebola outbreak is becoming more real, daily, and that Carnival, scheduled for February 16-17, may be postponed over concerns about the Ebola virus.
Carnival attracts thousands of international visitors which is stoking the fears. The author reports:
“We are reminded of what happened years ago with the polio epidemic when Carnival had to be postponed. It is a bit premature to say but clearly this is something that maybe necessary because of course we would not want Carnival to be an avenue for our population and our visitors being affected by the deadly Ebola epidemic,” says Demas.
HBCU Digestis reporting that financial hurdles for low-income first generation college students, increases in admissions standards, and outdated recruitment practices are causing student enrollment to drop at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Declining student enrollment at HBCUs, which are primarily tuition-dependent universities, can potentially make it difficult to ensure a quality education and success for all students.
The article reports that the changing admissions practices of many HBCUs are contributing to decreased student enrollment. The author writes:
“There is nothing wrong with HBCUs seeking to attract the best and brightest students, but there is a structural problem with HBCUs when they deny admissions to the students they now, and historically, have served. There are not enough top-tier students to fill HBCU campuses, and in forsaking the market of students they currently serve and replacing them with “better students,” they will continue to experience enrollment declines from which they will be unable to recover.”
To ensure their continued longevity, the article states that HBCUs must make student enrollment their number one priority, while also increasing alumni contributions, institutional endowments, and other revenue sources.
This post was written by Reginald Calhoun, editorial assistant for The Burton Wire. He is a Junior Journalism major at Clark-Atlanta University. Follow him on Twitter @IRMarsean.
The A3C Hip-Hop Festival is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in the city of Atlanta Oct 8-14.* Founded by Brian Knott and Kevin Elfick, the A3C Hip-Hop Festival began as a way to showcase Hip-Hop talent in the Atlanta area after their ArcTheFinger label folded in 2004. Iconic rap super producer 9th Wonder inadvertently named the festival when he referred to it as a festival that represents “All three coasts.”
What started out as a Hip-Hop showcase in 2004, has evolved into a five day festival that includes concerts, film screenings, art displays, academic panel discussions and a host of programming at 15 different venues throughout the city. More than 500 people are on the bill to participate in the 10th anniversary celebration of Hip-Hop culture throughout the world. The festival is a mix of old school, new school, independent and mainstream Hip-Hop artists including Jermaine DuPri, B.O.B., 2 Chains, Talib Kweli and the Roots.
Not necessarily safe for work. NNSFW.
While artists with large record labels backing them are a part of the mix, the main purpose of the event is to offer underground Hip-Hop artists a broader platform. Coupled with panels and workshops covering topics from the business of hip-hop to the use of hip-hop for social change to the actual nuts and bolts of hip-hop production, the A3C festival is an integral part of the cultural arts scene in Atlanta. More than 35,000 people are expected to attend A3C events and programming this year. Sponsors include Creative Loafing, Reebok Classic, iHipHop, Puma and 107.9 FM.
For more information about A3C, visit www.A3cfestival.com. Event tickets and passes can be purchased at this url as well. Click here to download the festival mobile app.
*The Burton Wire’s Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. and Christopher A. Daniel will participate on a A3C Hip-Hop Festival entitled, “Anatomy of A Musical Movement:Hip Hop United for Cause (Panel).” Dr. Burton is a media scholar who is the author of the dissertation, “Traveling Without Moving: Black Female Rappers and the Hollywood Film Industry.” Mr. Daniel is an ethnomusicologist specializing in music of the African Diaspora.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of the award-winning news site The Burton Wire.
The heirs of Nancy Green (top left) and Anna S. Harrington are suing Pepsi Co. for revenues earned from the Aunt Jemima brand. (Photos: Google Images)
Reporting for the Courier-Journal, Jere Downs is reporting that the heirs of Nancy Green, the black woman that appeared as Aunt Jemima on the packaging of the pancake flour of the same name, have filed a lawsuit against the company. Green and other descendants of other black women who appeared as Aunt Jemima want a cut of the revenue. Financial analysts at Sambla report the following:
“Now a lawsuit claims that Green’s heirs as well as the descendants of other black women who appeared as Aunt Jemima deserve $2 billion and a share of future revenue from sales of the popular brand.
The federal suit, filed in Chicago in August by two great-grandsons of Anna S. Harrington, says that she and Green were key in formulating the recipe for the nation’s first self-rising pancake mix, and that Green came up with the idea of adding powdered milk for extra flavor.
‘Aunt Jemima has become known as one of the most exploited and abused women in American history,’ said D.W. Hunter, one of Harrington’s great-grandsons.
But Quaker Oats, the current owner of the brand, said in response to the lawsuit last month that Aunt Jemima was never real.
Louise Beavers portrayed Delilah in the film Imitation of Life (1934). In the film, Delilah’s pancake recipe was used to build a pancake empire for her white friend.
‘The image symbolizes a sense of caring, warmth, hospitality and comfort, and is neither based on, nor meant to depict any one person,’ said the statement from Quaker Oats, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. ‘While we cannot discuss the details of pending litigation, we do not believe there is any merit to this lawsuit.’
No contracts have been located between Aunt Jemima models and their pancake bosses, according to PepsiCo correspondence with plaintiffs contained in the lawsuit.
But Harrington’s descendants contend they did exist.”
Green died in Chicago in 1923 after being struck by a car and Harrington was recruited after to take Green’s place in the advertisement. Originally from South Carolina, Anna S. Harrington was discovered and recruited at a New York State Fair in 1935. Both women portrayed Aunt Jemima at events throughout the country, particularly world fairs. It is reported that both women enhanced the recipe with personal touches that were later adopted by the company.
The story of the discovery of Aunt Jemima was represented on film in the 1934 version of Imitation of Life. Louise Beavers played the character of Delilah, a black woman whose pancake recipe was used by her white friend, played by Claudette Colbert, to build a pancake empire.
The families of Green and Harrington contend that the women did not have the legal knowledge to properly negotiate contracts with the company.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of the award-winning news site, The Burton Wire. She is also a media scholar that focuses on issues of representation as it relates to black and Latino women.
Legendary artist and performer Geoffrey Holder has died. He was 84. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
Jennifer Dunning and William McDonald of the New York Times are reporting that legendary choreographer, actor and artist Geoffrey Holder has died. Family spokesman Charles M. Mirotznik, said the cause of death was complications due to pneumonia.
Dunning and McDonald write:
“Geoffrey Richard Holder was born into a middle-class family on Aug. 1, 1930, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, one of four children of Louise de Frense and Arthur Holder, who had immigrated from Barbados. Geoffrey attended Queen’s Royal College, an elite secondary school in Trinidad. There he struggled with a stammer that would plague him into early adulthood.”
Holder’s West Indian roots influenced his art, dance and performances.
“Holder directed a dance troupe from his native Trinidad and Tobago, danced on Broadway and at the Metropolitan Opera, won Tony Awards in 1975 for musical direction and costume design for “The Wiz,” a rollicking, all-black version of “The Wizard of Oz.” His choreography was in the repertory of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Dance Theater of Harlem. He acted onstage and in films and was an accomplished painter, photographer and sculptor whose works have been shown in galleries and museums. He published a cookbook.”
Legendary dancers and spouses Geoffrey Holder and Carmen De Lavallade. (Google Images)
Many fans remember Holder from his infectious 7Up commercials and his performance as villain Baron Samedi in the James Bond classic, Live and Let Live (1973). Many will remember him as Nelson, the hyper-sexed ad creative in the 1992 black film classic Boomerang, starring Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Robin Givens, Halle Berry, Grace Jones, David Allan Grier, Tisha Campbell, Eartha Kitt and Lela Rochon.
Not Safe for Work.
Not Safe For Work
Holder was married to legendary dancer Carmen De Lavallade, to whom he proposed just four days after meeting her. He and De Lavallade, who married in 1955, danced in West Indian-influenced style and performed modern dance. Holder set her signature solo dance, “Come Sunday,” to African-American spirituals.
Mr. Holder is survived by Ms. de Lavallade and their son, Léo. He was 84.
The 
