Isaiah R. Hill stars as Jace in Apple+ TV's original series Swagger, executive produced by Kevin Durant and Reggie 'Rock' Bythewood.
“Swagger,” Apple TV+’s series inspired by the real life story of NBA superstar Kevin Durant is debuting October 29, 2021. Written, directed and executive produced by veteran writer and producer Reggie “Rock” Bythewood (Dancing in September, 30 for 30, Beyond the Lights, Gun Hill), Swagger follows the life of a 14-year-old basketball phenom with his eyes on the prize — the NBA.
Executive produced by Durant, the series stars O’Shea Jackson (Straight Outta Compton, Just Mercy) Isaiah Hill, Tristan Mack Wilds (The Wire, Shots Fired, The Breaks, 90210), Academy-award nominated actress Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild, Annie, Trolls, Black-ish) and introduces Isaiah R. Hill who stars as Jace, the basketball phenom focused on getting out of the ghetto and into the NBA.
Filmed in Richmond, VA, the series takes a hard look at what it takes to make it to the NBA when the chips are stacked against you.
Check out the trailer below:
Set a reminder to watch the series debut October 29, 2021 on Apple TV+.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
The wait is over for one of the most highly-anticipated television shows of the Fall season. “BMF” premieres Sunday, September 26 on STARZat 9 p.m. EST. Starring Russell Hornsby, Michole Briana White, Demetrius ‘Lil Meech’ Flenory, Da’Vinchi, Wood Harris, Steve Harris, La La Anthony, Ajona Alexis and Snoop Dogg in a recurring role, “BMF” explores the complicated lives of Detroit-born brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry Flenory, who turn to drug dealing to escape the poverty of post-industrial Detroit, becoming drug kingpins in the process.
Set in 1980s Detroit, the fictional series about the real lives of the Flenory brothers and their organization, the Black Mafia Family, the series focuses on the family dynamics at play when building an empire. Filmed in Atlanta and Detroit, the STARZseries is Executive Produced by 50 Cent and Randy Huggins, a writer and producer on STARZ’s “Power” and F/X’s “The Shield.” Actress/Director Tasha Smith directs the series. With powerful performances by Hornsby, White, Da’Vinchi and Lil’ Meech, the show introduces viewers to Detroit’s underground economy and culture, including Detroit House music, the bedrock of the wildly popular EDM genre of music.
“BMF” premieres worldwide on Sunday, September 26 at 9 PM ET/PT then moves to its regular time slot at 8 PM ET/PT starting on Sunday, October 3. The series will air across all STARZ platforms in the U.S. and Canada and will air internationally on the STARZPLAY premium streaming platform across Europe, Latin America and Japan.
Check local listings for STARZ channel information.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Melvin Van Peebles in 1968. (Photo: Google Images)
*The film world is reeling over the loss of influential filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles who passed away Tuesday, September 21 in Manhattan. Van Peebles is best known for his classic independent films Watermelon Man (1970) and Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971), which offered a bold critique of racism, power and Black liberation in the United States. Van Peebles, the father of actor/director Mario Van Peebles, created the blueprint for what would become the Blaxploitation genre of filmmaking with his Sweet Sweetback’s Baaadasssss Song.
Born in Chicago in 1932, Van Peebles was the son of a tailor and homemaker. After graduating high school, he enrolled in West Virginia State University before transferring to Ohio Wesleyan University. Following graduation, the future filmmaker joined the Air Force and began writing. In 1956, he married German actress and photographer Maria Marx, who appeared with him in this iconic film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. They lived in Europe and Mexico before he returned to the states and worked as a cable car operator in San Francisco.
In the early 1960s Van Peebles published four novels and one-story collection in French and made a short film, Cinq cent balles (1965), about a child trying to retrieve a banc note in a tenuous world. In 1968, Van Peebles made his first feature-length film, The Story of a Three-Day Pass (La Permission). The renaissance man starred with actress Nicole Berger in the film which explored themes around interracial romance, nation and identity. Three-Day Pass was well-received by audiences and critics and put him on the map in Hollywood, many of whom thought they had discovered a French auteur instead of a talented Black man from Chicago.
In 1970, Van Peebles made his first Hollywood film entitled Watermelon Man starring Godfrey Cambridge. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film told the story of a racist White man who one day wakes up Black and the fallout from his family, friends and place of employment because of it. In interviews, Melvin Van Peebles said it was the experience of making Watermelon Man within the Hollywood film system that convinced him to work as an independent filmmaker so he could have complete control over his films.
The independent artist struck out on his own with the goal of making Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, a film that explored themes of Black power and liberation. The auteur raised $500,000 from investments by supporters including Bill Cosby and earnings from his previous work. The film featured a soundtrack by Earth, Wind and Fire, a then up and coming jazz and R&B band and offered a gritty, unapologetic look into Black America’s underground economy. The film highlighted the story of a wrongfully accused Black man’s journey from sideshow to revolutionary. Sweetback put forth a bold Black aesthetic embracing Black fashion of the time, elements of the Black Power movement and articulating the idea of American freedom through a distinctly Black revolutionary socio-political lens.
Much like Black film pioneer Oscar Micheaux, Van Peebles’ films were celebrated and condemned for exploring controversial topics and for what some critics called technical issues. Using a distribution technique like Micheaux, Van Peebles rented out theaters in Black cities and showed his films to sold out audiences keeping all of the profits. This distribution technique practiced by Micheaux and Van Peebles is now referred to as four walling, a term coined in 1965. Through this distribution model, Van Peebles earned $10 million at the box office and Hollywood noticed. Film companies like United Artists which was on the brink of economic collapse at the time, appropriated the narrative and stylistic elements of his films, giving birth to what would become the Blaxploitation era of filmmaking. Blaxploitation films were cheaply made, featured Black casts, R&B/Soul soundtracks, highlighted Black fashion and culture of the time and explored themes of resistance. The genre turned fashion models Richard Roundtree and Tamara Dobson and aspiring actress Pam Grier into bonafide movie stars.
Known as the Godfather of Black Cinema, Van Peebles was a man of many talents, all of which were on display with the film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song which he wrote, produced, directed, starred in and distributed. While Van Peebles continued writing and directing film, he appeared as an actor in 44 films and television shows including Boomerang, Living Single, Panther, Girlfriends and Peeples. He also continued writing and performing songs, releasing six solo albums over the years.
In 2014, Van Peebles released The Last Transmission, a spoken word and jazz collaboration with the Heliocentrics. He collaborated with other music artists, appearing in the visual album for Standing on the Corner’s single, “Angel” in 2020.
The Criterion Collection, which will release a retrospective box set of Van Peebles’ work next week, announced his death in a statement. They wrote on Twitter:
“We are saddened to announce the passing of a giant of American cinema, Melvin Van Peebles, who died last night, at home with family, at the age of 89. In an unparalleled career, Van Peebles made an indelible mark on the international cultural landscape. He will be deeply missed.”
Mario Van Peebles released a statement about his father’s passing through Criterion:
“Dad knew that Black images matter,” Mario Van Peebles offered. “If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth? We want to be the success we see, thus we need to see ourselves being free.”
Melvin Van Peebles is survived by three children Mario Van Peebles, Megan Van Peebles and Max Van Peebles and a host of grandchildren. He was 89.
This article was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Dr. Burton is also a professor of film and media at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Writing for NNPA/Black Press USA Newswire, Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. discusses the continued marginalization of Black actors, producers and writers at the 2021 Emmy Awards. Read an excerpt below:
EXCERPT
If they love our rhythm and not our blues was an awards show, then the 2021 Emmys would fit the bill. To no surprise of media critics and audiences of color, the 2021 Emmys did what mainstream awards shows tend to do – trot out amazing Black talent and then fail to reward them.
Perhaps all of the talk about television being far ahead of film in terms of diverse programming went to the heads of the nominating committees and judges for the awards show? Maybe in the race to appear on trend, the academy publicly embraced diversity and inclusion while privately eschewing it?
Quite possibly the academy thought because they have awarded Regina King, Billy Porter, Viola Davis and RuPaul in recent years they were in the clear? Whatever they were thinking didn’t wash with many Black viewers and media critics at least according to social media.
Just how do you open an awards show hosted by Cedric the Entertainer – I repeat Cedric the Entertainer — with a play on the late, great Biz Markie’s classic rap ditty, “Just a Friend?” and then not show a Black winner for two hours? How exactly do you have Cedric, Billie Porter, L.L. Cool J, Renee Goldsberry, MJ Rodriguez and Rita Wilson rocking the mic and moving the historically stiff crowd, and then fail to reward any performers of color during the live broadcast with a few exceptions?
See the 2021 Emmys, which trotted out so many presenters of color that it vaguely resembled the NAACP Image Awards, except there were no Black winners other than RuPaul, Micaela Coel and an overdue Governor’s award for the incomparable Debbie Allen.
Presenters of color included Kerry Washington, Angela Bassett, Taraji Henson, Billie Porter, Awkwafina, MJ Rodriguez, Mindy Kaling, Anthony Andersen, Misty Copeland, Ava DuVernay, Gayle King, LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tracee Ellis Ross, Yara Shahidi, Ken Jeong, Vanessa Lachey, Bowen Yang, Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs and Wilmer Valderamma.
There were enough Black presenters to Cha-Cha slide at the family reunion but very few winners in the bunch. This year’s list of Emmy winners looked more like a photo of the U.S. Congress instead of reflecting the outstanding diverse programing that covered small screens. To say Black talent, stories and executives were erased by the 2021 Emmys, would be an understatement. See HBO’s “Lovecraft Country.”
To be fair, television programming has gotten increasingly plentiful and quite frankly better in recent years and there are so many shows to consider between the traditional networks, cable and over-the-top companies (Netflix, Hulu, Apple+)…
This excerpt was written and curated by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire for . Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Black people and allies worldwide are in an uproar with the unfolding news that Haitian migrants who have fled the embattled country following the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise in July and a devastating 7.2 earthquake in August, are being beaten with whips by U.S.-Mexico border agents on horses trying to keep them off of U.S. soil. VICE, REVOLT.TV, AL Jazeera, MSNBC and a myriad of publications are publishing video of the inhumane practice being used against Haitian migrants, who are being sent back to Haiti on deportation flights in an attempt to stymie the flow of migrants into Texas, according to the Biden administration.
“Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on Monday said video footage of Border Patrol agents on horseback whipping Haitian migrants attempting to cross the US-Mexico border showed ‘human rights abuses.’
‘These are human rights abuses, plain and simple.Cruel, inhumane, and a violation of domestic and international law,’ Omar said in a tweet. ‘This needs a course correction and the issuance of a clear directive on how to humanely process asylums seekers at our border.'”
The incident occurred over the weekend near Del Rio, Texas, as Haitian migrants sought to wade across the Rio Grande.
This story is developing. Follow The Burton Wire on Twitter for updates.
This news brief was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
BOSTON, MA – September 10, 2021 – The International Black Theatre Summit, a special initiative of The CRAFT Institute, held this year in collaboration with The Billie Holiday Theatre, will celebrate the inaugural Black Theatre Day with a daylong social media campaign and a virtual Happy Hour on Friday, September 17 at 5pm ET. The event will also recognize the 200th anniversary of the opening night for the African Company, also known as the African Grove Theatre, the first known professional Black theatre company in the United States.
The Black Theatre Day social media campaign is an open call to action to all Black theatre institutions and supporters to join together to amplify the importance of Black theatre institutions by recognizing the 200 year legacy of Black theatre in the U.S.. Individuals can support by sharing, reposting and retweeting content of participating Black theaters while learning more about opportunities to support Black theaters.
On September 17, 1821, the African Theater launched their first season in New York City. They produced multiple seasons including the first extant play by a Black American and launched the career of Ira Aldridge, a Black actor who toured Europe as the greatest Shakespearean tragedian of all times. As the heirs of this illustrious legacy, 21st century Black theaters in the U.S. are still working to build sustainable, institutional wealth. Black Theatre Day is an opportunity to increase the visibility of Black Theatre institutions in support of those efforts.
“We hope to increase the visibility of Black theatre institutions in news, media and society at large in our efforts to gain and maintain economic stability for Black theatres,” said Dr. Monica White Ndounou, the Founder and Executive Director of The CRAFT Institute, “So we invite all who recognize the importance of Black Theatre to mark your calendars on September 17 and participate in our social media campaign to acknowledge Black Theatre Day as an official, annual opportunity to celebrate Black Theatre throughout the United States and around the world. Just as we did with Juneteenth before it was adopted on a national level, let’s celebrate Black Theatre Day.”
“The stories of people of African descent have, in many ways, been a moral compass in America. The Billie has stood with the largest community of African Americans in the nation to ensure those stories are told…for 50 years, in fact,” stated Sabine LaFortune, General Manager of The Billie. “We are honored to support the efforts of the International Black Theater Summit to mark this historic moment in the American theater.”
The International Black Theatre Summit is a biennial convening that brings together Black theatre institutions, film, television and related media companies and Black creatives working across platforms to network and strategize productive paths forward for Black storytelling by reimagining economic, educational and creative models.The International Black Theatre Summit is one of six networks in the cohort funded by The Black Seed Initiative, a first ever national strategic plan to fund Black theatre.
The CRAFT Institute convened The 2018 International Black Theatre Summit (IBTS) at Dartmouth College. This twenty-year anniversary celebration and reconvening of “On Golden Pond,” the 1998 National Black Theatre Summit reinvigorated legendary playwright, August Wilson’s call to action regarding the need to collectively address the lack of funding for Black theatres and support for Black artists in American theatre. Through IBTS and various other programming, The CRAFT Institute aims to activate change-agents that can revitalize the ecosystem of Black Theatre and Performance for a vibrant future.
Actor Michael K. Williams (Photo: Asim Bharwani/FlickrCC)
The internet is buzzing with news iconic actor Michael K. Williams has died. Multiple media outlets including The Hollywood Reporter are reporting the celebrated actor who played some of the most interesting and complicated characters on television including Omar on The Wire (HBO), Chalky White on Boardwalk Empire (HBO), Montrose Freeman on Lovecraft Country (HBO), Bobby McCray in When They See Us (Netflix), Jack Gee in Bessie (HBO) and Leonard Pine in Hap and Leonard (AMC), was found dead today in his apartment. Born in Brooklyn to a Bahamian mother and father from Greenville, SC, Williams starred in over 111 productions. He trained as an actor with the National Black Theater company in New York City.
Michael K. Williams as Montrose Freeman in Lovecraft Country. (HBO)
Williams who was known for a scar down the front of his face which he got in a bar fight in his twenties, was discovered by the late actor and rapper Tupac Shakur. He was cast as High Top, the brother and henchman to Shakur’s drug kingpin Tank, in the film Bullet (1996). He also appeared in numerous music videos of superstars like George Michael and Madonna and was photographed by world-famous photographer David LaChappelle. A star of many talents, Williams also choreographed Crystal Water’s 1994 single, “100% Pure Love.” Williams credits his childhood friend Dana “Queen Latifah” Owens as his inspiration for getting into the music business.
Williams received three Primetime Emmy awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his work in Bessie (2015), The Night Of (2016) and When They See Us (2019). The thespian also won a Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Ensemble in Television for his role as Chalky White on Boardwalk Empire and most recently won the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Montrose Freeman in Lovecraft Country.
Williams was in a longterm relationship with actress and director Tasha Smith at the time of his passing.
Williams was 54.
This story is developing.
This article was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Camille A. Brown will make history as the first Black woman
The Great White Way is getting a little browner. Producers Nelle Nugent, Ron Simons and Kenneth Teaton have helped make history with their announcement Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown will direct the upcoming production of Ntozake Shange’s, “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf” on Broadway in 2022. This will mark Brown’s directorial debut on Broadway.
Brown, who served as choreographer on the 2019 production of the play at The Public Theater off-Broadway, will also continue in her role as choreographer on Broadway, making her the first Black woman to serve as both director and choreographer on a Broadway production in more than 65 years.
Among the previous Broadway productions Brown has choreographed are Once On This Island and Choir Boy, for which she received a Tony nomination in 2019, making her the first Black female choreographer to receive the honor in more than two decades. She is also known for her work on “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” the Oscar nominated Netflix film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, as well as the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Porgy and Bess. She is the founder and artistic director of the award-winning dance company Camille A. Brown and Dancers.
“I’m extremely thrilled and honored to helm this new production of for colored girls…,” said Brown. “It’s an amazing feeling to bring this seminal show back to Broadway 45 years after it opened at the Booth Theatre on September 15, 1976. I look forward to diving into the divine Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem and celebrating her legacy.”
“It is an honor to help usher the return of Ntozake Shange’s groundbreaking work to Broadway under the direction and choreography of Camille A. Brown, who is herself blazing a new path on Broadway as the first Black woman in more than 65 years taking on this dual role,” said producer Ron Simons. “I am quite confident that the ancestors and Ntozake’s spirit are lifted.”
A groundbreaking work in modern American theater, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf returned to The Public for the first time since it premiered in 1976, before its breakthrough run on Broadway.
Filled with passion, humor, and raw honesty, legendary playwright/poet Ntozake Shange’s form-changing choreopoem tells the stories of seven Black women using poetry, song and movement. With unflinching honesty and emotion, each woman voices her survival story of having to exist in a world shaped by sexism and racism.
Brown is a prolific Black female director / choreographer, who has received numerous honors including a Guggenheim Award, Bessie Award, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, Doris Duke Artist Award, United States Artists Award, 2 Audelco Awards, 5 Princess Grace Awards, and a New York City Center Award. She has received a Tony nomination, 3 Drama Desk nominations, 3 Lortel nominations and an Obie award for her work in theater. She is an Emerson Collective fellow, a TED fellow and the recipient of a Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship. Brown is the 2021 Distinguished Artist, presented by The International Society for the Performing Arts.
This post was curated by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed by Gregory and Travis McMichael, while jogging through their neighborhood. (Photo: Chavous B. Johnson and Reid Funeral Home)
September 2 (Brunswick, GA) – Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump issued the following statement Thursday in response to the indictment of former Georgia district attorney Jackie Johnson for violating her oath of office and obstructing a police officer in connection with the investigation into the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.
Attorney Ben Crump has issued the following statement:
“The path to justice for Ahmaud Arbery and his family has been a long and arduous one. But today’s indictment is yet another step in the right direction. Former DA Johnson may not have pulled the trigger on the day Ahmaud was murdered, but she played a starring role in the cover-up. Ahmaud was stalked, gunned down, and his killers were allowed to freely walk the streets for months. And why? Because DA Johnson wanted to protect one of Ahmaud’s killers: former police officer Greg McMichael.
“While nothing will bring back Ahmaud, we can make sure his death was not in vain. Today’s indictment sends a clear message to those in law enforcement and in the justice system whose actions and ethics fail to meet the standards of their office: corruption, evil, racism, and hate have no place here. We demand that former DA Johnson be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law without leniency.
“Ahmaud was denied all consideration the day he was murdered and in the months following his death – it’s past time that those responsible be held accountable for it.”
Read more about the Arbery case which The Burton Wire elevated here.
Follow The Burton Wire on Instagram or Twitter on @TheBurtonWire.
Iconic performer, activist and spyJosephine Baker. (Photo: Google Images)
The internet is buzzing with news iconic performer, civil rights activist and spy for the French resistance during WWII, Josephine Baker, will be reinterred at France’s Pantheon, which is the nation’s highest honor. The St. Louis native will become the first Black person, Black woman and sixth woman. interred at the famous monument. Considered Franco-American, Baker. became a French citizen after marrying her third husband Jean Léon (born Levy) in 1937. Baker will be the third woman interred based on her merit and not marriage at the famous monument.
Baker left America for France to escape anti-Black racism and segregation, becoming a world-renowned performer who is most famously represented wearing her trademark banana dance skirt. In WWII, Baker joined the French resistance as a spy, getting military information to allies. Baker, who would sew the messages. into her clothing, used her travels as a world-famous dancer as her cover. In 1963, Baker traveled to Washington to participate in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech.
Josephine Baker at the March on Washington(1963) – Google Images
A trailblazer Baker, who was bisexual, adopted twelve children of all racial and gender backgrounds referring to them as her “rainbow tribe.” Celebrated essayist Laurent Kupferman and one of Baker’s sons, Brian Bouillon Baker lobbied French President Emmanual Macron to bestow the honor on Baker.
“A petition to honor Baker at the Panthéon was started by Kupferman on May 8, which is celebrated as Victory in Europe Day, and gathered almost 38,000 signatures. Baker ‘should not be inducted only because she was a woman or because she was Black’, Kupferman said. ‘She should be inducted because of the acts of courage she performed for the country.'”
Baker died in 1975 at the age of 68 after suffering a stroke. The icon had recently made a triumphant return to the stage before the stroke in an attempt to return to her prior cultural and economic status.
Baker’s body is currently interred in the Monaco Cemetery in Monaco. She was buried in a French Military uniform wearing medals for the work she performed as part of the French Resistance. The legendary performer’s remains will be reinterred at France’s Pantheon, which is the nation’s highest honor and reserved for national heroes.
Baker will become the first Black person, Black woman and sixth woman interred in the celebrated monument, which is located in Paris’ Latin Quarter. Baker will join world renowned scientist Marie Curie, philosopher Voltaire and women’s rights activist Simone Veil at the Pantheon.
The ceremony to reinter Josephine Baker at the Pantheon will take place November 30.
This article was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
