(Akiit.com) On the heels of issuing a critical report about Hollywood’s minority hiring, the president of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People threatened the entertainment industry Thursday with unspecified political actions if it did not increase diversity. “At a time when the country is excited about the ...
(Akiit.com) 2008 was a year of firsts. Among the many “firsts†was the election of a Black President. President-elect Barack Obama has blazed a path that has never been walked by a person of color. As Africans in America, those of us who understand the struggle know that it is ...
(Akiit.com) Some prominent creative forces behind shows that featured black families see a tougher road ahead. Long before he set out for the White House, Barack Obama sought to adjust the colors on America’s TV sets. Four years ago, fresh off his star-making keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, ...
(Akiit.com) In 1965, my “big” brother Gerald returned to Oklahoma City from his freshman year at Southern University in Baton Rouge. One of the first things he pulled out of his suitcase was a collection of blurry Kodak images he’d snapped during a campus concert of the Four Tops. I’d ...
(Akiit.com) LEVI’S LEGACY *The Four Tops signature tune “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)†is my favorite song of all time. I was three years-old when that legendary Motown jam soared to the top of the charts and to this day I get happy whenever I hear it. ...
(Akiit.com) Are you happy now? Can you finally let this ish go? For thirteen years “some people†have been up in arms about the “travesty†that was the 1995 O.J. Simpson verdict. “Some people†were highly upset that this double-murder went unpunished in a criminal liability sense. “Some people†were ...
(Akiit.com) ‘Rap City‘ is no more. The beat is ending at BET’s “Rap City,” the longrunning video program that finally helped vault hip-hop music into the popular mainstream. The network confirmed Wednesday it will replace “Rap City” with a new show, “The Deal,” starting Nov. 10. A farewell episode is ...
(Akiit.com) O.J. Simpson and his attorney loudly complained that the jury in his Las Vegas robbery trial has no blacks on it. But there was never much doubt that it would. That’s the kind of jury that most minority defendants get in Clark County courts. He’s fortunate though that he ...
(Akiit.com) One of the funniest comedians I ever heard in my life, Bernie Mac, died this past weekend. He was 50 years old. Overcoming life’s challenges is often not considered funny material. Black life in America is often recalled as sad but true. Bernie Mac had a way of relating ...
(Akiit.com) Here’s a bet. Accused child pornographer and sexual panderer, R. Kelly has three albums in the can ready for release. If Kelly is convicted of the multiple counts slapped against him in his Chicago trial, the albums will fly out the can fast and even faster off the store ...
(Akiit.com) At the Broadhurst Theater on Broadway, an all-black cast, lead by the inimitable James Earl Jones, is re-interpreting Tennessee Williams in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Around the corner, at the Belasco Theater, another all-black cast is playing African-American, Dutch and German characters in the autobiographical rock musical ...
(Akiit.com) A few years ago, Robert Downey Jr. was known for abusing drugs, doing jail time and skipping out on rehab sessions. Next week he’s starring in one of the summer’s biggest movies, “Iron Man.” Downey is not the only celebrity to bounce back from hard times with the law. ...