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SISTER FROM ANOTHER PLANET

8 Jul

‘Punk London’ Festival: 40 Years of Art, Design, Fashion & Music

by Neil Bennett Digital Arts In 2016, the year-long punk festival saw events across London's museums. 2016 marked the 40th anniversary of when punk reached the British public consciousness – prompting a year-long series of events across the capital in celebration of the many forms of punk culture. Punk London sees exhibitions and events at the Barbican, BFI Southbank, British Library, Design Museum and Museum of London – and there's as much a focus on the visual culture of punk as the music that's best remembered by your...
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7 Jul

Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ Teaser & The Dora Milaje

I am not a comic geek. (I like them, but not a fanatic). In fact, knew nothing about the Black Panther Marvel superhero. (Sorry). I know more now, but not enough. And he's important. Any advice on the best crash course on the Black Panther back story is surely welcome. I have not seen this many Black men openly weep since Obama. Literally. The impact of a blockbuster film about a Black superhero, for real. That sick beat in...
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7 Jul

PUMZI: SciFi Short on Climate Change, Sacrifice & Dreaming

(I posted this film about 2 years ago on Facebook. It is breathtakingtaking.) by Woyingi Blog Pumzi is directed by young Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu who studied film at UCLA. Kahiu won Best Director at the Africa Movie Academy Awards for her film From a Whisper, about the 1998 bombings of the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar el Salaam, Tanzania. I unknowingly had already seen her work as a director because she directed the behind the scenes documentary for Philip Noyce’s film Catch a...
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7 Jul

We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85 | 4/21-9/17/2017

“Waterbearer” by Lorna Simpson, 1986. Courtesy of Lorna Simpson. © 1986 Lorna Simpson Faith Ringgold (right) and Michele Wallace (middle) at Art Workers Coalition Protest, Whitney Museum, 1971. © Jan van Raay #wewantedarevolution Focusing on the work of black women artists, We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85 examines the political, social, cultural, and aesthetic priorities of women of color during the emergence of second-wave feminism. It is the first exhibition to highlight the voices and experiences of women of color—distinct from the...
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6 Jul

SKA, SKA, SKA! 2-Tone Bands & Their Fans 1979-80

THE SPECIALS, SELECTER & BAD MANNERS by Paul Gallagher | Dangerous Minds Jerry Dammers basically ran 2 Tone Records out of his bedroom. It was a do-it-yourself label started in 1979 to record his band The Specials and promote a bunch of other ska groups—mainly friends and colleagues in and around Coventry, England. 2 Tone was the start of a ska revival. At one point nearly every new British ska band was on Dammers’ label—The Specials, Madness, Selecter, The (English) Beat, Bad Manners,...
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4 Jul

11 Podcasts You Should Be Listening To

From the sidesplittingly funny to the culturally informative. by  Gena-mour Barrett | Buzzfeed   1. What it is: Londoners and talk race, news, and British pop culture in this laid-back, funny podcast. The show is broken up into several sections, including "Melanin Magic", recognising the achievements of women of colour in the community, Afrobates, a debate on a hot topic, and "Side-eye of the Week". You should listen if: You're a fan of deep, meaningful chats where no topic is off the...
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4 Jul

Neequaye Dreph Dsane’s Street Portraits in London’s East End

Myvanwy, Star Yard, Brick Lane Myvanwy, born in Shoreditch, runs a cultural marketing agency and also mentors young people, helping to steer careers and life journeys. Her view is that if everyone mentored one young person, incidents of youth suicide and knife crime would be dramatically lowered. Real wonder women take to the streets – in pictures by Marcus Barnes | Street Art | The Observer |The Guardian | All images, Marcus Barnes London-based Ghanaian artist Neequaye Dreph Dsane has been busy adorning the...
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4 Jul

Prince Nico’s ‘Sweet Mother’ Sold More Than Any Beatles’ Record

by Sami Kent | Narratively In a life bookended by tragedy, Prince Nico Mbarga poured joy into his music, including the most popular song in African history. But his own story has never been told — until now. Twenty years ago the man who recorded one of the most successful songs of all time was thrown off a motorbike by a car in Calabar, Nigeria. He hit his head on the road and was rushed to the hospital, where he lay for two...
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3 Jul

D’Angelo & Bobby Seale on Past & Future of Political Protest

D’Angelo, right, with Mr. Seale in Berkeley, Calif. Credit Zackary Canepari |The New York Times  Professor Panther by Zackary Canepari and Ora DeKornfeld | New York Times Bobby Seale co-founded the Black Panther Party. The R&B star D’Angelo speaks out on racial injustice in his new album. The two met in Oakland, California. OAKLAND, CALIF. — In early June, before the shootings in Charleston, S.C., the R&B singer D’Angelo stood beneath the blood-red awning of the It’s All Good Bakery here, peering into the window of...
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2 Jul

The 2017 List: 200 Black Women in Tech on Twitter

by Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt | Hackernoon To learn the story behind how this list started read “Yes We Tech (2016)” and for any additional information, visit our brand new site dedicated honoring and recognizing brilliant black women in tech, BlackWomenTech.com. In sum, the 200 Black women In Tech to Follow on Twitter list was initially created to combat the virtual absence of the acknowledgment of the fact that there is ample Black Women working in tech. Like other social demographics in the tech space...
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2 Jul

‘Woke Foods’, 1st Dominican Vegan Food Business in NYC

by Katherine Hernandez | Medium With Anthony Santos’ bachata mix playing on her iPhone, 26-year-old Dominican Chef Ysanet Batista sways her hips back and forth as she stirs vegetables in a caldero. The freshly washed produce sizzles in hot oil as Santos croons in the background. Wrapped in an apron, Batista shifts from left to right in her small Washington Heights kitchen, contemplating what to add next to the pot. “She’s like a mad scientist, tasting a little bit of this...
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1 Jul

Acrush: Chinese Boy Band Made Up of 5 Girls

Jiayang Fan | The New Yorker The forces underlying Acrush’s gender fluidity are more complicated than they might appear from outside China. Just when you thought the boy-band phenomenon had finally run its course (in how many more directions can One Direction go?), a Chinese iteration goes and renovates the form. At first blush, the five members of Acrush (the “A” stands for Adonis, the Greek god of male beauty) resemble the prototypical Simon Cowell-culled group: boyishly handsome, impeccably groomed, freakishly flawless...
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1 Jul

Rocking the Stasi

Image copyright, GETTY IMAGES   Image copyright, ALAMYDie Toten Hosen in 1989 When music captures the spirit of freedom it can cross any border. In 1961, Communist East Germany built a wall across Berlin, and tried to seal itself off from the West. But new research shows how concrete, barbed wire and a huge effort by the secret police, the Stasi, failed to silence the seductive beat of rock and roll and punk. The rise of Beatlemania in the 1960s brought a scathing response from Walter...
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27 Jun

Feminism in Anime, Pt. 3: Adults

VMartinwrites Spectrum Council for Diversity in Media To conclude our list we have anime that is both feminist and for a mature audience. When I say ‘mature’ I don’t mean the typical puerile idea of ‘maturity’ being equal to being snarky sex jokes and profanity. These anime are of the maturity that comes with facing life post-high school and staring down realistic issues: unemployment, failing society’s expectations, and violent that isn’t just bloody but has a deep psychological aspect. The stories...
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27 Jun

Feminism in Anime, Pt. 2: Teens

VMartinwrites Spectrum Council for Diversity in Media Continuing from our list of anime with feminist themes, a good chunk of the anime that gets exported here tends to be for a young adult audience. While most people have a variety of ages to gage as ‘young adult’, my requirement is being 14 and older. Adults and well aged anime fans like myself are welcome to read though. At the end of the list are honorable mentions: anime that are good but have...
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27 Jun

Feminism in Anime, Pt. 1: All Ages

VMartinwrites The Spectrum Council for Diversity in Media Since the list is longer than I initially thought it would be, I’ve separated it by intended audience. The first part of this series will be anime for ages ten and up, but I think some adults will enjoy it as well. At the end of the list will be honorable mentions: anime that are great but have already been discussed. To say you’re not a feminist in this day and age is to...
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27 Jun

Afrofuturism & Cyberpunk

Photo, Cristina de Middel| "Jambo" 2012 | Courtesy the artist & Dillon Gallery   VMartinwrites Spectrum Council for Diversity in Media Afrofuturism is a little appreciated subgenre of science fiction: stories that focus not on Eurocentric ideals of the future but African ones. Listed below are some video links discussing the topic. Award-winning filmmaker/author/journalist and choreographer Ytasha Womack discusses the empowerment of afrofuturism and details about the genre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzIwI9Hp_Ws This TedTalks features Detroit Boom City curator Ingrid LaFleur discussing the visual aspects of Afrofuturism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7bCaSzk9Zc Kenyan film director Wainuri...
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27 Jun

An Interactive Map of Black Londoners 1800-1900

The Equiano Centre at University College of London's Dept. of Geography This unique initiative has been established to create a focus for academic and community scholars and research students of all levels to come together and debate emerging and new ideas, theories and  research methods around subjects such as Black History in Britain, and theories of race, racism and anti-racism. Black Londoners 1800-1900 Our knowledge of the black presence in Victorian London is still seriously under researched. Information on the lives of...
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25 Jun

This Ivorian Artist Sculpts Her Hair Into Anything

by Hidreley Leli Dião | Bored Panda   Laetitia KY is a fashion designer and, as she states herself, an art addict from Ivory Coast in Africa. Recently, she's been making some waves on Instagram after releasing her new photo series in which she transforms her hair into all kinds of shapes to express her mind. Laetitia leaves people surprised not only because of her infinite creativity, but also of the fact that our hair can be shaped in such different ways to really speak our...
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