March 25, 1942 - August 16, 2018
In the video below, Aretha Franklin performs 'Think' in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
Raise your hands if you sang this in the shower this morning!!!!!
Nicki Minaj's fifth studio album, "Queen," might just be the best album of 2018. It reinforces how unique and talented she is. "Queen" proves that Nicki is here to stay and that she is undoubtedly rap royalty.
When rumors surfaced last week that Beyoncé had recruited Tyler Mitchell, a 23-year-old photographer to shoot her "Vogue" cover for its prestigious September issue, I teared up. I know that you did too. He became the first black photographer to shoot a cover in the magazine's 126-year history! Beyoncé did not grant the issue an interview but instead narrates an emotional essay that not only reveals how strong she is but also how inspirational she is. She announced that she had an emergency C-section and how supportive her husband was. She expressed her dreams and hopes for her children and most importantly, her hopes for the world.
Photo Credit: Tyler Mitchell/Vogue
"I was 218 pounds the day I gave birth to Rumi and Sir. I was swollen from toxemia and had been on bed rest for over a month. My health and my babies’ health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. We spent many weeks in the NICU. My husband was a soldier and such a strong support system for me. I am proud to have been a witness to his strength and evolution as a man, a best friend, and a father. I was in survival mode and did not grasp it all until months later. Today I have a connection to any parent who has been through such an experience."
Read her essay here.
On Sunday, Oprah Winfrey accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes. Below is a transcript of her inspirational acceptance speech.
In 1964, I was a little girl sitting on the linoleum floor of my mother's house in Milwaukee watching Anne Bancroft present the Oscar for best actor at the 36th Academy Awards. She opened the envelope and said five words that literally made history: "The winner is Sidney Poitier." Up to the stage came the most elegant man I had ever seen. I remember his tie was white, and of course his skin was black, and I had never seen a black man being celebrated like that. I tried many, many times to explain what a moment like that means to a little girl, a kid watching from the cheap seats as my mom came through the door bone tired from cleaning other people's houses. But all I can do is quote and say that the explanation in Sidney's performance in "Lilies of the Field":"Amen, amen, amen, amen."
In 1982, Sidney received the Cecil B. DeMille award right here at the Golden Globes and it is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I become the first black woman to be given this same award. It is an honor -- it is an honor and it is a privilege to share the evening with all of them and also with the incredible men and women who have inspired me, who challenged me, who sustained me and made my journey to this stage possible. Dennis Swanson who took a chance on me for "A.M. Chicago." Quincy Jones who saw me on that show and said to Steven Spielberg, "Yes, she is Sophia in 'The Color Purple.'" Gayle who has been the definition of what a friend is, and Stedman who has been my rock -- just a few to name.
I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association because we all know the press is under siege these days. We also know it's the insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice. To -- to tyrants and victims, and secrets and lies. I want to say that I value the press more than ever before as we try to navigate these complicated times, which brings me to this: what I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I'm especially proud and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories. Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories that we tell, and this year we became the story.
But it's not just a story affecting the entertainment industry. It's one that transcends any culture, geography, race, religion, politics, or workplace. So I want tonight to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue. They're the women whose names we'll never know. They are domestic workers and farm workers. They are working in factories and they work in restaurants and they're in academia, engineering, medicine, and science. They're part of the world of tech and politics and business. They're our athletes in the Olympics and they're our soldiers in the military.
And there's someone else, Recy Taylor, a name I know and I think you should know, too. In 1944, Recy Taylor was a young wife and mother walking home from a church service she'd attended in Abbeville, Alabama, when she was abducted by six armed white men, raped, and left blindfolded by the side of the road coming home from church. They threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone, but her story was reported to the NAACP where a young worker by the name of Rosa Parks became the lead investigator on her case and together they sought justice. But justice wasn't an option in the era of Jim Crow. The men who tried to destroy her were never persecuted. Recy Taylor died ten days ago, just shy of her 98th birthday. She lived as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men. For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up.
Their time is up. And I just hope -- I just hope that Recy Taylor died knowing that her truth, like the truth of so many other women who were tormented in those years, and even now tormented, goes marching on. It was somewhere in Rosa Parks' heart almost 11 years later, when she made the decision to stay seated on that bus in Montgomery, and it's here with every woman who chooses to say, "Me too." And every man -- every man who chooses to listen.
In my career, what I've always tried my best to do, whether on television or through film, is to say something about how men and women really behave. To say how we experience shame, how we love and how we rage, how we fail, how we retreat, persevere and how we overcome. I've interviewed and portrayed people who've withstood some of the ugliest things life can throw at you, but the one quality all of them seem to share is an ability to maintain hope for a brighter morning, even during our darkest nights. So I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say "Me too" again.
May 29, 1990 - December 30, 2017
In the video below, Erica Garner describes how she felt after her father was killed, and the events that followed.
Actually, Cardi, you're more than that. You made history today as the "first female rapper to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart without the assistance of any other credited artists in nearly 19 years."
Congratulations Cardi B! Now I'll have "Bodak Yellow" stuck in my head all day. I don't mind tho!
-via Good Housekeeping
“It is a privilege to appear in Lillian Hellman’s eerily prescient play, at this specific moment in history. Eighty years ago, she wrote, ‘There are people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it, and other people who just stand around and watch them do it.’ My love, my gratitude and my undying respect go out to all the people in 2017 who are refusing to just stand and watch them do it. Thank you.”
- Tony Award for Best Feature Actress in a Play for "The Little Foxes."
Photo Credit: Warwick Saint
(via: Essence.com)
"There was a time when we engaged in rigorous debate on policy. Now we are in an era of gaslighting, which is dangerous—because we should all be allowed to have our own perspectives but not our own facts. I take my role very seriously. I count it as a privilege to be a voice for my people and to serve as a translator about what’s really going on."
via ESSENCE.COM