Tag: Black Voices

“The Other Boys” is an stunning new 50-part docuseries that examines the experiences of 50 different queer men of color living in New York City.

Abdool Corlette, who produced the series along with Adam Vazquez, recently dropped by The Huffington Post to chat with Maria Tridas for her weekly live show, The Spectrum.

“Through working in the film industry I started to realize there was a general lack of stories showcasing people who look like me and so I wanted to do something about that,” Corlette told Tridas during their discussion. They also chatted about intersectionality, the lack of respectful representation for queer men in the media and what inspired Corlette to tell these stories.

“I’ve been so profoundly moved and changed by the Black Lives Matters movement,” he said. “I think there is something so beautiful and powerful about just saying, ‘My life matters’ and how it makes you feel when you hear someone say ‘Black lives matter.’ That in its essence is for me what acceptance and true diversity is.”

Watch the full interview above.

25 episodes of “The Other Boys” will premiere on Slay TV on Feb. 20 and the other 25 videos will roll out after that on a weekly basis. For more info about the docuseries, head here. 

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Ibtihaj Muhammad, an Olympic fencer for Team USA, has revealed that she was held at an airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection a few weeks ago without explanation.

Muhammad, a U.S. citizen and the first American to compete in an Olympics wearing a hijab, told the website PopSugar on Tuesday that authorities detained her for about two hours. It’s not clear whether she was held after President Trump’s travel ban targeting Muslim-majority nations went into effect. 

“I don’t know why. I can’t tell you why it happened to me, but I know that I’m Muslim. I have an Arabic name,” she said. “And even though I represent Team USA and I have that Olympic hardware, it doesn’t change how you look and how people perceive you.”

Muhammad, a native of Maplewood, New Jersey, won bronze in the women’s team sabre event at 2016 Olympic games. The victory made her the first female Muslim American to medal for Team USA.

Muhammad attempted to describe her emotions following the incident.

“It’s really hard. My human response is to cry because I was so sad and upset and disheartened — and just disappointed,” she said. “At the same time, I’m one of those people who feels like I have to be strong for those people who may not be able to find that strength. I feel like I have to speak up for those people whose voices go unheard.”

The Trump administration’s travel ban has been put on hold by a federal judge after a chaotic rollout and protests at airports across the country.

Muhammad’s comments were made following an appearance at the MAKERS conference. The fencer appeared with gymnast Gabby Douglas for a conversation about empowerment, representation and athleticism.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

“La La Land” might have tied the record for most Oscar nominations ever last month, but it’s “Hidden Figures” that Americans just can’t get enough of.

The Theodore Melfi–directed film about a group of black female mathematicians at NASA has now pulled in more money in the U.S. than any other movie nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, even the monster hit “La La Land.”

According to ComScore, “Hidden Figures” has earned $119,402,095 at the domestic box office, compared to $118,306,924 for “La La Land.” And it’s done so despite being widely released almost two weeks later. Box Office Mojo also has “Hidden Figures” beating out “La La Land” domestically, although the Los Angeles–based musical remains an international beast, pulling in more $150 million in foreign box offices, compared to just $8.7 million for “Hidden Figures.”

Time and again, “Hidden Figures,” which stars three black female leads in Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe, has continued to surpass expectations. In January, the film became the first live-action, non-franchise film starring more than one female lead since 2011 to reach No. 1 two weeks in a row. Later that month, “Hidden Figures” won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The film is up for three Oscars at this month’s Academy Awards ― Best Picture, Actress in a Supporting Role and Writing (Adapted Screenplay) ― but regardless of how it performs, the film is already a success. Around the country, stories are popping up about girls wanting to go into the science and math fields after seeing a story about female women of color showing who’s boss.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

The United Talent Agency announced Wednesday that it’s scrapping its Oscars party in protest of President Donald Trump’s immigration ban.

Instead, the company will donate $250,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union and the International Rescue Committee, and it’ll host a rally supporting immigration, per Variety.

UTA’s protest rally will “express the creative community’s growing concern with anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States,” according to a statement provided to the outlet. 

The change of plans comes after an executive order signed by Trump late last month preventing refugees and individuals from seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the U.S. All signs point to an upcoming showdown in the country’s top courts.

The agency, one of Hollywood’s most popular, represents hundreds of celebrities including Angelina Jolie, Harrison Ford, Judd Apatow, Amy Schumer ― and Oscar-nominated director Asghar Farhadi, an Iranian. Last year, UTA reportedly hosted an Oscars pre-party at the home of its chairman Jim Berkus for nominated clients and industry professionals. But in light of Trump’s actions and in consideration of Farhadi ― who won’t be attending the ceremony because Iran is one of the countries the ban includes ― UTA decided to do things differently.

Celebrities across the industry initially reacted to Trump’s order with anger and harsh words of criticism, and it was a hot topic at the Screen Actors Guild Awards days later.

At the Golden Globes in early January, weeks before the ban, Meryl Streep spoke to the industry’s longtime acceptance of actors, directors, producers and writers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“You and all of us in this room, really, belong to the most vilified segments in American society right now. Think about it. Hollywood, foreigners, and the press,” Streep said. “But who are we? And, you know, what is Hollywood anyway? It’s just a bunch of people from other places.” 

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Yep, he went there.

Anthony Anderson of “Black-ish” hilariously explained on “Conan” Wednesday how his mom taught him to perform oral sex on a woman.

It seems Anderson and his pals, in their 20s at the time, were home from college when his mother brought out her “very extensive video collection” and provided instructional commentary.

Anderson says she did it as a public service of sorts ― but we’ll leave you to the video for her exact motivation.

Prepare to laugh and blush at the same time.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) claimed Wednesday night that “the Democrats are the party of the Ku Klux Klan.” 

Speaking on Fox News, Cruz blasted the party for its opposition to Jeff Sessions, who was confirmed as attorney general on Wednesday.

Critics had accused Sessions of racial bias, among other things, but Cruz attempted to turn it around on the Democrats.

“When the left doesn’t have any other arguments, they go and just accuse everyone of being a racist. It’s an ugly, ugly part of the modern Democratic Party,” he said on “America’s Newsroom.”  

“You look at the most racist, you look at the Dixiecrats, they were Democrats who imposed segregation, imposed Jim Crow laws, who founded the Klan,” Cruz said. “The Klan was founded by a great many Democrats.” 

However, historians say the KKK and its founding had nothing to do with what Cruz called the “modern Democratic Party.” 

PolitiFact looked into the accusation when it came up in 2013 and called it false.

The KKK was indeed made up largely of Democrats in the South after the Civil War, as most whites in the South were Democrats, but it was not started by the party, historians told the website.

In addition, the modern Democratic and Republican parties are not what they were in the 19th century.

“The party lines of the 1860s/1870s are not the party lines of today,” Carole Emberton, an associate professor of history at the University at Buffalo, told PolitiFact. “Although the names stayed the same, the platforms of the two parties reversed each other in the mid-20th century, due in large part to white Dixiecrats’ flight out of the Democratic Party and into the Republican Party after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

WASHINGTON ― More than 30 years after concerns about his views on race derailed his judicial nomination, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) was confirmed as the 84th attorney general of the United States on Wednesday.

The vote broke down mostly on party lines, with West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin crossing the aisle to vote with 51 Republicans against 47 Democrats. Sessions voted present.

It came nine days after President Donald Trump fired the acting attorney general, Sally Yates, who said Justice Department lawyers would not defend the president’s executive order on immigration and refugee resettlement. A federal appeals court heard arguments about the executive order on Tuesday night.

With Republicans in control of the Senate, Sessions’ nomination was never really in serious jeopardy. He was opposed by many civil rights groups, who have concerns about his record on voting rights and hate crimes. And after Trump fired Yates, many Democrats doubted Sessions would stand up to Trump, especially on immigration issues where Sessions was a vocal support of Trump.

Democrats knew they could not halt Sessions, but dragged out the confirmation as long as they could, in hopes of highlighting for the public all the aspects of Sessions’ record that they object to.

Indeed, lacking the votes to stop any of Trump’s nominees other than for the Supreme Court, the minority party has resorted to aggravating the GOP with stalling tactics and bringing as much attention as they can to what Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called the least qualified cabinet in history.

“These nominees are so far afield from what President-elect Tump promised, from what candidate Trump promised, and even President Trump promised … that we think that they demand a full, full vetting,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday. “I think it’s greatly weakening President Trump’s ability with the American people because he’s not doing what he promised.”

The tactic produced at least one high-profile moment during the floor debate over Sessions’ nomination on Tuesday night. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) read a letter from Coretta Scott King opposing Sessions’ judicial nomination back in 1986, prompting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to invoke a rarely used rule to shut her down. It sparked a furor that angered women and civil rights advocates, and elevated the opinions King expressed against Sessions to a much broader audience.

Among other things, King had written that when Sessions was a U.S. attorney in Alabama, he “used the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

He’s the golden boy of the Golden State Warriors, but that doesn’t mean he has to be a fan of President Donald Trump.

Stephen Curry used some choice words when asked by the The Mercury News Wednesday about pro-Trump comments made by Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank the day before. 

Plank had called Trump a real “asset” to the country in an interview with CNBC. And Curry, who is the closest thing Under Armour has to a face of its brand, agreed with him somewhat, albeit with an important tweak.

“I agree with that description,” Curry said, “if you remove the ‘et’.”

The two-time NBA MVP added that his relationship with Plank is all business ― and he believes Plank’s comments regarding Trump are, too. But he wouldn’t hesitate to walk away from a company if it no longer reflected his values.

“Every opportunity I have to show love, to show respect, to show just that positivity, I feel like that’s my job and that’s what I stand for,” he said.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Valentine’s Day is for lovers ― but who says singles can’t have a little fun with it, too? 

Below, 15 anti-valentines to send to your favorite love hater come February 14.

The HuffPost Lifestyle newsletter will make you happier and healthier, one email at a time. Sign up here.

type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related Stories + articlesList=589b8ac5e4b061551b3e06fa,5899d33be4b02bbb1816bfb6,56be3428e4b0c3c5505149de,5893a740e4b061551b3dfcd4

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

WASHINGTON — The only African-American Republican in the U.S. Senate had a message Wednesday for his colleagues after they shut down Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for quoting Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow: Listen to what Coretta Scott King had to say.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)  forced Warren to stop speaking and sit down Tuesday night by invoking the rarely used Rule XIX. Warren tried to quote a 1986 letter King wrote about Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), now President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general. McConnell, noting that the rule bars senators from impugning the character of other senators, barred Warren from reading King’s harsh words against Sessions.

That apparently did not sit well with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), although he voted with his colleagues to silence Warren.

In a remarkable floor speech, Scott explained why King’s letter was important, and why he voted against Warren, anyway.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the letter written by Coretta Scott King could, and perhaps should, be read by each and every member of this chamber,” Scott said. “Regardless of if you disagree with her conclusions, her standing in the history of our nation means her voice should be heard.”

Scott said what he objected to was Warren quoting the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass), who in 1986 called Sessions a “disgrace” when Sessions was nominated for — and blocked from ― a federal judgeship.

“What I took issue with last night, and the true violation of Rule XIX in my eyes, were the remarks shared last night originally stated by Sen. Kennedy, not Coretta Scott King,” Scott said. McConnell specifically referenced King’s letter, and did not mention Kennedy’s words.

“Whether you like it or not, this body has rules, and we all should govern ourselves according to the rules,” Scott said.

Scott’s admonition that King’s words should be heard was remarkable enough. But he also offered a lesson in tolerance to liberals, reading from messages disparaging him on social media for backing Sessions.

One called him an “Uncle Tom S,” Scott said. “S is not for Scott. It is for fertilizer.”

Another said Scott was “a white man in a black body.”

He said another called his African-American chief of staff “high yella, an implication that she’s just not black enough.”

“You are a disgrace to the black race,” Scott quoted another message.

“Think for yourself. You are a disgrace to your race,” Scott said another wrote. “I left out all the ones that used the N-word.”

He said that while he read the comments to make a point, he has grown used to such attacks, and they will not change him.

“When I leave the United States Senate one day, I’m still going to be black, an African-American. Black every day, black every way,” he said.

Scott argued that each side’s base is trying to pull the nation apart, and that it was up to members of the world’s greatest deliberative body to resist.

He made clear he did not think the showdown between McConnell and Warren was good for the Senate, or the country.

“Last night, there was no doubt that emotions were very high, and I’m not necessarily happy with where that has left us,” Scott said. “The Senate needs to function. We need to have comity in this body if we are to work for the American people.”

Republicans relented on barring King’s words Wednesday morning, when they allowed three male senators to read them into the record.

type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related… + articlesList=589a8dd7e4b09bd304beb9eb,589a7661e4b0c1284f294a27,589b3efde4b0c1284f29a736

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices