Octavia E. Butler's epic speculative fiction novel, 'Parable Of The Sower,' was brought to life in NYC as a Black Opera. Here's our review.

Entertainment

Author Zadie Smith is this year’s winner of the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, an honor previously given to Toni Morrison, Stephen Sondheim and Margaret Atwood among others.

The Bleecker Street residence of legendary playwright Lorraine Hansberry has been officially nominated to the New York State Register of Historic Places.

Little Known Black History Facts

Author Ralph Ellison is perhaps best known for his 1952 landmark novel, “Invisible Man.” What some might not know is that Ellison was also a musician, educator, and a World War II veteran over the course of his rich life. Born March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City, Okla., Ralph Waldo Ellison was named after journalist, […]

Little Known Black History Facts

Langston Hughes was a literary giant who found fame during the rise of Black art and culture known widely as the Harlem Renaissance. As a leader of that movement, Hughes’ legacy is set, but his work transcends the period. The legendary poet’s 118th birthday just passed. Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri, […]

Willie Moore Jr Show

NEW YORK (AP) — Sixty years after her death, the story of Zora Neale Hurston is still not fully told. The fiction writer-anthropologist-folklorist died in a segregated Florida hospital in January 1960, so forgotten and impoverished that her work was out of print and her grave left unmarked. Starting in the 1970s, when Alice Walker […]

Entertainment

NEW YORK (AP) — Sixty years after her death, the story of Zora Neale Hurston is still not fully told. The fiction writer-anthropologist-folklorist died in a segregated Florida hospital in January 1960, so forgotten and impoverished that her work was out of print and her grave left unmarked. Starting in the 1970s, when Alice Walker […]

Little Known Black History Facts

Zora Neale Hurston was a novelist, folklorist and anthropologist most famous for her 1937 novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Hurston’s path to prominence came by way of hardship and savvy ingenuity, helping her become one of the most beloved literary figures of all time.’ SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER:  Hurston was born on January […]

Entertainment

Tyler Perry fans are urging him to hire Black writers after he revealed on Twitter that he doesn’t utilize the common industry practice of writers rooms, instead, he writes all of his scripts on his own. SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER:  “So, I don’t know if you know this, but all shows on television have a […]

Little Known Black History Facts

The late Amiri Baraka was a poet, activist, playwright and educator whose poetry and writings gained him fame and criticism. The Newark, N.J. native was born October 7, 1934. Born Everett LeRoi Jones, Baraka graduated from Howard University and entered the Air Force in 1954, serving three years before being honorably discharged. He moved to […]

Little Known Black History Facts

Writers and readers alike joined in mourning the passing of the legendary Toni Morrison. The Lorain, Ohio native broke gender and racial barriers while also penning exceptional tales depicting the Black experience in America with unflinching detail.. Born Chloe Wofford in 1931, Morrison’s pen name was inspired by her baptismal name of Anthony when she joined […]

Little Known Black History Facts

Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the most important poets of his era. The Ohio native was born on June 27th, 1872 to freed slave parents from Kentucky. At a young age, Dunbar took to reading and writing, penning his first poem at six years old and continuing the craft under the guidance of his […]