I made a graphic for Women’s Studies Student Organization at my college that spotlights Dr. Angela Davis, Black, queer, pro-working class abolitionist and activist – and I’m pretty proud of it so I wanted to share :). For the rest of summer, our organization is doing weekly action items to support the Black Lives Matter movement – and this week’s action item is to listen to Dr. Angela Davis, read her works, access her speeches, and educate yourself.
Follow @wssouga on IG for our other action items and resources to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
HBO’s Insecure has mastered the cinematographic art of properly lighting black faces. Diversity matters!
I love this can I please get more of this on my dash people
Ava Berkofsky stole her style from black cinematographers. Specifically Howard University trained cinematographers like Bradford Young, Malik Sayeed, and Christian Epps. If it weren’t for BellyandPariah she wouldn’t know what to do.
We shouldn’t be giving a copycat like this any kudos for just doing her job. Especially when she’s so technical about. This is how the colonial gaze still exists in white-lens’d black media.
‘INSECURE’ starring Issa Rae, Molly (Yvonne Orji) follows the friendship of two modern-day black women and all of their uncomfortable experiences and racy tribulations.
One of the most famous TV mothers of all time is about to play another matriarch: EW has exclusively learned that Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) will recur as Taye Diggs’ mother on Fox’s Empire.
Rashad plays the wealthy Diana Dubois, whose son, Angelo (Diggs), is a prominent New York politician and a new love interest for Cookie (Taraji P. Henson).
Rashad isn’t the only season 3 newcomer: Scott Mescudi, a.k.a. Kid Cudi, is playing a rapper named Gram, a rival to Hakeem (Bryshere “Yazz” Gray);French Montana will appear as music mogul Vaughn, a member of Lucious Lyon’s (Terrence Howard) inner circle; and Mariah Carey is playing a singer named Kitty who joins Jamal (Jussie Smollett) in the recording studio.
As artists, we thrive when we can express our comfort and our discomfort. If a certain scene is really challenging for us, if we’re in an environment where we feel safe, we’re able to do our work. She makes me feel so safe, and so empowered, because I see the beauty in what she’s doing, I see the way she treats everyone so well. It doesn’t matter what you do on the show, she’ll want to talk to you, make a joke, share something about herself. She loves sharing pictures and videos she found on Facebook. [laughs] And her daughter, telling stories about her and her husband.
She brings you in, and it feels like family. When you’re in that kind of family environment, when you’re tasked with doing something difficult, you can allow yourself to be brave because you know you’re surrounded by people that love you, that only want the best for you. From day one, it’s been that wonderful. I was terrified. That first scene we’re in together in the pilot, I was so scared. Here she is, being amazing in this room, and I just want her to think I’m amazing too.
Sometimes you take a job for the money, sometimes you take it for the location, sometimes you take it for the script; there are just a number of reasons, and ultimately what you see is the whole landscape of it. But I can tell you from behind the scenes - that’s what it is, as an actor.
What’s not yo love about Viola Davis? She’s talented, beautiful, history-making actress. She stars on one of the most thrilling dramas on TV, “How To Get Away With Murder.” Her red carpet game is on point. She’s making moves in front of the camera and behind the scenes. She’s outspoken, consistently sharing nuggets of wisdom and speaking truth to power when it comes to sexism, racism, and ageism within the industry.
In celebration of her 51st birthday on Aug. 11 below are some of the wisest, realest things Viola Davis has ever said:
1. On what Hollywood doesn’t get about black women: “The one thing I feel is lacking in Hollwyood today is an understanding of the beauty, the pwoer, the sexuality, the uniquesness, the humor of being a regular black woman.” – Essence
2. On criticism on her role as a maid un “The Help”: “The black artist cannot live in a revisionist place. The black artist can only tell the truth about humanity. Humanity is messy. People are messy… We, as African American artists, are more concerned with image and message and not execution. Which is why every time you see our images they’ve been watered down to a point where they are not realistic at all. It’s like all of our humanity has been washes out. We as artists cannot be politicians. We as artists can only be truth tellers.” – "The Tavis Smiley Show"
3. On being a role model: “A 25-year-old white actress who is training at Yale and Juilliard or SUNY Purchase or NYU today can look at a dozen white actresses who are working over age 40 in terrific roles. You can’t say that for a lot of young black girls. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.” – New York Times
4. On dealing with haters: “I don’t have any time to stay up all night worrying about what someone who doesn’t love me has to say about me.” – Oprah’s Oscar Special
5. On the key to true diversity in film: “You can’t shine if you have two lines in the background as a bus driver. You can only shine if you’re included in the narrative, and narratives start when you put pen to paper and you use your imagination. You just tell a story. That’s all you do. You tell a story. You don’t put any boundaries on it. It’s infinite and that’s the only way we can do what we do is that people use their imaginations so that we can be included in it.” – Essence
6. On honoring your individual womanhood: “Do not live someone else’s life and someone else’s idea of what womanhood is. Womanhood is you. Womanhood is everything that’s inside of you.” – BuzzFeed
7. On serving others: “They say to serve is to love. I think to serve is to heal, too” – Variety’s Power od Women Luncheon
8. On being yourself: “You can’t be hesitant about who you are.” – Playbill
9. On #OscarSoWhite controversy:
“You can change the Academy, but if there are no black films being produced, what is there to vote for?” – Viola Davis on the Academy Award’s diversity issue
10. On the obstacles for women of color in Hollywood: “The only thing that separates women of color from else is opportunity.” – 67th Emmy Awards speech
11. On learning to find pride in who you are “I believe that the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are, truly being who you are. And I’ve spent far too long apologizing for that-my age, my color, my lack of classical beauty-that now at the age of, well, at the age of 46, I’m very proud to be Viola, for whatever it’s worth.” – 2012 Crystal Award speech
12. On embracing her natural hair: “I took my wig off because I no longer wanted to apologize for who I am.” – Essence
13. On the importance of complex representation: “It’s time for people to see us-people of color-for what we really are: complicated.” – New York Times
14. On becoming a leading lady: “I will be bold enough to say, I have gotten so many wonderful film roles, but I’ve gotten even more film roles where I haven’t been the show. It’s like I’ve been invited to a really fabulous party, only to hold up the wall. I wanted to be the show. I wanted to have a character that kind of took me out of my comfort zone, and that character happened to be in a Shonda Rhime show. So I did the only smart thing any sensible actress would do: I took it.“ – Television Critics Association Press Tour
15. On the power of black women: "As black women, we’re always given these seemingly devasting experiences-experiences that could absolutely break us. But what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master cals the butterfly. What we do as Black women is take the worst situations and create from that point.” – Essence
