Every year, when the Academy Awards nominations are announced, it happens: We ask the question, “Why aren’t more actors of color nominated for Academy Awards or represented in the films that are nominated?”

by Sharisse Tracey

When white actresses like Kate Winslet, Melanie Griffith and supermodel Christie Brinkley have a trio of kids with three different dads, it’s a trend. When I do it, it’s ghetto. There's even a reality show on the E! Network showcasing the exploits of The Stewarts and The Hamilton’s, as in forever young Rod Stewart and forever tan George Hamilton. These men have a lady in common: Alana Stewart. She’s the mother of their children and in Hollywood that’s called entertainment. But when a black woman, like me, has multiple kids with more than one man, I get labeled ghetto, promiscuous, easy, irresponsible, uneducated and even a whore.

by Bee Quammie


If you Google the phrase, “Not just a Black movie,” the results are intriguing. In media coverage for films like Repentance to the patriotic Red Tails, or films like Think Like A Man and Dear White People, someone (whether it be an actor, filmmaker, or review writer) ensures that we, the audience, know this isn’t “just a Black film.”

"It's frustrating that the movies I want to make I haven't been able to make… Orlando Bloom was given 15 opportunities after Lord of the Rings. Black men are given no opportunities… They say there's not an audience for black stars, but that's because you're not feeding [audiences] them." —Anthony Mackie to Los Angeles Times, 2011

This has been a transformative and groundbreaking season for for Black women on TV, as they showed their brilliance and prowess on screens almost nightly. Lighting up primetime slots were Viola Davis on How to Get Away With Murder, Kerry Washington on Scandal, Taraji P. Henson on Empire, Gina Torres on Suits, and Tracee Ellis Ross on Black-ish.

The terrorist attacks that hit Paris last week—first at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and then later supermarket—have people from all over the world engaged in dialogue about terrorism, free speech, and xenophobia. In the days following, the world was watching as news coverage of the attacks has been tracked on multiple media platforms. The mass marches through the streets of Paris, as well as the creation and global adoption of the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie were also meant to pay tribute to the victims of the attacks, as well as show solidarity of supposed freedom of speech. This solidarity has even garnered support from Hollywood, where many celebrities expressed their solidarity with the movement by wearing #JeSuisCharlie pins and discussing the tragic events at last week’s 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards.