Seattle Program Re-invents Black Friday for Black Businesses 

When thinking of Black Friday, one’s mind might go to stores like Macy’s, Best Buy or Nordstrom. Money is usually spent on big, corporate retail stores that dominate the market. The Black Black Friday website states that in Seattle, Black-owned businesses are five times more likely to shut down compared to white-owned businesses. The program Black Black Friday presents a new level of investment and commitment to Black-owned businesses presently and into the future. 

Ad agency DNA Creates and social enterprise Intentionalist have partnered up to offer prepaid gift cards at a 20% discount for the first 250,000 buyers at participating Black-owned businesses. 

The campaign has received over $1 million in free marketing to advertise the campaign and holds sponsors, supporters and partners like BECU, The Seattle Times and Spotify. Former professional athletes like Doug Baldwin and Brad Evans have also endorsed the program.

Alan Brown, founder and chair at DNA Creates, one of few LGBTQ+ and BIPOC-owned ad agencies, said their idea for Black Black Friday came as a call to action in 2020 when racial discrimination was at the forefront of social rights discussions in the country. 

“We really saw that not only was the Black community struggling, but Black businesses were really struggling,” Brown said. “Struggling to stay in business, struggling to draw in customers.” 

Black Black Friday originally started as a social campaign, but the teams at DNA Creates and Intentionalist strived to make more of an impact. 

“We’ve been strategizing on how to make this into more than just a nice-to-do social campaign,” Brown said. “But really find a way to really make a difference and drive incremental business for Black-owned businesses”

The list of Black-Owned businesses where Seattleites can shop includes local staples like Boon Boona Coffee, Black Arts Love and Taste of the Caribbean, to name a few in the Capitol Hill area. 

Many Black owners struggle to attain loans due to the lack of financial capital. The Black Black Friday program allows consumers to not only spend their money at these businesses but also re-invest their spending habits in locally-owned businesses that have struggled on their way to success. 

Malika Bennett, Owner of Black Arts Love Gallery which houses over 30 different vendors, stands behind her desk. (Riley Zalbert)

“You know, sweat, blood, tears went into developing and getting that business to the point where it’s now accessible to the public,” Malika Bennett said, owner and founder of Black Arts Love.

The program allows for businesses to grow as a whole, while giving opportunities for people like Bennett to continue their work in opening doors for others in their community who share the dream of owning a business of their own.

“I recently reconnected with a young lady named Aviva Love. She had these beautiful T-shirts, and she came back to me recently and was like ‘Malika, you’ve made such a difference in my life and showing me that I can have this business,’” Bennett said.

Black Arts Love focuses on selling art, self-care products, clothing and other items from local Black vendors. Bennett’s call to action has created a space for Black vendors to display their creativity and start their own businesses.

Riley Zalbert

The dream of owning a business has become a reality for Efrem Fesaha, owner of Boon Boona Coffee. The variety of coffee offered at Boon Boona, sourced from countries like Kenya and Ethiopia, offers a way for people to experience different African cultures in a genuine manner. 

“A much more authentic way of having coffee, getting to see the traditional side of coffee, getting to hear the stories around certain beers that are being produced by Métier [Brewing Company], going to places like Communion and getting a rich experience in the food and history,” Fesaha said. 

Every business that is part of the program offers an authentic experience into a different part of Black Culture. Whether you enjoy eating out, buying art, shopping for clothing and finding unique pieces, these businesses offer great products and services that are worth spending on this Black Friday. 

Black Arts Love is offering top sellers like Spire candles, children’s books from local authors, chocolates, body butters and sugar scrubs. Boon Boona Coffee is offering the last of their fall seasons special, the salted caramel pumpkin drink, and even releasing a surprise coffee too, in collaboration with Métier. All these deals will be for products that will be sold at 20% off with the prepaid card.

“You are investing in the creativity of Black people in our culture. You’re investing in your community by allowing for those spaces, those diverse businesses to take up space in the city so that we can see the full realm of creativity and ingenuity that’s out there in our community,” Bennett said. 

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Yale-Harvard arts and performance groups collaborate for The Game

Gavin Guerrette, SeniorPhotographer

In celebration of the annual Yale-Harvard football game on Saturday, Nov. 18, many of Yale’s performing arts groups will go onstage alongside their Harvard counterparts.

The Black Student Alliance at Yale will present “The HY-light,” a Black Harvard-Yale student showcase at the O.C. Marsh Lecture Hall — featuring a line-up of groups, including acapella group Shades of Yale and East African dance group DESTA. 

Sketch comedy group “The Fifth Humour” will join improv group “The Purple Crayon” in their annual collaboration with Harvard improv group “On Thin Ice” on the eve of the game. On that same night, Yale and Harvard Glee Clubs and the Radcliffe Choral Society will perform at Woolsey Hall. 

HYLight: Harvard-Yale Black Arts Showcase 

“The HY-light” showcase has been a decade-long tradition, according to William Romain ’26, who said that Afro-American Cultural Center Dean Timeica E. Bethel ’11 had participated in this showcase when she was an undergraduate. This collaboration began when Yale Gospel Choir and the Kuumba Singers of Harvard, a Black music choir group, performed together to “create solidarity” and “uplift Black voices across the diaspora,” said Romain.

Romain said that he was eager to see the “fun, respectful showdown” between Yale and Harvard groups. The showcase’s line-up consists of Yale organizations such as Steppin’ Out, Sabrosura, Shades of Yale, Rhythmic Blue, DZANA, Desta and Yale Gospel Choir, and Harvard groups such as Nigerian dance group Omo Naija, Eritrean and Ethiopian dance troupe Dankira and choir group Kuumba. 

“I am personally excited about watching the active community engagement between both Harvard and Yale dance teams and singing groups,” said Romain. “A lot of Yale groups have a Harvard equivalent, so it will be a fun respectful showdown, which will hopefully bring a lot of people together.” 

“The HYLight”’ showcase is a part of BSAY’s larger Harvard-Yale weekend festivities. 

On Friday night, BSAY will host “The Pre-Gate” at the Afro-American Cultural Center, where students can eat food, listen to music, play games and purchase merchandise. The next morning, before the game, the Afro-American Cultural Center, along with Black sororities and fraternities such as the Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Fraternity and the Xi Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority will be hosting “The Tailgate” event at Lot D of the Yale Bowl.   

If there’s anything the Yale and Harvard students can expect, Romain said, it’s a “lot of cheering, a lot of fun and a plethora of Black culture.” Through these collaborations, he hopes that this showcase will offer cultural connection to students. 

“I hope that this stage offers students the chance to connect with one another, especially in a cultural sense as we will be hosting groups that pretty much cover the full African diaspora,” Romain said. 

A Comedic Feast hosted by Purple Crayon, Fifth Humor and On Thin Ice

Yale comedy groups The Purple Crayon and The Fifth Humor and Harvard group On Thin Ice have teamed up for their annual collaboration to deliver laughs to the Harvard-Yale audiences. Tickets for this performance have already sold out, and the event will take place at Dunham Laboratory Auditorium.

For The Purple Crayon member Amara Neal ’26, this year’s comedy event is different from the joint performance at Harvard in the previous year. She will now stand in front of a mostly-familiar audience, as a sophomore who has had a year’s worth of experience under her belt.  

“I think the Harvard audience [at last year’s Harvard-Yale game] was the first time I’ve ever had to perform for an audience that I really had to earn their laughs, which was a little nerve-racking,” said Neal. “Now performing at Yale, one, I’ll feel more comfortable because I’m a sophomore and I’ve done this before. And two, I’m performing with my friends and peers who I have a rapport with.” 

While The Purple Crayon and On Thin Ice have collaborated in years past, this year will mark the first time The Fifth Humor will join their show. As a sketch comedy group, The Fifth Humor performs written skits and scripts — unlike the more on-the-fly jokes of The Purple Crayon and On Thin Ice. 

According to co-president of On Thin Ice Raina Hofstede, Harvard’s sketch comedy group — called “Sketch!” — does not have a consistent presence on Harvard campus, as it reappears “every couple of years,” she said. Hofstede said that she is excited to learn from collaboration with The Fifth Humor. 

“I want to see more of [sketch comedy] at Harvard,” said Hofstede. “I’m excited to see what Fifth Humor brings. If I can talk to them and learn from them after the show that weekend, it would be really great. I’d love to learn more.” 

As the Harvard-Yale game attracts a larger audience of parents, alumni and visitors from outside of Yale, one challenge that emerges for The Fifth Humor is writing jokes that will resonate and engage this new audience, says The Fifth Humor president Betty Kubovy-Weiss ’25. 

While the group takes this shift in audience demographics into consideration, Kubovy-Weiss said that the group “works very hard” to preserve their voice and identity as a college sketch comedy group. As group members often incorporate “socially relevant themes” into their jokes, Kubovy-Weiss said that she hopes the performance will use comedy to create humor even when “the world is awful.” 

“Because this show is coming as a part of a weekend that is so celebratory and joyful, I think that makes it all the more important to focus on the ways in which we can add to the joy of this weekend,” said Kubovy-Weiss. “It can feel frivolous sometimes, to be like ‘Our world is so awful. Why are we all getting so excited about a stupid fucking football game?’ But I think at the end of the day, the world is gonna be awful either way, but we might as well find these moments in which we can have laughter together.”  

Harvard, Yale Glee Club and the Radcliffe Choral Society:        

The Harvard and Yale Glee Clubs and Radcliffe Choral Society — Harvard’s treble chorus — will have their Harvard-Yale Choral Concert at Woolsey Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. 

This concert will premiere several new compositions, including works by Shruthi Rajasekar that will feature dancers from Yale Rangeela and Kalaa, Ismael Huerta, the winner of Yale’s annual Emerging Composers Competition and John Raskopf ’27, the winner of the annual Fenno Heath Award — an award given to Yale student composers.

According to Yale Glee Club musical director Jeffrey Douma, the concert has been a “cherished annual tradition” for more than a century. 

“It’s one of our favorite concerts of the year — the friendly rivalry is always overshadowed by our mutual respect and love of making music together,” wrote Douma in an email to the News. “The concert ends with the choirs singing our alma maters together.”  

According to Yale Glee Club president Awuor Onguru ’24, the concert will also be a “great pep rally” for the game, where the choral groups will sing football medleys and engage in “pranks, joint performances and general merrymaking.”

The Yale-Harvard festivities and performances will begin on Thursday and last all the way until Saturday evening after the iconic sports showdown.

Dating back to 1875, the Harvard-Yale football rivalry is 148 years old.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

obesity doctors

White Coat Black Art26:30Ozempic: The good, the bad and the future

Despite widely publicized reports of rare but severe side effects, obesity doctors say Ozempic and drugs like it have the potential to improve medical help for a chronic illness that patients have been forced for too long to try to cure on their own.

“There are still some aspects of our health-care community that say, ‘this is not important, weight loss is not important; it’s just cosmetic and you’re really not improving the health of these people,'” said Dr. Daniel Drucker, a physician-scientist whose research helped pave the way for Ozempic, one of several brand names for a drug known as semaglutide. “But now I think that argument will be laid to rest.”

Ozempic and other drugs in its class are known as glucagon-like peptides, or GLPs. Because GLPs act to stimulate insulin secretion, the first was approved for use as a diabetes drug in 2005, said Drucker, who is a senior scientist at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

But it was actually back in the late 1990s that Drucker’s lab, as well as that of Dr. Steve Bloom in the U.K., began to publish what they’d observed in clinical trials — that patients treated with GLP medicines for their diabetes were also losing weight.

Now new data shows that semaglutide also reduces rates of heart attacks, strokes and death in people with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions, something Drucker told White Coat, Black Art host Dr. Brian Goldman he believes will “change the conversation around the importance of treating people with obesity.”

A man in a pale blue shirt smiles for a photo taken in a medical office.
Dr. Daniel Drucker, a physician-scientist whose research helped pave the way for Ozempic, says some members of the medical community still don’t take obesity seriously as a condition for which people need medical help. (Sinai Health System)

‘Not feeling hungry all the time’ 

Michael Morris, 58, says he’s been wrestling with his weight since he was a teenager.

“I’ve always gone up and down, yo-yo, every diet,” he said. When he needed a CPAP machine for sleep apnea about 18 months ago, he ended up in a program that supported him through some dietary changes to help address the apnea, along with his high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and pre-diabetic blood sugar status. When Morris met with a doctor, he asked about Ozempic, and the two agreed he could give it a try.

Since then, Morris said he has gradually lost around 40 pounds and seen improvements in his other conditions as well.

A man with grey hair and a white beard poses for a professional headshot while wearing a suit jacket and white shirt.
Michael Morris says he has lost around 40 pounds since going on Ozempic about 18 months ago. (McLendon Photography)

“It’s like it changes … the way you think about food, like I’m not feeling hungry or ravenous all the time,” he said. 

Before Ozempic, Morris said he could never tell when he was full.

“I know that’s probably hard for people to understand. I would eat stuff and then I would just keep eating, and then I got to the point where it made me feel sick. And then I’d be like, ‘Oh, I’m not doing that again.’

“I guess food, it’s like an addiction for me. And if you’re an alcoholic, people don’t say, ‘Oh, I’m just trying not to drink.’ There are programs and stuff.”

A woman wearing a blazer and stethoscope smiles while posing for a photograph with her arms crossed.
Dr. Sasha High, an internal medicine and obesity physician who works in private practice in Toronto, says genes shape how our brains respond to food and contribute significantly to obesity. (ELH Photography)

The genetic component

Dr. Sasha High, an internal medicine and obesity physician who works in private practice in Toronto, says it’s important to understand that not everyone experiences food in the same way.

“We know that 50 to 70 per cent of obesity is genetically determined and the genes involved are central nervous system genes, that means genes that control factors with our brain,” she said. These affect the way the brain responds to the food that’s around us, whether we have cravings for sugar or salty foods and whether we enjoy exercise. “All of that is kind of determined by our physiology.”

A long, white box, with the word Ozempic written in blue on the front side, sits on top of a blue cylinder.
When High first started working in obesity medicine, she says there was little more than advice to eat less and exercise more that doctors could offer to patients. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)

That doesn’t mean weight is set in stone, said High, but it does mean there’s a range of what your body shape is going to look like, determined by your genetics and then by lifestyle choices.

When she started working in the area of obesity back in 2012, High said there wasn’t much doctors could offer beyond telling patients to eat less, exercise more and count calories.

That message is disempowering for people who have contended with obesity for a long time, she said.

“The issue is not that they don’t understand that they need to do that. The issue is that life gets in the way and stressers come and we eat because we are bored and we eat because we’re sad and we eat because it’s 9:00 at night and we’ve had a stressful day.”

Drucker said GLP medications work in two ways to tell patients that they’re not hungry. First, they tell the brain to physically slow the emptying of the stomach, and second, they affect the brain’s hunger signals, suppressing appetite. 

Some of Drucker’s research was done in partnership with companies that produce or are working on weight-loss drugs, including Pfizer and Novo Nordisk.

On Nov. 11, the New England Journal of Medicine reported the results of a study on the safety of semaglutide in people with obesity who also had cardiovascular disease, said Drucker. On average, the patients received either semaglutide or a placebo for 34 months.

“It showed not only weight loss but reduced rates of heart attacks, strokes and death.” 

However, some patients have experienced serious side effects, including stomach paralysis and malnutrition.

Pamela Cole is one of those patients. The 38-year-old from Marmora, Ont., initially responded well to the medication. But when her doctor increased her dose about eight months in, she started to get flu-like symptoms that escalated from there.

“I continued to get worse to the point I couldn’t eat anything without severe stomach pain,” said Cole. She wound up visiting the hospital four or five times in the space of two weeks, she said.

During the last of those visits, she was treated for severely low potassium levels that were impacting her kidney and liver function. A specialist eventually advised her to discontinue Ozempic, and after doing so, her symptoms resolved.

WATCH� | Semaglutide linked to serious gastrointestinal problems:

Ozempic-class drugs linked to serious gastrointestinal risks, study suggests

1 month ago

Duration 1:59

In a statement, Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk told CBC it stands behind the safety and efficacy of all of its GLP-1 medicines when used by appropriate patients consistent with the product labelling and approved indications.

Drucker said Cole’s experience is atypical next to research findings from eight large cardiovascular safety trials — some with more than 10,000 subjects — that ran over periods of two to six years.

“And what we see generally are favourable results. In those trials, we see a reduction in heart attacks, strokes, cardiovascular death … and we do not see an increase in cancer or an increase in pancreatitis,” he said. 

However, he said it’s important to be cautious.

“With the newer, more powerful medicines and the expanding patient population, there is always the possibility to see something that we haven’t before.”

Dr. Nav Persaud, a family medicine physician at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, told CBC in January that it wouldn’t be the first time the side effects of a weight-loss drug turned out to be more serious than anticipated.

“We have seen it happen many times where there were these heralded wonder drugs that turned out not to work or to harm and kill people,” he said.

In France, a diet drug called Mediator that started as a Type 2 diabetes treatment was taken off the market in 2009 after being blamed for thousands of deaths due to heart-valve problems.

A man wearing a white coat and stethoscope is seen standing in a hallway.
Dr. Sean Wharton said that until GLP drugs are less expensive and more widely available, they won’t be able to address obesity on a population level. (Lindsay Palmer)

Dr. Sean Wharton is an internal medicine specialist at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto and assistant professor at the University of Toronto who researches obesity medicine. He likens the difficulty people face accessing medical help for obesity to the experience many people with mental health issues have with expectations that they should “just be happier.”

LISTEN|Dr. Arya Sharma on treating obesity as a disease not a behaviour:

The Dose15:53Should I worry if my BMI is too high?

However, until weight-loss medicines become a lot more accessible, he said he doesn’t see them making a big dent in the obesity epidemic. Ozempic has been in short supply since its popularity skyrocketed — more than 3.5 million prescriptions were filled at Canadian pharmacies last year The very nature of an injectable drug that’s expensive to manufacture, ship and store means only people with the financial resources or particularly good drug plans can get their hands on it, said Wharton, who has done paid research for Novo Nordisk.

In September, the New England Journal of Medicine published Wharton’s phase-two trial data showing that a once-a-day pill called orforglipron resulted in a weight reduction of at least 10 per cent after 36 weeks in 46 to 75 per cent of participants.

Drucker said that GLP medicines won’t erase the need to address access to healthy, affordable foods, to design cities that are easier to navigate on foot or bicycle, or to promote healthy habits around diet or exercise. 

“But if you’re sitting across the desk from someone who is living with obesity and they have a higher risk of heart disease and kidney disease and liver disease and cancer, you know, I think GLP medicines are a very useful option.”

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Newfields owes the Black community an explanation

Here we go again.

Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette, the now-former CEO of Newfields, was unceremoniously let go from the city’s most prominent art institution last week.

Brought in after the hurt and chaos wrought by the previous CEO, who wanted to maintain a “core white art audience,” Dr. Burnette has been the leader our community needed to move Newfields forward.

Membership was up.

Attendance was up.

Black organizations were hosting events at Newfields. Black art was featured at Newfields. Dr. Burnette even repatriated stolen African art back to Africa. 

And Dr. Burnette was in our community. She attended our events. She listened and spoke at our events at Newfields.

We welcomed Dr. Burnette because she is excellent and did the work. She was and is part of our community.

We gave Newfields a chance partly because of what Dr. Burnette represented—an effort to start over and a clear signal to our community that leadership sought change.

And then they offered a press release that didn’t even bother to note if Dr. Burnette was fired or if she resigned.

The community has questions.

Why is Dr. Burnette no longer at Newfields?

What fireable offense did she commit? While I understand HR issues are kept confidential from all accounts, this exit came out of nowhere.

If there were HR issues, did Dr. Burnette get a chance to defend herself? If they were related to employees, did the problems get investigated—if there were any real issues?

Was the entire board consulted on the removal of the CEO?

The community has also asked what would have happened to a white CEO. We’ve seen several announcements about CEOs stepping down and getting a chance to frame their exit.

And this is just for starters.

In her short 15 months, Dr. Burnette has done more for Newfields and our community than any other CEO I can recall in the last 20 years.

The board reached out to Black organizations to move the institution forward. Black leaders engaged when Newfields had no credibility with our community. They leverage the social capital of our Black organizations, including the Black arts organizations, to get us to get over their transgressions and actual long neglect of our community.

They put Black people on the board.

Then they did this.

Black leaders are upset and feel like they have been blindsided. The Black community is shocked and asking the questions I mentioned and more.

Does Newfields think that this is just going to go away? For some reason, at the time of writing, I can’t even find the Newfields board on their website.

But this speaks to a more significant issue regarding Black people in leadership positions at predominantly white institutions. There are too many stories about Black executives—especially Black women—being maltreated and leaving quietly.

I’ve noted before that we have an issue with Black talent being recognized in this city. I believe our community needs to build its own table. We have to create our own institutions. We also need to hold institutions accountable for how they treat us.

Situations like this put downward pressure on Black employee ambitions. This ultimately hurts our entire community.  

Newfields needs to provide answers. And we need to build our own institutions so we can hire and promote our own.

But in the meantime, Newfields owes the Black community answers.


For more news on Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette’s departure from Newfields courtesy of the Indianapolis Recorder, click here. To read a joint statement from the Indiana Black Expo and Indianapolis Urban League on Newfields’ announcement, click here. For ongoing information regarding civil rights issues in Indianapolis, visit the NAACP.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Black Artists Networks Dialogue (BAND) online shop

Did you know BAND has an online shop?

You can purchase prints from artists who have exhibited with BAND in the past, including Kwasi Kyei, Jon Blak, and Leyla Jeyte.

Pictured here is an installation of Jon Blak’s photograph, Jonkonnu (2013) up at BAND in 2021.

Jonkonnu melds the tradition of masquerade from Africa with those of European masquerade and British mumming plays. Jonkonnu is an example of creolization in action, or what Rex Nettleford calls the blending of the rhythm of Africa with the melody of Europe.

Usually performed at Christmas time, groups of dancers create homemade costumes to play the characters in the festival. Traditional Jonkonnu characters include the horned Cow Head, Policeman, Horse Head, Wild Indian, Devil, Belly-woman, Pitchy-Patchy and sometimes a Bride and House Head.

You can listen to Blak speak more about Jonkonnu and the story behind this photograph on our Youtube channel: https://lnkd.in/gBkMWvRq

This online shop is one of the ways in which we promote and support Black artists. Like our exhibition sales, sales through our shop directly support Black artists and BAND’s mission as a charitable organization.

We are excited to be partnering with the Black Opportunity Fund for research and development focused on digital platforms designed to support and elevate individual Black artists in the online marketplace.

Through this partnership, we are exploring ways to amplify Black artists’ voices and their creations, simplify online sales and marketing, and foster a supportive collectors community.

Credit: BAND

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Family Winter Break Destinations To Learn About Black Culture

Time is moving fast and that means the first semester of the school year is coming to an end. It’s time to start planning winter vacation for the kids. While some folks are going to be relaxing at home, others are hitting the streets and visiting new destinations before the new year. 

This year, consider checking out a few family winter break destinations where there’s an abundance of ties to Black history. Their connection to African Americans makes them excellent choices for families looking to dive into Black cultural travel experiences. Here are a few family winter break destinations to visit to learn more about the beauty and diversity of Black culture.

New York City, NYC

New York street sign
Photo credit: Kaysha

The Big Apple is a hub for Black culture and has been for decades. Hip-hop was born in the Bronx. The legendary Apollo Theatre sits in Harlem where iconic Black artists have performed since 1913. Harlem was also the birthplace of a renaissance of African-American creative culture and still is a NYC gem today. 

New York City is full of relics and monuments to the culture. No matter what borough you’re visiting with your family, there’s something for everyone. History lovers should visit the Louis Armstrong House and the African Burial Ground National Monument. For a taste of the islands, visit the Little Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn. You can also visit DJ Kool’s House in the Bronx for a dose of Hip Hop history.

Memphis, TN

street in Memphis
Photo credit: Heidi Kaden

Memphis has a ton of connections to Black culture. From music to civil rights, there are a plethora of monuments, historical districts, Black-owned businesses, and nature spaces to explore. Traveling families can attend a service at First Baptist Beale Street Church, the city’s oldest African-American congregation that served as a shelter for freedmen during the Civil War. The Memphis Heritage Trail, Tom Lee Park, and Civil Rights Trails provide incredible nature views while learning about Black culture. Travelers can also visit the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr was shot. The hotel is now the location of the National Civil Rights Museum.  

Boston, MA

library in Boston
Photo credit: C J

Many people might not connect Boston to Black culture. However, for those looking to dive deep into Black history in America, Boston is the perfect family winter break destination. The city is home to the Boston Black Heritage Trail. The 1.6-mile trail connects 15 historical sites throughout Beacon Hill. Each one holds significant importance to the history of Black people in the United States. The first building in the country dedicated to educating Black Americans, the Abiel Smith School, is on the trail. A historic barbershop that served as a safe meeting place for enslaved people on the Underground Railroad is on the trail as well as the oldest house built by an African American. 

Detroit, MI

Detroit has a lot of nicknames. Whether you call it the Dirty D, Hitsvilles, or Motor City, Detroit has a rich connection to Black history. Those looking to learn more about Black history while visiting Detroit during winter break should visit the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. For music culture lovers, families should visit the Motown Museum for a guided tour of the historic record label’s original building. Those exploring the city as a family should also check out the African Bead Museum, the Hermitage Slave Quarters, the Second Baptist Church, and other stops along the Underground Railroad.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Rhythmic Blue welcomes in new tap class, holds first show of the year

Rb VISION marked Rhythmic Blue’s first show with eight new members this past weekend.

Rhythmic Blue, Yale’s first and only hip-hop and contemporary dance group, held their opening shows of the year last week on Nov 6. and 10. 

Rhythmic Blue is a dance group founded in 1991 that encompasses different elements of hip-hop. Affiliated with the Afro-American Cultural Center as a resident group, it pays homage to the dance styles that originated from African American communities. Their choreography merges modern, tap, street jazz and contemporary African styles and showcases these dances in two shows yearly, one at the end of each semester. They also perform at various events throughout the semester, including charity events and the Yale-Harvard football showdown. 

This September, Rhythmic Blue welcomed in its new members for their fall 2023 tap class. The newly inducted group of talented young dancers includes Tori Browne ’27, Alice Zhong ’27, Shirley Zhu SPH ’25, Christian Daniels ’27, Kianna Jean-Francois ’27, Natalie Leung ’27, Cheryl Zhang SOM ’24 and Nneka Moweta ’27. 

“Auditioning for RB was a really fun learning experience,” Daniels told the News. “Before I came to Yale, I knew I wanted to dance in a Hip Hop group, as Hip Hop has always been an important aspect of my life. Growing up in predominantly African American spaces, hip-hop dance was always a key part of me.”

Daniels said that he always wanted to join a hip-hop team but was never able to as he did not have access to a studio at home. Upon being accepted to Yale, however, he knew he had to fulfill what had always been a lifelong goal. 

After initial tryouts, he was pleased to be one of the few dancers to receive a callback for one of eight team spots. A tap week and initiation followed, which consisted of fun spirit days like mismatch day and talent day. On the last day of initiation, the new taps had to do several special challenges like “teaching people random dances” and “doing choreography in public places,” Daniels said. 

As a mixed-gender, multicultural group, Rhythmic Blue prides itself on its diversity, with members ranging from first years to PhD candidates and Yale University employees. 

Browne could tell that Rhythmic Blue worked to make the audition environment enjoyable, she said. People were cheering every time she completed a run-through of the choreography and offered a lot of encouragement over the audition process. She told the News that she was able to feed off this energy and channel it into her dancing, which “felt great!”

“I really enjoy the community that RB fosters,” Daniels said. “Everyone is extremely talented, open to new ideas and truly works together to uplift each other. In the high-stress environment Yale produces sometimes, Rhythmic Blue has been a safe space where I can enjoy the fruits that hip-hop has nurtured in me as well as be surrounded by such a supportive community of dancers.”

Daniels told the News about the preparation and hard work that went into producing “RB VISION,” their first show of the semester. Everyone on the team is given the opportunity to sign up to choreograph a dance for the show. After being placed into a dance based on tap year and available spaces, the group’s choreographers meet with dancers to prepare for show week. 

This semester, Daniels choreographed with other new taps, Jean-Francois, Moweta and co-president Maelle Tanoh ’25, for a dance titled “KCNM.” Additionally, every semester, Rhythmic Blue has a photoshoot promo for their new show, with this year’s theme being “high-fashion techno.” 

“I love Rhythmic Blue so much.” Moweta told the News, “They are my newfound family, and they honestly made my transition into Yale as a first year so much easier. Everyone’s personality shines not just through the choreography that they perform on stage but also in rehearsals and during group bonding times.”

But producing high-quality shows every semester is no easy feat, Daniels told the News. As the show nears tech week, Rhythmic Blue’s dancers find themselves running their show in the theater multiple times. While the experience can be stressful and tiresome, Daniels said that the “uplifting and upbeat” atmosphere makes it “worthwhile and enjoyable.” 

VISION was Daniels’s, Browne’s and Moweta’s first official show, with Daniels noting that it was “an unforgettable experience.”

All four shows were sold out before the first show began.

“After meeting the people who got in with me, I immediately knew that I was excited to be in RB,” Browne said. “Not only are they amazing dancers, but they’re great people with amazing energies and personalities that bring so much joy to every space. In rehearsals, in general, there is so much love in the room, and it is so amazing to see what students my age can create with and for each other.”

This Saturday, Rhythmic Blue will perform alongside other Yale and Harvard arts groups in the “HYLight: Harvard Yale Black Arts Showcase.” 

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Famed Artist Radcliffe Bailey Dies

Famed artist Radcliffe Bailey who made Atlanta his home has died. Bailey who received international acclaim for his remarkably impressive and prodigious body of work, which includes a mammoth mural at the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta Hartsfield, welcoming visitors and giving them a glimpse of the cultural treasures in the Capital of the South passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

Few artists achieve the level of recognition so early in their career as the Atlanta-based artist Radcliffe Bailey. The artist-in-residence’s fine-tuned sensibilities to tapestry and color are often noted as the quintessential ear markings of African American art forms. Bailey, who is often compared to other acclaimed African American artists, including the world renowned painter Romare Bearden, has been creating breathtaking and thought-provoking pieces since he hit the art scene in the early ’90s.

In an exclusive interview before his death, Bailey shared about his art, his process and the inspiration behind his work which made him one of the most celebrated artist in the world.

“I am forever a student of the then and the now.  I think about sensibility in terms of images and things that I project and how important it is for me to represent those who are close to me in my family and my community,” explains the artist.

“I remember my first sense of sanctuary was when my parents would send me and my brother to visit my grandfather in Virginia. It was a small town and he had built a lot there, a farm and a small church.  … I’ve made my studio my place of prayer, where I go to solve problems. It is where I challenge myself and where I find peace.”

The  sought-after artist was deeply introspective and spiritual. He spoke reverently about the importance of participating in life fully, with a sense of commitment that transcends the boundaries of one’s own personal life and interests. “I think there is a way to be active in one’s community. And I don’t necessarily mean going to work at a community center, but by reaching out and touching, really touching those who are closest to you. A lot of what I  do is through karma and giving. I go to a space where my work is not about me. I’m just an agent. It goes back to my belief and God,” he says with remarkable humility.

Bailey says that he is a compilation of people and cultures and his work reflects that sentiment in its depth and complexity. “There are many people inside me, even Europeans, and all of those people come out in some kind of way. I’m a student of the world,” he continues. “As African Americans we have so much that comes at us … [but] we recognize sounds and beats from all around the world and I fuse all of those thoughts and elements together.”

When Bailey spoke of the positive images, in addition to the artists who influenced his work like famed African American artist Jacob Lawrence, he points to real life and accessible role models like fathers, grandfathers and uncles. “It’s more about triumph and the beauty of Black people who walk among us. The surreal is real to Black people in terms of the things we’ve been through. We’ve really come through so much and have achieved so much in such a short time,” he says reflectively.
Bailey continues to express gratitude for the accomplishments of African Americans, noting that slavery was a short period in the African American continuum. He is hopeful about the opportunities available to African American men, or, as he says, “from the plantation to the presidency.”
The pensive painter does share his concern about the lack of suitable outlets for African American art. He admits with some dismay that he doesn’t see the type of numbers that he expected in college and university art programs. “We have always been very strong in the arts, but we don’t really focus on it. I received information differently when I was in school. I processed it totally differently and the arts helped me with that,” explains Bailey. He adds, with strong reservation, that while the number of African Americans getting recognition for their work is growing, there is more to be done. “We don’t have auction houses or strong galleries or our own system to gain from. We’re doing great work, but the control is not necessarily in our hands. We are an intuitive people who can see what’s coming ahead,” he says with a pause. -roz edward

About Post Author

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Renowned graphic artist and Bob Marley’s art director Neville Garrck has died

Renowned graphic artist and visual designer, Kenneth Neville Anthony Garrick, has died. His daughter, Naomi Garrick, CEO of Garrick Communications Ltd, confirmed his passing.

Garrick “passed away peacefully surrounded by family on the night of Tuesday, November 14, in California, after a very brief, but brave fight with cancer” Naomi said in a press release.

Neville Garrick was renowned for his extraordinary contributions to the world of music and art and was most recognised for his award winning work as Art Director for Bob Marley, creating timeless artwork covers and designs that are still being recognised globally today.

Garrick’s journey through a remarkable 50-year art career left an indelible mark on the realm of music album covers, posters, logos, and staging designs. His artistic genius was most vividly seen in the more than 100 album covers he crafted for legendary reggae artists such as Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Burning Spear, The Wailers, Steel Pulse, and the I-Three, among others.

One of his most iconic achievements was the awe-inspiring “Haile Selassie I” stage and lighting design, which accompanied Bob Marley during the revolutionary 1970s and 1980s, solidifying Garrick’s status as a visionary force in the global creative landscape. Through his covers, Neville has played a significant role in introducing Ethiopian art and culture to Western audiences.

Neville Garrick’s artistic journey began at Kingston College and later took him to the University of California at Los Angeles on a soccer scholarship. It was during this time that he became a vital part of the Civil Rights Movement, mentored by the esteemed Angela Davis. Garrick was an active member of the Black Students Union and served as the associate editor of Nommo, the nation’s oldest ethnic publication on a college campus. His freshman year saw him organise seven fellow black art students to create The Black Experience, a mural that would depict the struggles and triumphs of African-Americans in the United States. This mural, created in 1970, was ceremoniously restored in 2014, bearing witness to Garrick’s enduring impact.

After completing his studies, Neville returned to his hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, where he became the art director of the Jamaica Daily News from 1973 to 1974. In 1974, he embarked on a notable career as the art director for Tuff Gong, a record label formed by the reggae group The Wailers in 1970.

On reflecting on her father’s passing Naomi said, “Words cannot adequately express the loss that we currently feel as a family to lose our beloved Neville. He was a master storyteller, history keeper, poignant artist, author, speaker, proud KC and UCLA graduate and for us father, Grandpa, “Poppy”, provider, friend. Our hearts are broken as we come to terms with this loss. Neville in his own words “coloured the music” but for us, he coloured our lives. Our hope is that his work will continue to be enjoyed and celebrated around the world.”

Neville’s profound friendship with Bob Marley positioned him as a keeper of the artiste’s legacy. He was entrusted with designing an extension of the Bob Marley Museum and served as the very first Executive Director of the Bob Marley Foundation from 1990 to 1996. Neville’s contributions extended beyond art, as he co-produced the 1992 documentary Time Will Tell, which featured rare insights from Bob Marley.

Neville Garrick’s creative journey also included his role as the leader in lighting and set direction for Reggae Sunsplash, an event celebrated as “the biggest reggae festival in the history of the world.” In 1999, he published A Rasta’s Pilgrimage – Ethiopian Faces and Places, a photographic chronicle of his two-month exploration of the sacred land from a Rastafarian perspective.

Neville’s lifelong dedication to the arts was duly recognised when, on August 6, 2005, in a ceremony marking Jamaica’s 43rd year of independence, he accepted the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in honour of his unparalleled contributions to Jamaican music.

In 2022, the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JARIA) presented Neville with the Gregory Isaacs Foundation Award for Album Design to highlight and celebrate his significant contributions and achievements which have positively impacted the development and promotion of Reggae.

On August 6, in recognition of his contribution to music, art and culture locally and internationally, he was awarded the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Commander (CD). Earlier this year, his first album cover for Bob Marley, Rastaman Vibration, was also recognised by Billboard Magazine for being #22 Best 100 Album Cover of all time.

His last project with the Marley family was in the role of Historic Advisor for the Paramount Films, Bob Marley Biopic: One Love slated for a February 2024 release date.

At the time of his passing, Neville was working on Colour the Music, a documentary with his son, Nesta, chronicling his illustrious career as well as completing a series of hand painted works of art celebrating black culture.

Neville’s artistic spirit continues to inspire, and his wisdom remains a cherished part of history. He leaves behind a legacy that transcends time and space. He is survived by his brother Derek; three children, Christopher, Naomi and Nesta; grandchildren, Ajani, Leo, and Lola; former wife and close friend Colette; niece, Jaean and grandniece, Jaeda; and other family members.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

‘South To Black Power’: Trailer And Premiere Date Revealed For Sam Pollard Documentary About Charles M. Blow

EXCLUSIVE: HBO Original documentary South To Black Power, a This Machine production, directed by Peabody Sam Pollard (HBO’s Hostages, Black Art: In the Absence of Light) and Llewellyn M. Smith (Poisoned Water), debuts Tuesday, November 28 on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.

South To Black Power also takes us on a journey through Charles M. Blow’s personal story, from his childhood in Louisiana to his relentless commitment to racial justice, revealing the hard-won truths that illuminate his vision for the future. As the returns from the midterm elections roll in, Blow watches, acknowledging the gains, but also reflects on the possibility that a historic political transformation in the South might not come in his lifetime.

On the eve of last year’s midterm elections, Blow, New York Times columnist and best-selling author of The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto, sets off across the country on a personal journey to test his theory on Black Liberation, which involves a daring strategy for Black Americans to move to the southern states to control southern legislatures and gain greater political power. Conversing with politicians, historians, community activists, colleagues, friends, and family members, Blow challenges Black Americans to disrupt the status quo by affecting change at the polls through reverse migration and gain control over states that already have the highest percentages of Black residents.

In the film, Blow is joined by Chokwe Antar Lumumba, mayor of Jackson, Mississippi; Jemar Tisby, historian, educator; Dean Baquet, former executive editor of The New York Times; Brent Staples, editorial board of the The New York Times; Adam Green, historian; Asiaha Butler, co-founder and CEO of R.A.G.E.; Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun; Nsé Ufot, Former CEO New Georgia Project; Elijah Grace, Deputy Field Director, NGP; Aimy Steele, CEO New North Carolina Project; Milton F. Fitch Jr., former member of the North Carolina State Senate; friends and family members of Blow.

Producers include A This Machine Productions, Sam Pollard, Kelly Thomson, R.J. Cutler, Elise Pearlstein, with Trevor Smith, Charles Blow, David Kuhn and Todd Shuster at Aevitas Entertainment serve as executive producers. For HBO: executive producers, include Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment