Uncategorized

https://www.essence.com/fashion/common-talks-the-importance-of-giving-back/

This time of year is often the cheeriest but, for some, it can be a remembrance of what they don’t have. While we are enjoying Thanksgiving and cashing out on Christmas gifts this year, it’s also important to equally give back. “One of the most fulling things that I can do for my life is to be able to give back. Because I feel like I have been blessed and able to pursue so many dreams,” Common told ESSENCE.

Earlier this month, Burlington Coat Factory and entertainer Common continued their long-standing partnership where they kicked off the 13 Annual Burlington Coat Drive with Burlington Stores and Delivering Good in Chicago. Common and Burlingtons’ joint mission is to help people in need stay warm this holiday season by donating a gently worn coat at any Burlington store which will be distributed by local agencies through their partnership with Delivering Good.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 13: Common and kids from the Common Ground Foundation attend the 13th Annual Burlington Coat Drive at Burlington on November 13, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images)

Common’s organization, the Common Ground Foundation – which helps underrepresented youth in Chicago, is also a partner. “I think what makes this special is our intention with this partnership is to truly to give back,” he exclaimed. “The fact that Burlington is giving me a platform to give back, in my hometown, and including Common Ground Foundation is really important to me.”

“Our intention with this partnership is to truly to give back.” – Common

To date, more than 2.2 million coats have been donated through this program. “I want other people to experience the dreams that they want. I look at the scope of the land, people deserve good things in life,” concluded Common. With a number of 86k homeless individuals, this partnership was created in hopes to make this season a little better by giving back to the less fortunate.

As far as what the Emmy-Oscar-Grammy winning artist is doing for the holidays. One word, relaxing. “I’m most excited about the holidays to spend time with the fam, going to see some theatre and watching basketball.”

The post Common Talks The Importance Of Giving Back appeared first on Essence.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/renee-elise-goldsberry-on-motherhood-and-working-with-sterling-k-brown-in-waves/

From becoming a bright shining star in Broadway’s Hamilton to breakout in roles in both TV and film, actor Renée Elise Goldsberry is carving an indelible place in Hollywood.

Starring in the upcoming A24 film Waves, Goldsberry plays Catharine, the stepmother of a family slowly falling apart as tragedy strikes and she loses her son Tyler (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) through a violent act that leads to his incarceration and adds further stress on her marriage to husband Ronald (Sterling K. Brown).

Goldsberry also delivered a remarkable performance in the unforgettable story Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the HBO adaptation brought to life with the help of Oprah Winfrey. BGN had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Goldsberry about Waves to discuss the themes of motherhood and her attraction to the script.

Catharine, Waves perfectly embodies how to be a step-parent. Can you speak to how you were able to portray being a loving stepmother to Tyler and Emily, versus what it might have been to be their biological mother?

I relate to Catharine because there was a long period in my own personal life where I questioned whether or not I was going to be able to have children. I read the script and I assumed that she also was wondering, ‘Will I ever have children?’ Then she needs Ronald with these two young kids who desperately need a mother, their biological mother having died when they were very young. So I feel like she feels that they are an answer to her prayers, and I believe that they feel that she is an answer to their prayers. That’s really beautiful. That’s pretty much the extent of it in terms of being a stepmother.

There are many roads to being a mom. She is their mother because of the role that she plays in the family. I think the only reason why it’s relevant in the film is that it just shows how much pain the son is in.

In one scene, we see Tyler essentially reject Catharine and the amount of love that she has for him. Being a mother yourself, was that a difficult moment to tackle?

I have young children, a 10-year-old and a 6-year-old. My assumption is that as children go into adolescence, you have to brace yourself for greater battles. The stakes are higher. There are greater battles ahead, and there’s a possibility of really saying hurtful things. You have to brace yourself. I’m bracing myself for the possibility of that in my future as a parent, and I’m ready to love them anyway. I love the fact that there is absolutely nothing that [Tyler] could throw at her or do that would stop her from being his mom.

You have an extensive body of work in film and television but are perhaps most recognized
for your stage performances. What are the differences in preparation for a Broadway show versus onscreen drama such as Waves?

We have an opportunity to work all together as a cast in the theater. We get to see everyone else’s work because we’re pretty much there most of the time. We have a tremendous amount of information at the beginning when you’re doing theater. We get to tell the story in order, and we get an immediate response from an audience. That’s really the difference. That’s pretty much the only difference in film.

One thing I miss is that I don’t really get to see the genius work that other people are doing until I see the film because I’m not really there. I’m not shooting that day. You have to make some decisions about the emotional journey because you’re probably going to shoot it based upon the location as opposed to in order. But it is lovely in film that our work is preserved. If you didn’t see me [on stage], I just have to tell you that I think it was really good.

Were you immediately attracted to waves after you read the script?

I was immediately attracted to the idea of getting to work with Sterling K. Brown. How quickly can I get to Florida?

[Laughter.]

He’s just a beautiful human being. You can tell that even if you don’t know him. You can see his spirit, and he’s just everything you want him to be. So that was the most attractive thing for me. I’d heard that the filmmaker [Trey Edward Shults] was a genius because everybody I know that saw his first film realized the talent that was there and were so excited about him.

I didn’t know that the world needed to see any other imagery of a young Black man doing something violent. We were all very concerned about that. We spent a lot of time talking about it. Kelvin Harrison, Jr. and the director spent a lot of time creating an authentic character. I’m grateful that they chose to take the risk and cast this film with a Black family in spite of the potential danger of revisiting some stereotypes that we don’t want to see.

What do you hope families will gain from Catharine and Ronald’s marriage and how they treat their children?

A friend of mine saw the film last night. She was really shook as a parent, and she said, “I’m taking from this film that I need to be more mindful of the silences of my children.” I think we need to make sure that children understand that we are not the judge, that we are their advocate, and that we need to give them the room to disappoint us and to fail and to make bad mistakes. We need to communicate to them that my disappointment or frustration from whatever happens is not what you need to worry about.

There are real consequences in this world. This world can be a dangerous place and the world can be very dangerous to you. It is my job as your parent to advocate for you. That is my first job. That is my last job. I hope that parents can work together in their different parenting styles to figure out how to be better.

Also, just in the grieving. [You] don’t know when you marry somebody that you have to be compatible in grieving, and this couple has to figure that out. They have two different styles of dealing with tremendous pain. It seems to me in the end of this film that they’ve learned to stay together and work on it. I hope that’s an example for couples out there that are also dealing with tragedy.

Waves is now playing in select theaters. Everywhere December 6.

The post Renée Elise Goldsberry on Motherhood and Working with Sterling K. Brown in ‘Waves’ appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

https://nerdist.com/article/star-wars-evolution-of-stormtroopers-video/

The Imperial stormtrooper is one of the most iconic designs in all of Star Wars. The trooper aesthetic as created by Ralph McQuarrie for the original trilogy remains one of the most recognizable images in all of cinema history. Sure, they always miss their targets, but they look cool while doing it! And with the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker, we are going to be introduced to yet another variation of trooper, with the crimson Sith Trooper.

At this year’s D23 Expo, Lucasfilm shared a video for fans called The Evolution of the Stormtrooper, which they have finally released online. The video dissects 42 years of trooper designs, from A New Hope up until the films of today. You can check out the full video down below:

 

It’s interesting that the video opens with director J.J. Abrams saying, “You cannot make a Star Wars movie without stormtroopers.” This is not entirely accurate, because The Phantom Menace actually doesn’t have any stormtroopers in it at all. Would fans embrace that chapter of the saga more if there had been? Who knows. But I can say that when the Republic clone trooper army arrived in the climax of Attack of the Clones, the prequels finally began to feel like Star Wars proper. So that really goes to show how integral the iconography of the stormtrooper is to the saga.

Lucasfilm

The animated series Clone Wars and Rebels also made key additions to the stormtrooper evolution, and it’s nice that the video acknowledges them. The video’s comments from series executive producer Dave Filoni really highlight the contributions the cartoons made to the overall evolution of the troops. Under Filoni’s guidance came the idea that the Republic clones under the leadership of their Jedi generals exhibited individuality, and decorated their helmets and armor with color and individual graphics. When Order 66 takes place and the Empire is formed, everything becomes monochromatic and stark.

Lucasfilm

Because the video came out during D23, they didn’t want to give away the latest contributions to stormtrooper canon with The Mandalorian. The new Disney+ series gave us a new variation of stormtroopers—of a sort. Five years past Return of the Jedi, the rusty and dirty looks that the former Imperial troops now wear make them look even more menacing. Although not specifically stated, it seems the old Imperial troops are now renting themselves out to former Imperial military officers who now rule as warlords. The grungy, worn-out look is sure to be cosplayed plenty in the years to come.

So what kind of trooper armor can we expect when the Skywalker saga wraps up? It’s impossible to say. If we get an adaptation of Knights of the Old Republic, that game found ways to include a class of troopers that are a precursor to the clone troopers and stormtroopers of centuries later. As J.J. Abrams said in the video, it’s doesn’t really feel quite like Star Wars without them. It’s safe to say there will be white-clad armored troops of one kind or the other in Star Wars for as long as the franchise is alive.

Header Image: Lucasfilm

The post New STAR WARS Video Chronicles the Evolution of Stormtroopers appeared first on Nerdist.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/harriet-tubman-museum-new-jersey-2020/

First a movie, now a museum! According to ABC News, there is a planned museum honoring the legacy of abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

The Harriet Tubman Museum will be located next to the historic Macedonia Baptist Church, in Cape May, a New Jersey town where Tubman worked for some time. Based on historical accounts, Tubman used to work in hotels and as a cook for families in Cape May.

According to the New York Amsterdam News, the upcoming museum needs a reported $500,000 to open and nearly $160,000 has already been raised by the community. The money will be used toward getting materials to build the museum, which is being constructed. Officials hope to open the museum on Juneteenth, the day when the last enslaved people were freed in the United States.

“It is important to remember the vital contribution of African Americans with regards to the role they played in the history of our county and to ensure that it is preserved for future generations,” County Freeholder Director Gerald M. Thornton said.

Tubman, who was a noted abolitionist and celebrated Civil War spy, was born into slavery on a Maryland plantation in 1822. She was born Araminta Ross and changed her name after marrying her first husband. She escaped slavery in 1849, and, became a key figure in the Underground Railroad. As noted by History.com, “The Underground Railroad was a network of people, African American as well as white, offering shelter and aid to escaped slaves from the South. It developed as a convergence of several different clandestine efforts. The exact dates of its existence are not known, but it operated from the late 18th century to the Civil War, at which point its efforts continued to undermine the Confederacy in a less-secretive fashion.”

The Harriet Tubman Museum’s website states that they are:

• Creating a museum to honor her courage