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A black bishop from Chicago will be giving the sermon at the Royal Wedding next weekend, Kensington Palace has announced. The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, who is the first black head of the Episcopal Church, will give the sermon next Saturday at the wedding ceremony between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, CBS News reports. The Episcopal Church is an offshoot of the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who heads the Church of England and will officiate the service, tweeted his excitement at the announcement. He called Curry a “brilliant pastor, stunning preacher and someone with a great gift for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.” Curry said he would “celebrate and pray for” the royal couple ahead of their wedding next Saturday. “The love that has brought and will bind Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle together has its source and origin in God, and is the key to life and happiness,” Curry said in a statement. Some 1,200 members of the public have been invited to watch the ceremony on the grounds of the castle in Berkshire, and 250 members of the armed forces have been given ceremonial duties, according to BBC.

The Smithsonian announced that it had acquired a portrait of Henrietta Lacks, the black woman whose cells—the famous HeLa cells—were used to conduct years of scientific research and breakthroughs. The portrait, painted by Kadir Nelson, was acquired by both the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and National Museum of African American History and Culture. Though the portrait will be shown by both museums, the piece will first be featured at the National Portrait Gallery from May 15 through Nov. 4, the Smithsonian said in a press release. “It is fitting that Henrietta Lacks be honored at two Smithsonian museums, as each approaches American history from unique and complementary perspectives,” said Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “Lacks’ story presents moral and philosophical questions around issues of consent, racial inequalities, the role of women, medical research and privacy laws, providing rich platforms for historical understanding and public dialogue.” The portrait was commissioned by HBO during the production of its 2017 film about Lacks’ life, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” The film is based on a nonfiction book by Rebecca Skloot. “The National Museum of African American History and Culture has always felt that the story of Henrietta Lacks is a significant and important moment that deserved greater recognition,” said Lonnie Bunch, director of the museum. According to Culture Type, Nelson—the portrait’s Los Angeles-based artist—has made portraits of Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela for The New Yorker magazine. And his portrait of Shirley Chisholm is in the collection of the U.S. House of Representatives. Henrietta Lacks died in 1951 at the age of 31 after a battle with cancer. Her cells, which were illegally harvested and used in studies, led to numerous medical finds. Lacks was never named or credited. The cells have become the most widely used human cells in scientific research.

By Stephanie Francis Update: After a day of petitions and online protests from devoted 99 fans, NBC announced that it is picking up the show for its sixth season. The cast, crew, and fans are all still celebrating the news. The celebrity fans who sounded off about the cancellation are rejoicing the moe as well. […]

The post Update: The “Nine-Nine” Rises from Cancellation appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

According to my one American friend who is invested in Eurovision, the final is tomorrow and as usual, things have been kitsch and campy in the popular international song competition that confuses us stateside.

My singular Eurovision experience came while studying abroad in Scotland, when everyone—everyone—in the dorm crammed themselves into the common room for hours of yelling at the television while a baffling array of musical acts in sparkly costumes entertained a worldwide audience. It was a wild thing to witness and rather like journeying, briefly, to another planet entirely. Planet Eurovision, where confetti is the currency.

Because I still struggle to wrap my poor American brain around this event, I’ll let the Guardian explain more fully what’s going on in Portugal:

Eurovision, which this year takes place in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, is a song contest between European countries. However, it’s far more than that: it’s often known as the “Gay World Cup”. Or, to put it in more American terms, the Super Bowl of Camp. It’s flamboyant, kitsch, and filled with low-level political feuding. It’s like American Idol crossed with RuPaul’s Drag Race crossed with Survivor. Sprinkled with LSD.

“Sprinkled with LSD” is rather how one feels while watching Eurovision. In addition to European countries, nations like Australia, Russia, and Israel also get in on the fun (you can see all the participants here). But for all the silliness and high camp that is synonymous with Eurovision, the competition often produces important cultural moments and is that rare event watched by millions around the world that does not involve a soccer ball. (A football ball? We struggle with understanding that over here, too.)

Our Eurovision correspondent Lauren Henry reports that there have been some significant developments to emerge from this year’s contest already, including a gay kiss from Ireland. Here are some of the highlights Lauren thinks that you should know about.

Russia was knocked out!!

Israel is a strong contender this year:

It’s like a women’s anthem. She compares herself to Wonder Woman! And she does chicken noises?? There’s a lot going on.

Norway’s entry, Alexanderr Rybak, is a funky pop violinist who won in 2009—only one person has ever won twice, but he got the most points ever when he won.

Oh! The official video for Ireland’s entry (different from their live performance) featured a gay couple kissing, and Russia threatened not to broadcast it:

But then Eurovision threatened to disqualify Russia (and Russia got knocked out in the semifinals anyway).

The Czech entry is a LOT:

OH OH OH France’s song is about the refugee crisis! It’s based on the true story of a baby born on a refugee raft crossing the Mediterranean:

It’s in Lisbon this year because Portugal won last year, and their winning entry was a tiny little man with a manbun singing a very sweet soft ballad, and you should write about him. He’s like a mouse who wished to become human so he could sing a song, and a fairy granted his wish for one night:

Also, I don’t understand the Serbian entry. ABBA got their big break on Eurovision—they won with “Waterloo” in 1974, and I feel like this year’s Serbian entry is like Medieval Goth ABBA from a parallel universe where they replaced Bjorn Ulvaeus with an old man playing a recorder:

The Netherlands went with … a country song???? I really can’t explain that one for you.

I should just say that while Eurovision is mostly known in the US for outrageous, silly and just plain weird acts like Lordi, the 2006 Finnish winners, a metal band who dressed up like demons, and Verka Serduchka, a Ukrainian drag queen from 2007 who is just—a lot, and even made a cameo in a Melissa McCarthy movie, Spy, and Moldova’s 2010 epic sax guy who became a meme, sometimes the kitsch does rise to the divine. Like ABBA’s “Waterloo” in 1974 or Genghis Kahn from 1979.

And personally, even with all the silliness and the accusations of certain countries playing politics by either voting for their neighbors or pointedly NOT voting for their neighbors (oh man, everyone hates the U.K. and it is GOLD), I think Eurovision is such an idealistic endeavor that really represents what’s best about the postwar project of European unity.

Bless you, Lauren, for this illuminating commentary. I’m still confused, yet now have at least three of these songs in my head simultaneously and I feel a strange urge to dance coming on. Is this how Eurovision fever starts? Will I be okay?

(With thanks to Lauren Henry, image: ABBA/screengrab)

• Go Fug Yourself evaluates the outfits at the Solo premiere. Donald Glover is, of course, flawless. (via Go Fug Yourself)
• A first-generation Iranian Muslim takes on the Roseanne episode “Go Cubs.” (via Pajiba)
• Amazon isn’t entering Jeffrey Tambor into the Emmys this year for Transparent, after allegations of abusive behavior. (via Vulture)
• “Is Thanos The Next Generation’s Joker?” Yikes, I hope not. If we get a “young Thanos” movie someday where he’s played by Jared Leto I’m moving to the moon. (via Comicbook.com)

What did you see today? Any big plans to journey to Planet Eurovision on Saturday?

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