Like most of everyone in the KU circle, I was shocked when word got to me that Justin Vanoy passed yesterday. We weren’t close. Different fraternities, different inner circles. But the black social circles at KU are pretty small; and if you’re in the Greek life, you absolutely knew of each other if you weren’t […]
A solemn day for my tribe today. Marek Jacobs, one of the young brothers who brought me into Alpha at the University of Kansas, passed away after a fight with stomach cancer. I can’t tell you the specific first time I met Brother Jacobs, but I imagine it was something along the lines of […]
First, Kaepernick. Don’t have much to add here. My father, uncles, cousins, good friends are all veterans so I’ve always stood for the national anthem out of respect for them. But if the man doesn’t want to do it, and he’s expressed why he doesn’t want to do it, I’ve been there too. And […]
Showing some love to a talented brother from my neck of the woods… Gabe Roland was a few years behind me at KU but we have more than a few mutual connections. Besides the Jayhawk connection, he’s also a Kansas City native. Had dinner with him and some friends a couple years back; the […]
A few of my talented Jayhawk friends who helped me make ‘Lady In My Life’ a few years back need your help in bringing their next vision to the screen. The name of the web series is ‘Red Bird’, and it’s being written and directed by Misti Boland. She can explain her vision better than […]
(cutting and pasting this opening from yesterday; if you already read it you can skip ahead to the backstory…) The family and friends don’t get to see the millions of middle steps in between ‘here’ and ‘There’ so today’s posts are for you… Here’s the ‘why’: NBC and the American Black Film Festival run a […]
As this Ramadan ends, I thought I would have a lot to say. But maybe not as much as I first thought. Fasting has an interesting effect on the body and the mind. I can only truly speak for myself, but I know of what it does to me and others: violent mood swings, […]
No elaborate introduction needed for today’s post… One of my first mentors, in terms of being a black filmmaker from Kansas with an independent streak, was Kevin Wilmott. He was coming into KU as a professor as I was on my way out as a graduate, but it will come as no surprise to you […]
It’s the weekend which means the episode of African-American Short Films featuring my short is hitting new markets. This week it’s pretty long, see below: Columbus-Tupelo-W Pnt-Hstn Station: WCBI/CBS Date: 12/10 Time: 1:05AM Dothan Station: WDHN ABC Date: 12/10 Time: 5:00AM Dayton Station: WRCX / IND Date: 12/10 Time: 10:00AM Monroe-El Dorado Station: KAQY / ABC Date: 12/10 […]
Aaron Rahsaan Thomas and Malik Aziz share an unique, common background. Both young men are natives of Kansas City, Kansas, graduates of the University of Kansas and went to grad school at the University of Southern California. They both grew up in the ‘golden age of hip hop’ and share a passion for films. For […]
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