Eyes on the Prize was a miniseries broadcast on PBS that explored the Civil Rights movement from the mid fifties to the mid eighties. It is widely considered to be one of the best nonfiction works regarding black history ever produced. On to the tale of the tape… Relevance: From an ambition stand point […]
If I made a list of the top 25 films about black sexuality (sarcasm), She’s Gotta Have It would be at or near the top. The story, which today still feels a little ahead of its time, focuses on a young sister named Nola Darling who has three lovers: the pretty boy Greer Childs, the […]
During one of my recent courtships, I was asked the ‘life’s ambition’ question. While the answer hasn’t really changed much, the method has changed slightly, and at least publicly, I’ve never acknowledged how much my religious background plays into my ‘lot in life.’ Since many of my readers come from outside my religious background, I’ll […]
As a kid who grew up loving road trips, the 24 hour drive from Kansas City to Los Angeles didn’t phase me. Having spent most of my years in either Kansas or Louisiana, I didn’t understand when people talked about how ‘flat’ these areas are. Driving through Arizona and New Mexico gave me a new […]
There was no history of Greeks in my family (too country) so I was something of an open book. The first day on campus I met a Greek…kind of. I was just walking around and saw this cat with a cane. He was one of the first black people I saw so I said, ‘What’s […]
Out of the other black guys in my dorm, one was from Kansas City. He was from the Missouri side, but he loved sports like me. We were on the same floor, so would meet up in our floor lobby to watch Sportscenter. That’s how it started. Now I’m not one of those big ‘I always […]
If my father was my benefactor, my biggest fan in the family was his brother’s wife, my godmother. My father is very laid-back, which is where I get it from. My aunt was the one who would stick up for me (all of us really) if someone was bullying us. I chuckle at how many […]
I can remember with clarity the effect Roots had on me the first time I watched it. Awe, shock, pride, anger. I cried pretty good the first time I saw the scene where they whipped Kunta Kinte until he said his name was Toby. I was one of the first in my family to be […]
My earliest memories of the movies were from the summers in Salina. The local theatre would play these Sinbad serials as matinees, and we’d all ride our bikes home afterward and play out in the street. Pirates, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, what have you. E.T. was the first ‘Hollywood’ movie I remember seeing at the […]
Based on the critically acclaimed novel, The Color Purple was an equally popular film that received its fair share of critical acclaim. On to the tale of the tape… Relevance: The storyline of black life in the South in the early 20th century would be enough for this category. The inclusion of the film’s author and the film’s […]
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