The Baffling Case of the Flipping The Script Event

Media visibility is an issue I feel strongly about, as the representation of people in popular culture reveals much about society’s feeling towards that group. That is why I was pleased to read about Flipping The Script: Beyond Homophobia in Black Hollywood, a panel sponsored by the Writers Guild of America to discuss homophobia and [...]

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Georg Levin is a German singer whose latest album, Everything Must Change, was recently released. His music is a combination of soul, dance, and downtempo. Here is a preview of “The Better Life” from the new album.

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Bobby Hutcherson rivals Roy Ayers and Lionel Hampton as the world’s preeminent vibes player, with a string of classic albums dating to the 1960s. One of his most popular compositions is “Little B’s Poem,” originally recorded in 1965. This performance is taken from the 1985 concert DVD One Night With Blue Note. Featured players are [...]

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At what point does complaining become a distraction from dealing with the issue at hand? It is a valid question to ask after observing a couple of events this past weekend. With much of the nation’s political energy focused on health care reform, I was not surprised to see Iowa Representative Steve King Davis call [...]

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The social condition of black males has been an ongoing concern for decades. Statistics highlighting the disparities in levels of incarceration, educational achievement, life expectancy, relationship stability, financial security and employment has generated an industry of publications, conferences, and initiatives devoted to “saving” black males. In many cases, these are half-hearted attempts more interested in [...]

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Most articles about the demographics of the LGBT community are focused on youth, as the average age of coming out continues to drop. But the Associated Press has published an article about the other side of the spectrum — people who are coming out in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. It is a testament to [...]

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Coming out is an event that all LGBT people must go through, and two recent events were cause for me to think about how we face the challenge. First, there was Roy Ashburn, the California state senator whose March 3 arrest on a DUI after leaving a gay club eventually led to the March 8 [...]

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It saddened me to learn that Ron Banks, leader of seventies soul group the Dramatics, died March 4. His distinctive falsetto made songs like “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get” and “Hey You! Get Off My Mountain” classics in my book. Per the Electronic Urban Report, his memorial services are scheduled for the following time: Viewing: [...]

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What is going on in San Diego? Incidents at the University of California San Diego campus provide the latest example that America has not entered the post-racial era many claimed was ushered in by President Obama’s election. On February 15, the middle of Black History Month, students held the Compton Cookout party off campus. Invitations, [...]

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For me, the best release of 2010 has been Two, the sophomore album from Silhouette Brown, the writing/production team of Dego, Kaidi Tatham, and Bembe Segue. All three have substantial credentials in the independent music scene, with Dego being a co-founder of the legendary electronic act 4 Hero. On their first album, vocals were handled [...]

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