Who can forget Clair Huxtable’s radiant smile and infectious charm? Can you still remember Vivian Banks and her smooth, mahogany skin and sharp intellect? Will we ever witness a more steadfast and loving TV mom than Florida Evans? These fictional characters embodied the essential qualities that every matriarch should possess. They remind us of the invaluable role that women play in the development and success of their offspring.
Author Archives: Cory Alexander Haywood
Posted inLocal Politics
Young, Black Filmmakers Gather To Showcase Their Wares
Jack Daniel’s has launched “Real To Reel,” a nationwide competition for aspiring directors to submit their best work and potentially win a cash prize from the brand’s newest alcoholic beverage line “Gentleman Jack”.
Posted inFeature
Millennials: What will it take to move them toward independence?
Sydney Burroughs gasses up her car every morning at 5:30 a.m. to be fully-fueled for a half-day’s work. She’s an Uber driver, albeit reluctantly, and when she’s done roving from one destination to another, the remainder of her afternoon is dedicated to a second job as a barista at a small coffee house in Central Los Angeles. At 28 years-old, Sydney is in constant motion for nearly 13 hours every day. But juggling two service jobs wasn’t part of her original plan. When she graduated from college in 2006, her eyes were set on a career in corporate advertising. Now, 11 years removed from recieving her cap and gown, she wonders if a time will come when she can finally put her degree to use.
Posted inCovers
Black millennials: Trapped under the weight of racism and a cash-poor economy
Jerry Houston will be another year older in July, but he’s not planning a celebration for his 29th birthday. “There’s nothing to celebrate”, he scoffed. “I’m up to my ankles in debt from school loans and the degree I earned isn’t doing anything for me. I owe $30,000 for an education that I thought would help me land a decent paying job. But that’s not where I am right now. Until I get there, I don’t plan on celebrating any future birthdays.”
In roughly 15 months, Jerry will enter his 30s, a milestone that stirs mixed emotions in the hearts of those of who dread getting older. This transition can be particularly worrisome for young adults who feel as though they’ve underachieved. Jerry, for now, belongs in this category. He works at a high-end clothing boutique in Santa Monica where he’s paid slightly above minimum wage.
Posted inSports
Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez found hanged in prison cell
Convicted murderer and former New England Patriots star Aaron J. Hernandez was found hanged in his Massachusetts prison cell Wednesday morning, in an apparent suicide five days after he was acquitted of two additional murders.
Hernandez was serving life without parole for killing Odin L. Lloyd in an industrial park near the football player’s million-dollar North Attleborough home in 2013.
Posted inCovers
Black millennials: Trapped under the weight of racism and a cash-poor economy
Jerry Houston will be another year older in July, but he’s not planning a celebration for his 29th birthday. “There’s nothing to celebrate”, he scoffed. “I’m up to my ankles in debt from school loans and the degree I earned isn’t doing anything for me. I owe $30,000 for an education that I thought would help me land a decent paying job. But that’s not where I am right now. Until I get there, I don’t plan on celebrating any future birthdays.”
In roughly 15 months, Jerry will enter his 30s, a milestone that stirs mixed emotions in the hearts of those of who dread getting older. This transition can be particularly worrisome for young adults who feel as though they’ve underachieved. Jerry, for now, belongs in this category. He works at a high-end clothing boutique in Santa Monica where he’s paid slightly above minimum wage.
Posted inFeature
More than 300 Black male students gather for leadership conference
Christopher Goosby is 17 years old. If he were like many teenagers, getting out of bed on a Saturday morning would be unthinkable barring a natural disaster.
Nevertheless, he pulled himself awake—early, quickly freshened up, peered into his closet and scanned the contents. Where he was going, appearance mattered. After mulling the pros and cons of each combination, he emerged from his room wearing a blue necktie, white button-down shirt, and dark, loose-fitting slacks. His leather shoes—dotted with scuff marks from being worn repeatedly to church, school dances, and award ceremonies—replaced his dilapidated football cleats in the corner collecting dust.
Posted inFeature
‘Everytable’ provides tasty, low-cost cuisine at the Baldwin Hills mall
Sam Polk is a problem solver. When he could no longer sit back and watch Black and Latino neighborhoods across Los Angeles go without the benefit of having ready access to healthy food, Polk and his business partner David Foster pooled their resources and opened Everytable in downtown LA, a counter-service restaurant dedicated to providing its customers with nutritious and delicious food at a low cost. If you have several mouths to feed, phone Everytable’s catering service (the landline varies depending on location).
Posted inEducation
Popular Black actresses honored at recent Spelman College fundraiser
Wearing their Sunday best, dozens of women gathered on the 2nd floor of Santa’s Monica’s Loews Hotel to participate in the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College (NAASC) 23rd annual Sisters’ Awards—Rhapsody in Art Jazz Brunch.
Posted inCovers
Flipping the script
The unsavory depictions of Black women that Hollywood has forcefully imposed on the viewing public for nearly a century are slowly but surely being phased out of the marketplace. Due to the efforts of trailblazing African American female producers, writers, and filmmakers, the world is finally being introduced to imagery that accurately reflects the numerous complexities of this demographic.
“I think we’re just finding our groove and coming into our own,” says actress and director Nicki Micheaux (not related to legendary filmmaker Oscar Micheaux). “If Black women are not being able to tell their own stories from their own eyes, then you won’t get a chance to see the dynamics of what a Black woman is or can be. We’re just breaking through.”
