NEW YORK (AP) — Colson Whitehead’s novel “The Nickel Boys” and Kwame Alexander’s picture story “The Undefeated” are among the finalists for the Kirkus Prize, a $50,000 honor given for the year’s outstanding fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ books. Saeed Jones’ memoir “How We Fight for Our Lives” also was a nominee announced Tuesday by […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Like many kids, Rihanna dreamed of someday growing up to be rich, but helping others was at the forefront of her vision. “It’s always been important to me before any success,” she told The Associated Press Thursday at her annual Diamond Ball charity gala. “As a kid, just seeing those commercials […]
NEW YORK (AP) — And the category, a jubilant Billy Porter said as he made Emmys history, “is love, y’all, love.” Porter, known for making fashion statements on red carpets, became the first openly gay man to win an Emmy for best actor in a drama series for his role of Pray Tell on FX’s […]
NEW YORK (AP) — The searing TV series on the plight of the Central Park Five created a memorable Emmy moment Sunday when the five exonerated men stood and were honored at the awards show. The four-part Netflix series explores the true story of five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who were coerced into […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Ta-Nehisi Coates’ first novel, “The Water Dancer,” has been a long and eventful journey. Begun a decade ago, his chronicle of a slave with an extraordinary memory who joins the Underground Railroad is the result of countless drafts, a shift from multiple narrators to a single voice, some needed advice from […]
COMPTON, Calif. (AP) — Danny “KP” Kilpatrick has inked tattoos for Diddy, Nas, Taraji P. Henson and numerous other stars, but his latest venture aims to create a safe space in his hometown of Compton. Kilpatrick stars in “Black Ink Crew: Compton,” the newest VH1 series that chronicles prominent tattoo artists. He hopes his shop […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Jessye Norman, the renowned international opera star whose passionate soprano voice won her four Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honor, has died, according to family spokesperson Gwendolyn Quinn. She was 74. A statement released to The Associated Press on Monday said Norman died at 7:54 […]
NEW YORK (AP) — As the nation debates what to do with civic statues that glorify slavery and white supremacy, one artist has a solution. Kehinde Wiley wants more art. Wiley, who was tapped to paint Barack Obama for the National Portrait Gallery, thinks monuments to Confederate figures need to be placed in their social […]
NEW YORK (AP) — National Geographic has found its next “Genius.” The network has tapped Cynthia Erivo to play Aretha Franklin in a third installment of the anthology series. The authorized project will feature Franklin’s music. Erivo will perform songs from the singer’s catalog. Franklin died in 2018 of pancreatic cancer at age 76. Erivo […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Diahann Carroll, the Oscar-nominated actress and singer who won critical acclaim as the first black woman to star in a non-servant role in a TV series as “Julia,” has died. She was 84. Carroll’s daughter, Susan Kay, told The Associated Press her mother died Friday in Los Angeles of cancer. During […]