Photo by Thomas Hawk via Flickr Following Adele’s album of the year Grammy victory, criticisms about race in the music industry have dominated post-Grammy conversations. Critics asserted Beyonce’s Lemonade “dominated critical discussion in 2016” and her grammy-loss reflected racial bias and lack of diversity in the Recording Academy. Adele called attention to Lemonade’s significance and apparent “snub” during her acceptance …
Hidden Figures- 7 Prominent African Americans in Science that Were Not Taught in School
Photo by Francisco Schmidt via Flickr I recently saw Hidden Figures at the Westwood Village theater and it was inspiring, to say the least. The phenomenal (and I do mean phenomenal) movie is about three Black women who worked at the Langley Research Center as scientists and mathematicians who helped launch NASA’s first successful space missions in 1962. It starred my …
George Lopez Under Fire for Racist Joke
Photo by Jason Karsh via Flickr On Saturday, George Lopez delivered a racially charged joke at his Phoenix standup comedy show. Lopez stated, “There are still two rules in a Latino family: don’t marry someone black and don’t park in front of our house.” Immediately following the joke, a woman sitting near the stage began to flip Lopez off. Angered …
Actors, Citizens, and Corporations Express Solidarity Against Muslim Ban
Photo by Geoff Livingston via Flickr In the wake of President Trump’s refugee immigration ban, Moonlight Actor, Mahershala Ali delivered an impassioned speech about religious persecution and empathy at the 27th annual Screen Actor’s Guild Awards. Ali stated, “I think what I’ve learned from working on “Moonlight” is we see what happens when you persecute people. They fold into themselves. …
Trump Nominates Conservative Justice, Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court
Photo by Victoria Pickering via Flickr On Tuesday night, President Trump publicly nominated Neil Gorsuch as the 9th Supreme Court Justice. Gorsuch is to replace conservative Justice Antonin Scalia who passed at age 79 in February 2016. Many Republican members of Congress are pleased with Trump’s nomination; it gives Republicans a 5-9 majority on the Supreme Court. Trump’s judicial appointment–a critical …
#OscarsNotAsWhite After Release of 2017 Nominations
Photo by Robert Couse Baker The Academy Awards has faced much criticism over the past few years for its lack of diversity and representation. In 2016, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite surfaced online and created a channel for critics of the awards show to boycott and voice their frustrations, anger, and disappointments. However, on Tuesday morning The Academy made an effort to …
Kaepernick Praises Communist Leader Fidel Castro
Photo by Flickr Following Sunday’s 31-24 loss against the Miami Dolphins and the Friday announcement of Fidel Castro’s death, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made controversial comments in support of Castro. “I agree with the investment in education. I also agree with the investment in health care as well as the involvement in helping end apartheid in South Africa,” stated Kaepernick. …
Bruins Protest Presidential Election Results
Hundreds of UCLA students convened in front of Kerckhoff Hall on November 10 to protest Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election. Rally participants expressed deep fear and anger over the hatred of the new president and his followers, validated marginalized identities who are in particularly increased physical and emotional danger, and attempted to prepare supporters for four years …
UCLA Acquires Works of LA’s “Unofficial Poet Laureate”
Photo via poets.org Recently, UCLA’s library archive celebrated the organizational efforts and arrival of works by Afrikan American writer Wanda Coleman, including her poetry and TV/Film screenplays. The campaign to bring Coleman’s work to UCLA was spearheaded by English PhD candidate Kim Calder. The intimate celebration featured anecdotes and readings of selected pieces by many of the event’s attendees. Guests …
Black Bruins Cope With Donald Trump Victory
Photo via Pixabay On Wednesday, November 9, UCLA students were obliged to attend classes amid the emotional aftermath of one of the most traumatizing events in recent U.S. history. On January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump will become the President of the United States of America. Dear God help us all. It feels like a waste of time to parse, …