BGLO

Category: African-American

  • Bridal Bliss: Leanna and Clifton’s Ballroom Wedding

    Essence Magazine:

    Leanna and Clifton (also known as CJ) met in 2015 online. At the time, Leanna wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. But love struck at an unexpected time in her life. “CJ was so different and we clicked instantly,” she remembers. “I have never been able to be 100% myself around a guy, but he was giving me 100% back so it was easy.” After texting and FaceTiming for two weeks, they finally met for their first date. “He was clear on his intentions,” she remembers thinking. “He played no games and was an absolute gentleman, which is very attractive. We have been inseparable ever since.”

    In true gentleman fashion, CJ proposed to Leanna during a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner at an upscale steakhouse in Atlanta. After visiting ten wedding venues, their hearts chose the gorgeous Biltmore Ballrooms in Downtown Atlanta. Luckily, the couple’s wedding date was scheduled just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Atlanta and every city across the country. Though the virus did throw some things out of wack (like the arrival of their bridesmaids dresses), Leanna’s bride tribe and day-of coordinator Terrice Blackwell never let her stress. “Weddings are a lot of work, and we are so happy with how ours turned out,” says the beautiful bride.

    Scroll through the gallery to see the most beautiful moments from Leanna and Clifton’s ballroom wedding.

    Want to see your wedding featured in Bridal Bliss? Send your story and a link to your wedding photos to bridalbliss@essence.com for consideration.

    The post Bridal Bliss: Leanna and Clifton’s Ballroom Wedding appeared first on Essence.

  • 5 Years After ESSENCE’s #BlackOut, America Is Still In A Racial Crisis

    Essence Magazine:

    Today is déjà vu as black tiles flood social media in support of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, three Black Americans who lost their lives due to the systemic racism boiling in America.

    Five years ago, Black America was mourning too. Although the 2012 death of Trayon Martin still felt fresh in our hearts, we were processing the deaths of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, and Tamir Rice—three Black men who had been killed by the hand of a White police officer in 2014.

    News of Rice’s murder, which happened on November 22, came as ESSENCE was in production for its February 2015 issue. The theme was love and legacy and we were finalizing which hot couple we’d photograph. But the editors didn’t feel much like celebrating romance. We were in pain. We were angry. We were tired.

    Then editor-in-chief Vanessa de Luca walked into her creative director’s office and threw out an idea. “What if we go black?” remembers Erika Perry, ESSENCE creative director in 2015. “It was Black History Month, and after she said it, we couldn’t have imagined doing anything else at that point.”

    For the first time in ESSENCE’s 45 year history, we didn’t feature a person on the cover. Said Perry, “I only questioned whether we’d have a completely black cover or have cover lines to shape our message.” There was only one sentence we wanted to send far and wide: Black. Lives. Matter.

    The cover, released in mid-January, went viral. Readers, organizations and media applauded our boldness. On MSNBC, de Luca explained our urgency to document our collective feeling. She said, “We wanted to make sure we captured this tipping point in our history, but not just Black history, but American history.”

    Thought leaders, activists, celebrities, politicos, journalists and authors wrote essays on “What We Must Do Now.” Voices included: Angela Davis, John Legend, Michele Alexander, Rev. Al Sharpton and more.

    As journalists, and more importantly as Black women, we declared America’s deep problem with racial injustice. Today, we’re still reporting how this country’s systemic racism kills people of color. Today we’re mourning new names of Americans murdered for being Black. Today we amplify George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Today, and every day, we shout Black lives matter.

    The post 5 Years After ESSENCE’s #BlackOut, America Is Still In A Racial Crisis appeared first on Essence.

  • Righteous Rage: Los Angeles Photographer Turns Lens To Social Injustice

    Righteous Rage: Los Angeles Photographer Turns Lens To Social Injustice

    Essence Magazine:

     “Chaotic and crazy.” That’s how photographer Bellamy Brewster describes the protest that led him to the streets of Los Angeles, California over the weekend. Brewster, who makes a living shooting beautiful clothes, models, and locales, said the demonstration stemming from the deaths of Black men and women at the hands of law enforcement propelled him to turn his camera to another subject — social injustice. 

    For the last several days the New York native has been grabbing his camera and heading out to West Hollywood to capture the righteous rage being experienced by so many in America right now. On the first day he expected to meet protesters moved to action. He expected to find people so fed up with the current state of the country that they were driven to demand change. But what he didn’t expect was a baton to the stomach and a hard look at the power of white privilege. 

    Brewster’s first foray into social justice protests was quite naturally shocking. “At first everything was incredible because I saw familiar faces and friends handing out water bottles. I was like ‘this is awesome, this is great, this is fantastic,’” Brewster tells ESSENCE. “But  as I got closer and closer to the front, things began to feel different.” 

    When Brewster made his way to the head of the protesters, he says the atmosphere began to feel hectic. “I got to the front of the march and the dynamics of the protest had changed,” he recalls. “It didn’t make sense to me that police were blocking the way in the middle of the street where people were trying to peacefully march. When I tried to go around on the sidewalk, I was immediately hit with a baton.”

    Bellamy Brewster captures West Hollywood protestPhoto: Bellamy Brewster

    Brewster shares that in the moment he was stunned. And on Instagram, he later described the incident as eye-opening. After protestors witnessed his abuse at the hands of law enforcement, a white woman who was attending the march, pulled him back and positioned herself in front of him.

    “What happened next reshaped my entire perspective on race and this country,” Brewster writes on IG. “The same cop that hit me with a baton gripped his baton less tightly, less willing to harm the white people in front of me. This is white privilege. This is an illustration of what it means to be Black in our country.”

    While the vast majority of the West Hollywood protestors were there to peacefully make a statement, Brewster says the scene turned chaotic when met by authorities. “It’s intense. It’s like you’re in this little realm. Things are happening around you and it’s literally like being in a war zone,” the creative director shares with ESSENCE. “Someone runs past me, I hear a sound. They’re running from rubber bullets. I shoot. I try to capture that as best I can in my frantic state. My shutter speed is blurry, I think quickly in my frantic state and I shoot.” Brewster says next to him is someone with shards of glass in their leg. Others are taken down by the projectiles coming from officers.

    Bellamy Brewster captures West Hollywood protestPhoto: Bellamy Brewster

    “People are trying to march. People want to be heard. People want to be seen. People want to be understood,” says Brewster. “But, what happens, as humans, when you’re trying to have a conversation and you’re not hearing me. I’m not being heard, my words aren’t being heard, eventually, things begin to boil over.”

    The post Righteous Rage: Los Angeles Photographer Turns Lens To Social Injustice appeared first on Essence.

  • ‘Dear White People’ Actor Griffin Matthews Calls Out Racism On Broadway

    ‘Dear White People’ Actor Griffin Matthews Calls Out Racism On Broadway

    Essence Magazine:

    Due to the unrest permeating the country right now due to racism, Black creatives are feeling even more emboldened to call out racism when they see and experience it.

    It’s why Dear White People actor Griffin Matthews shared his chilling experiences with racism on Broadway in a now viral video shared to social media Monday. The writer and composer said he was “triggered” after watching a White woman, Amy Cooper, threaten a Black man named Christian Cooper with calling the police after she was asked to follow leash rules in New York City’s Central Park.

    In the black-and-white video, Matthews, who created the documentary musical Invisible Thread, which was later renamed to Witness Uganda after being sold to White producers, said there are people like Cooper permeating Broadway, creating a racist environment. The musical, which ran off-Broadway from 2014 to 2019, centers on Matthews’ real-life trips to Uganda and the humanitarian work he spearheads with his charity, the Uganda Project.

    “A song in act one mentioned the fact that I was the son of slaves. Our producer in the middle of a creative team meeting said, ‘Slavery is over. Nobody wants to hear about that,’” Matthews recalled. “Not one single person put him in check and that is Amy Cooper.”

    Matthews also accused producers of saying they would not “produce [his] show if you will not change the title” along with exit the show altogether; he accused the director of saying one actress “didn’t look Black enough” for a role; and called out New York City’s Second Stage specifically, claiming that they asked his cast to perform “for free” for their gala in exchange for a donation, “but the donation never came.”

    Racism has been stealing our dreams, choking our stories, looting our talent…and then discarding us when we are no longer valued.

    ESSENCE reached out to reps for Second Stage, but have yet to hear back.

    The writer didn’t stop there. He also pointed a finger at White reviewers who referred to his Black actors as “Big Momma” and criticized the cast’s appearance for looking “too old.” Matthews compared those reviews to that of twenty-something actors starring in Broadway’s hit high school musical, Dear Evan Hansen. “White people get to play make believe onstage,” he deadpanned.

    (Netflix)

    “That is why Broadway is racist,” he continued, calling out directors, choreographers, agents, stage managers, casting directors, press teams and reviewers “pretending to be allies.”

    “The thing about Amy Cooper is she is a liberal,” Matthews continued in his more than seven minute video. “She speaks eloquently about how much she cares about diversity and inclusion. She has made her entire career about that. She works with Black people. She believes she loves Black people. She buys their work, then behind closed doors she steals it.”

    “Racism has been stealing our dreams, choking our stories, looting our talent,” he added, “and then discarding us when we are no longer valued.”

    Matthews then observed that he “may never make it to Broadway for speaking out over the horrific treatment I’ve received,” but noted that women like Cooper usually aren’t negatively affected.

    The post ‘Dear White People’ Actor Griffin Matthews Calls Out Racism On Broadway appeared first on Essence.

  • Celebrity Parents Speak On The Worries Of Raising Black Children In America

    Essence Magazine:

    In the days since the killing of George Floyd, people around the world have been putting boots to the ground demanding that the police officers involved be held accountable. Floyd was one of hundreds of unarmed Black people killed at the hands of police, and parents everywhere live in fear of their own children becoming a hashtag.

    Celebrity parents have also been candid about the fears they hold for their children. Explaining racism, how to interact with police and wanting a better future for their kids have been expressed in a series of heartfelt posts on social media. Like Black parents all over the globe, they are broken and disheartened by the killings of innocent Black people, and hope for a brighter future for their little ones.

    Scroll through the gallery to see Black celebrity parents speaking out about what it’s like raising their kids in America today.

    The post Celebrity Parents Speak On The Worries Of Raising Black Children In America appeared first on Essence.

  • Jimmy Fallon Apologizes Again For Wearing Blackface

    Essence Magazine:

     Jimmy Fallon told his viewers on Monday night that he’d be having a “different kind of show” after the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent global protests and continual police brutality happening in the U.S.

    The late night talk show host, who was called out last month for wearing blackface to impersonate comedian Chris Rock on Saturday Night Live 20 years ago, said he wanted to apologize again for the racist misstep although he “kept getting advised” to “just stay quiet and to not say anything…because we’re all afraid.”

    Fallon admitted he was “horrified” after looking “in the mirror.” The 45-year-old added that he wasn’t upset “that people were trying to cancel me.”

    “The thing that haunted me the most is how do I say I love this person,” Fallon continued, referring to Rock. “I am not a racist.”

    In the sketch that reportedly aired on March 11, 2000, on NBC, Fallon portrays Rock as he appears on a fictional talk show hosted by Regis Philbin, portrayed by Darrell Hammond.

    In 1998, five years after Rock’s departure, Fallon became a cast member of the popular sketch show. 

    “So I thought about it and realized that I can’t not say, ‘I’m horrified and I’m sorry and I’m embarrassed,’” Fallon continued Monday in his opening monologue.

    Video of Jimmy Fallon’s SNL blackface sketch resurfaces from 20 years ago and #jimmyfallonisoverparty starts trending… he we go again… pic.twitter.com/vmzxCTJpT6

    — GoodNightHarlem🎙 (@GoodNightHarlem) May 26, 2020

    “The silence is the biggest crime that White guys like me and the rest of us are doing, staying silent. We need to say something, we need to keep saying something, and we need to say ‘That’s not okay’ more than one day on Twitter,” Fallon concluded.

    After video surfaced late last month to a roar of backlash on social media, the comedian took to Twitter to apologize.

    In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface.  There is no excuse for this. I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable.

    — jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) May 26, 2020

    “While on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this,” he wrote last month. “I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable.”

    Saturday Night Live declined to comment when ESSENCE reached out last month. Rock, for his part, has also remained silent about the ordeal.

    The post Jimmy Fallon Apologizes Again For Wearing Blackface appeared first on Essence.

  • Find Your Polling Place

    Essence Magazine:

    Polling locations are forever changing. What was once your polling location last year, may definitely not be the same this year. To locate your correct polling place, click on your state’s icon below.

    District of Columbia

    The post Find Your Polling Place appeared first on Essence.

  • D.C. Bishop Slams Trump For Visiting Church After Police Use Tear Gas On Protesters

    Essence Magazine:

    A D.C. Bishop is against President Donald Trump visiting her churches, particularly after clearing out peaceful protesters using tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets from outside the White House gates, just so he could make that visit.

    “…He sanctioned the use of tear gas by police officers in riot gear to clear the churchyard. I am outraged,” Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington told CNN about Trump’s visit to St. John’s Episcopal Church, which is known as the Church of Presidents.

    According to the report, Trump was surrounded by aides during his visit to the church, and only remained there for a for minutes before returning to the White House.

    St. John’s has not escaped some damage from the protests surrounding the death of George Floyd, and had its walls defaced on Sunday. There was also a small fire in the parish house basement. However, church leaders noted that at large, the church was “untouched.”

    “I am outraged. The President did not pray when he came to St. John’s, nor as you just articulated, did he acknowledge the agony of our country right now,” Budde said before expressing her support of protesters.

    SILVER SPRING, MD – NOVEMBER 13: The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Washington pauses after speaking out against the hate filled messages left at Episcopal Church of Our SaviourNovember 13, 2016 in Silver Spring, MD. Two hate filled messages were found scrawled apparently by Trump supporters at the church serving Latino community.Each had the words “Trump Nation. Whites only” written on a banner and the parish’s memorial garden wall.(Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

    “And in particular, that of the people of color in our nation, who wonder if anyone ever—anyone in public power will ever acknowledge their sacred words. And who are rightfully demanding an end to 400 years of systemic racism and white supremacy in our country. And I just want the world to know, that we in the diocese of Washington, following Jesus and his way of love … we distance ourselves from the incendiary language of this President. We follow someone who lived a life of nonviolence and sacrificial love,” she added. “We align ourselves with those seeking justice for the death of George Floyd and countless others.”

    Budde also slammed Trump’s use of the Bible during the visit, where he held up the scripture while posing for cameras.

    “Let me be clear: The president just used a Bible, the most sacred text of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and one of the churches of my diocese without permission as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that our churches stand for,” the bishop said.

    Donald Trump emerged from the White House on Monday evening, apparently angered by reports that he had cowered in his underground bunker amidst protests on Friday at the White House.

    Reportedly angered by those reports, according to CNN, Trump declared himself “your president of law and order” and once again threatened military violence against protesters.

    “If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,” he said.

    The post D.C. Bishop Slams Trump For Visiting Church After Police Use Tear Gas On Protesters appeared first on Essence.

  • Rihanna Says Her Brands Will Not Sell Anything On Blackout Tuesday

    Essence Magazine:

    Just when we thought we couldn’t love Rihanna any more than we already do, the singer, fashion boss and beauty mogul reaffirmed her undying commitment to the culture.

    She took to Twitter to make it known to everyone that none of her brands, including Fenty, Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, and Savage X Fenty would be selling anything on Blackout Tuesday.

    “We ain’t buying sh–!!! And we ain’t selling sh– neither!! gang gang. #BLACKOUTTUESDAY AF!!!” she wrote.

    Blackout Tuesday was created by music executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang to cease normal business operations and “business as usual” on Tuesday while Black lives are at stake. Organizations, actors, musicians, influencers, and individuals are posting black images to their social media accounts to signify the observance of the day.

    we ain’t buying shit!!! and we ain’t selling shit neither!! gang gang! #BLACKOUTTUESDAY AF!!! @FentyOfficial @fentybeauty @SavageXFenty 💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿 pic.twitter.com/XNC44Tegj5

    — Rihanna (@rihanna) June 2, 2020

    All of Rihanna’s brand websites are closed and each brand’s Instagram account has its own Blackout Tuesday message.

    Fenty Beauty by Rihanna’s post says, “We are not staying silent and we are not standing by.⁣ The fight against racial inequality, injustice, and straight up racism doesn’t stop with financial donations and words of support. In solidarity with the Black community, our employees, our friends, our families, and our colleagues across industries, we are proud to take part in #BlackoutTuesday.⁣ Fenty Beauty will NOT be conducting any business on Tuesday, June 2.⁣ This is not a day off. This is a day to reflect and find ways to make real change. This is a day to #PullUp.”

    View this post on Instagram

    We are not staying silent and we are not standing by.⁣ ⁣ The fight against racial inequality, injustice, and straight up racism doesn’t stop with financial donations and words of support. In solidarity with the Black community, our employees, our friends, our families, and our colleagues across industries, we are proud to take part in #BlackoutTuesday.⁣ ⁣ Fenty Beauty will NOT be conducting any business on Tuesday, June 2.⁣ ⁣ This is not a day off. This is a day to reflect and find ways to make real change. This is a day to #PullUp⁣ ⁣ Black Lives Matter

    A post shared by FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNA (@fentybeauty) on Jun 1, 2020 at 9:03pm PDT

    All three brand websites host that same message on their homepage, and there are no links to shop products. They also include organizations that supporters of the Black community and the fight against injustice and equality can donate to, including Black Lives Matter NY, The Bail Project, Color Of Change, M4BL and Reclaim The Block, which “organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety.”

    The post Rihanna Says Her Brands Will Not Sell Anything On Blackout Tuesday appeared first on Essence.