February 26, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Written by: Jaylin Emond-Hardin | Entertainment Editor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The voices, stories and lives of Black creators are through these works, collected in honor of Black History Month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Movies and Shows:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne Night in Miami\u201d \u2014<\/strong> Regina King\u2019s directorial debut, \u201cOne Night in Miami,\u201d follows a fictionalized account of the Feb. 25, 1964 meeting of Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown. The four reflect on their place in society as prominent African American men during the Civil Rights movement, and the movie shows the tension among African American activists and figureheads leading up to Malcolm X\u2019s assassination in 1965. \u201cOne Night in Miami\u201d is free to stream on Amazon Prime and Tubi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBlack-ish\u201d \u2014 <\/strong>Running from 2014 to 2022 for eight seasons, \u201cBlack-ish\u201d follows the Johnson family as they juggle personal, familial and sociopolitical issues, especially their wishes to stay true to their black identities while they live in a wealthy, suburban, white neighborhood. The show is available for purchase on Apple TV and Google Play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Boondocks\u201d \u2014 <\/strong>Part of the original lineup on Adult Swim, \u201cThe Boondocks\u201d is an animated comedy series that follows the Freeman family as they settle into the fictional suburb of Woodcrest. Showcasing a mixture of cultures, social classes, lifestyles and racialized identities provides the show with its comedy and conflict throughout each episode. \u201cThe Boondocks\u201d is streaming on Max and Adult Swim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPoetic Justice\u201d \u2014 <\/strong>This 1993 film follows Justice, a talented poet, as she road trips to Oakland with her friends in a mail truck. All four are struggling with the loss of different friends, and the film stands as a journey of discovery, rather than a commentary on society. The film is streaming on Apple TV. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Books:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChildren of Blood and Bone\u201d by Tomi Adeyemi \u2014 <\/strong>Inspired by Nigerian mythology, the first book in the \u201cLegacy of Or\u00efsha\u201d trilogy follows Z\u00e9lie, Tzain and Princess Amari as they set out to restore their people\u2019s system of magic to Or\u00efsha. While it is a young adult novel, it deals heavily with themes of oppression, racism and slavery, with the kosid\u00e1n and maji \u2014 both fictitious social classes \u2014 standing in place of real-world institutions and groups. The book is also set to become a movie, starring Cynthia Erivo, Idris Elba and Amandla Stenberg, and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll We Were Promised\u201d by Ashton Lattimore \u2014 <\/strong>Set in 1837 Philadelphia, \u201cAll We Were Promised\u201d follows three black women \u2014 Charlotte, a fugitive slave; Nell, an abolitionist from a wealthy black family; and Evie, Charlotte\u2019s friend from her time as a slave \u2014 as they navigate life and find freedom in Philadelphia during a time marked by race riots and attacks on abolitionists. \u201cAll We Were Promised\u201d is currently a nominee for the 2024 Readers\u2019 Favorite Debut Novel award from Goodreads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThings Fall Apart\u201d by Chinua Achebe \u2014 <\/strong>Considered one of the great novels about the colonial era, \u201cThings Fall Apart\u201d follows Okonkwo, a traditional leader of the fictional Igbo tribe of Umuofia. A feared warrior and wrestling champion, Okonkwo opposes colonialism and the early Christian missionaries, and the book follows him as he claws his way through the turbulent period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s Elementary\u201d by Elise Bryant \u2014 <\/strong>How far is too far when it comes to parents getting involved in their children\u2019s lives? Bryant\u2019s novel explores just that. Mavis has never been a PTA mom, not when she has too much on her plate, but she surprises herself when she caves to PTA president Trisha Holbrook\u2019s wish for her to lead the school\u2019s DEI committee. When the principal goes missing after Mavis sees Trisha wearing long yellow gloves and hauling cleaning supplies and black trash bags to her minivan, she\u2019s determined to get to the bottom of things. With help from the school psychiatrist, Mavis launches an investigation that ends up challenging her views on parenting, friendship and elementary school politics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Music: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAin\u2019t No Mountain High Enough\u201d by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell \u2014 <\/strong>Gaye and Terrell\u2019s duet is an uplifting, soulful anthem about unconditional love, devotion and support. The song talks about how no obstacle \u2014 mountain, valley or river \u2014 can keep people from being apart from the one they care about most. The song is a classic, uplifting the importance of commitment and the strength of human connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHurry Up Tomorrow\u201d by The Weeknd \u2014 <\/strong>The Weeknd\u2019s newest studio album debuted Jan. 31 and wraps up the trilogy that includes his 2020 album \u201cAfter Hours\u201d and his 2022 album \u201cDawn FM.\u201d With 22 songs spanning well over 90 minutes, it explores themes of fame, personal struggle and artistic transformation, with heavy R&B and synth-pop elements. The album currently sits at number one on the Billboard 200 Chart, where it\u2019s been since its debut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExodus\u201d by Bob Marley and the Wailers \u2014 <\/strong>One of the most influential and iconic reggae albums of our time, Marley recorded this 1977 album in London after surviving an assassination attempt while in Jamaica. Divided into two halves, \u201cExodus\u201d focuses on political struggle, exile and social justice, while also delivering timeless, soulful songs about love and unity. In 1999, Time magazine named \u201cExodus\u201d the best album of the 20th century, which solidified Marley\u2019s legacy as both a musical and cultural icon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProud Mary\u201d by Tina Turner \u2014 <\/strong>Originally performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Turner turned this song into one of her most iconic, adding her own signature to it. Lyrically, the song tells the story of leaving behind a mundane life to work on a Mississippi Riverboat and Turner\u2019s version adds personal freedom and the joy of living life to the fullest. Blending soul and funk, Turner\u2019s version of \u201cProud Mary\u201d has become a timeless classic even more well-known than the original. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February 26, 2025 Written by: Jaylin Emond-Hardin | Entertainment Editor The voices, stories and lives of Black creators are through these works, collected in honor of Black History Month. Movies and Shows: \u201cOne Night in Miami\u201d \u2014 Regina King\u2019s directorial debut, \u201cOne Night in Miami,\u201d follows a fictionalized account of the Feb. 25, 1964 meeting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[780,3667,6081,713,6085,6087,6084,6082,6086,6080,6088,6083,6089,3408],"class_list":["post-22343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-amazon-prime","tag-apple-tv","tag-black-history","tag-black-history-month","tag-black-ish","tag-cassius-clay","tag-jim-brown","tag-malcolm-x","tag-mohammed-ali","tag-one-night-in-miami","tag-poetic-justice","tag-sam-cooke","tag-the-boondocks","tag-tupac"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22343"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22346,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22343\/revisions\/22346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}