The annual Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo is named for a rodeo star whose career spanned over four decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Bill Pickett, the “Dusky Demon,” born in Texas in 1870, was of black, Cherokee and white descent. He is credited with inventing bulldogging, a method of wrestling a 1,000 [...]
Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA
Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, Geri Allen and Timeline, India.Arie, John Pizzarelli, Huey Lewis and the News and an all-star tribute to the music of Miles Davis and Gil Evans headline this year’s Monterey Jazz Festival. Over 500 artists will be performing on 8 stages nonstop starting on Friday through Sunday, September 16-18, 2011, on the [...]
Urbanworld Film Festival, New York City, NY
The nation’s largest competitive multicultural film festival, Urbanworld will screen 58 films, including 17 world premieres. Highlights of Urbanworld 2011 include: The world premiere of Diane Paragas’ and Nelson George’s Brooklyn Boheme featuring Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Branford Marsalis, Rosie Perez, and Saul Williams (Opening Night Selection) The Horne Brothers’ The Start of Dreams, a [...]
African Diaspora Heritage Trail Conference, Nova Scotia, Canada
The annual conference draws hundreds of dignitaries, scholars and tourism operators from around the world who are focused on preserving and promoting important sites and stories throughout the African diaspora, the movement of Africans and their descendants throughout the world. Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada) will host this year’s African Diaspora Heritage Trail (ADHT) Conference, September [...]
African American Cinema: Yesteday, Today
“The history of the African-American Cinema is a harsh timeline of racism, repression and struggle contrasted with film scenes of boundless joy, hope and artistic spirit.” The following is a hand picked, inspirational selection of the best books on African American cinema compiled by the editors of Discover Black Heritage. Toms, Coons, Mullatoes, Mammies & [...]
Soul food disappearing in Chicago as Blacks leave
Duct tape covers a large crack in the premier booth at Hard Time Josephine’s Cooking, where waitresses still call you “sweetie” and customers come for the steaming shrimp bisque and homemade peach cobbler with just a hint of cinnamon. Not so long ago, an eyesore like this at one of Chicago’s top soul food restaurants [...]
