Marvel’s Black Panther is in movie theaters now. Black Panther the superhero is here to save the world but he represents so much more than that.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the comic book character in 1966—and predates the Black Panther Party, according to Chuck Creekmur, the CEO of AllHipHop.com. The character is a king, warrior, and scientist—an alpha male on another level, Creekmur says.
Black Panther is king of a fictional technologically advanced African country that hides its riches and intellectual wealth from the world until the Black Panther must fulfill his destiny.
The movie has great action, strong female characters, a multi-layered plot and a predominantly black cast. It is groundbreaking in many ways.
“You have a $200 million budget given to a person of color, Ryan Coogler, 31 years old, has only directed two other films prior to this—Fruitvale Station and Creed,” says Clayton Davis, a film critic and the editor in chief of awardscircuit.com. “And he’s given the keys to a big franchise like Black Panther.”
The film’s positive portrayals of a black civilization untouched by racism or colonialism can have a profound effect, especially on children.
“We’ve all been conditioned to see Africa and Africa’s children, whether they be in Africa or in Brooklyn, in a negative light,” says Brian Favors, an educator with the Nate Parker Foundation. “And I think this is going to be something that’s going to help defy some of those stereotypes.”
“Any time an individual can see themselves in a positive light, that can only increase their self-esteem,” says Dr. Elisa English, a clinical therapist.
—LISA EVERS
FEATURED CAST: LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers https://twitter.com/lisaevers
CHUCK CREEKMUR, CEO, AllHipHop.com https://twitter.com/chuckcreekmur https://twitter.com/AllHipHopcom
CLAYTON DAVIS, Editor in Chief, AwardsCircuit.com https://twitter.com/ClaytonDavis_Jr https://twitter.com/AwardsCircuit
BRIAN FAVORS, Educator, Nate Parker Foundation https://twitter.com/NateParkerFdn
DR. ELISA ENGLISH, clinical therapist https://twitter.com/AskDrElisa
Sade sang about love on the front lines. Now for celebrities, their love lives are increasingly on front street.
Mega-hot Cardi B was still celebrating her engagement to Migos rapper Offset when other women posted their sex tapes with him. Cardi responded that cheating happens to everyone so why start over with someone else?
Celebrities can influence our relationships, according to Essence Magazine senior editor Charreah Jackson, a relationship expert.
“We know that people are watching what celebrities do more than ever so it definitely has an impact to see what are favorite celebrities, your favorite singer, your favorite actor,” Jackson says. “What’s happening in their home can definitely normalize things that happen in your home.”
Cheating scandals (think Tiger Woods) used to mean shame and divorce court. But no more. Actress Gabrielle Union went on to marry NBA star Dwayne Wade even after he confessed he had a baby with another woman. Lala Anthony is estranged from husband Carmelo after he reportedly fathered a child with his alleged mistress.
And it is not just celebrities.
“Believe it or not, nine times out of ten, the people are staying around,” says private investigator Patrick McCall, CEO of McCall Risk Group. “You’re presenting them with some pretty good evidence, some solid facts that this occurred, and they’re basically just saying, ‘I’m already invested, I have nowhere to go.'”
He says a lot of clients rationalize staying by saying they must have done something.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé may be the most high-profile couple to stay together through the tough times and make chart-topping albums and millions of dollars along the way—first Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” and then Jay’s “4:44.”
Jackson believes if the couple gets to the root cause of the cheating, they can rekindle their love.
But McCall disagrees.
“My honest opinion is, ‘Once a cheater, always a cheater,’ never going to change,” he says. “The possibility of that person doing it again is pretty high.”
–LISA EVERS
FEATURED CAST: LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers https://twitter.com/lisaevers
CHARREAH JACKSON, Senior Editor, Essence Magazine https://twitter.com/Charreah
JACK A. DANIELS, Psychotherapist and TV Host https://twitter.com/jackAdaniels
ANAIS, Star, “Love and Hip Hop: New York” https://twitter.com/therealanais
PATRICK MCCALL, CEO, McCall Risk Group https://twitter.com/mccallriskgroup
The New York City Housing Authority provides affordable housing for nearly half a million New Yorkers. But with a no-heat crisis and other ongoing health and safety issues, can NYCHA turn it around before it is too late?
This has been a rough winter for tens of thousands of rent-paying NYCHA residents who found themselves without heat and without help on some of the coldest days in decades. Residents told us it was nothing new, but it was also never this bad.
From Throggs Neck to Far Rockaway, one end of the city to the other, resident council leaders told us they were running high on complaints and low on results—a pattern all too familiar from the lead paint scandal and safety issues like crime, lighting, and security cameras.
Aging buildings, boilers breaking down, lack of staff, and lack of funding—despite NYCHA’s $3 billion annual budget—are the reasons we kept getting. Another frustration was no real timetable for repairs. So we put it to NYCHA Chair Shola Olatoye in a rare interview on a recent Street Soldiers episode.
Some elected officials want her to step down. They accuse NYCHA management of incompetence, covering up problems, and not caring about residents.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and City Comptroller Scott Stringer called the situation an emergency.
Public Advocate Letitia James called for new leadership at NYCHA that recognizes the priorities of the residents, particularly the most vulnerable and marginalized.
Days after announcing a $13 million emergency fund, Mayor Bill de Blasio told Good Day New York that he is sticking by his NYCHA chair, period.
So we took it to the people of NYCHA housing in a ground-breaking town hall in the Bronx. Voices were united as residents demanded permanent fixes to the problems. Residents and resident council leaders from more than a dozen public housing developments came out with local youth and concerned elected officials to talk about ways to solve the persistent problems facing NYCHA residents.
Residents have complained about no heat or hot water, urgent repairs not being made, broken promises, and dangerous health issues like lead and mold exposure.
Street Soldiers invited the mayor and NYCHA to attend or at the very least send representatives but they were all no-shows.
Our panelists who grew up in public housing say it is time to take the issues to NYCHA and City Hall. Joining our panel was hip-hop artist Ja Rule.
We had a lot of support for the town hall from Hot 97, which helped us get the word out and provide refreshments, to the hit web series “Project Heat,” which is based in the Pink Houses, to our event host, the Bronxworks Community Organization, which empowers Bronx residents to live their best life possible.
The mayor has pledged more than $200 million for new boilers and repairs, but many are skeptical about the timeline and the amount, which they say is a drop in the bucket.
–LISA EVERS
Urban web series are exploding in popularity. The shows attract millions of viewers. Themes of life and death in the streets, often on the edge of the law, made by self-taught filmmakers. Is this real-life street cinema or is the ‘hood going Hollywood?
“Mayhem” claimed the title as best popular web series in the first Urban Web Series Awards. It took off so fast that creator Andre Keys never looked back. He quit his job to work on the series full time. In fact, he is launching a spinoff series soon.
“Home of the Hittaz” is based out of Brooklyn, the Bronx and Far Rockaway with familiar themes of the drug game and violence and with characters as addictive as crack.
TV and film critic Clayton Davis says viewers can’t get enough. If there is a Hollywood for web series, it has to be Brooklyn. “Project Heat” makes filming on the streets an event for the neighborhood.
The incredible thing is that most of these web series creators are self-taught filmmakers and use friends and family members as actors, which makes scheduling a challenge. As they sign major distribution deals, they’ll be able to have a payroll.
–LISA EVERS
FEATURED CAST: LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers https://twitter.com/lisaevers
TIFFON “POP” DUNN, Creator, “Project Heat” and Founder, Urban Web Series Awards https://www.instagram.com/popshowup/
DOUG “KD” APPARICIO, Producer and Cowriter, “Project Heat” https://www.instagram.com/kdshowup/
BOOM P., Creator and Director, “Respect Life” https://www.instagram.com/boompacino/
CLAYTON DAVIS, Editor-in-Chief, AwardsCircuit.com https://twitter.com/AwardsCircuit
ANDRE KEYS, Creator, “Mayhem” https://www.instagram.com/mayhem_driz/
SHAKIM HINES, Creator, “Home of the Hittaz” https://www.instagram.com/ceo_sha_hom…