In 1994, Whitney Houston took the stage in Durban, South Africa, making her the first major Western musician to visit the newly unified, post-apartheid nation following President Nelson Mandela’s winning election. This performance was more than a concert; it was a celebration of freedom, hope, and unity. Whitney’s powerhouse voice and emotional delivery brought joy and inspiration to a country newly liberated. Continue reading
Lena Horne performed by The Lady Is a Tramp from the musical Babes in Arms (1937). The musical features music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Continue reading
A-Tisket, A-Tasket is the 1938 breakout hit that catapulted Ella Fitzgerald to national stardom. Co-written by Fitzgerald and arranger Al Feldman (Van Alexander), the song is a playful jazz adaptation of a 19th-century children’s nursery rhyme. Ella famously performed the song in her 1942 film debut, Ride ‘Em Cowboy. Continue reading
By Alex Smith, Jr.
Sunday night was the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ (AMPAS) 98th Oscar Awards at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, CA. I have watched the Oscars for decades now. I have found some Oscar programs better than others. I can’t remember any of them being spectacular except maybe the year The Godfather I won best picture-1973. Continue reading
Cotton Comes to Harlem was the beginning of short period in American film that featured black actors in leading roles and the themes dealt with issues from the African-American microcosm. With a screenplay by Arnold Perl and Ossie Davis, and directed by Davis this action drama represents the black perspective. Much of the film’s humor is urban black comedy, which was groundbreaking in 1970.
Wattstax was a benefit concert organized by Stax Records to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 1965 riots in the African American community of Watts, Los Angeles. The concert took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 20, 1972. The concert’s performers included all of the Stax’s prominent artists at the time. The genres of the songs performed included soul, gospel, R&B, blues, funk and jazz. The film stars Isaac Hayes, The Staples Singers, Luther Ingram, Johnnie Taylor, The Emotions, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Albert King and others special guest star Richard Pryor. Continue reading
In the 1970 film drama The Liberation of L.B. Jones a wealthy Black undertaker, Lord Byron (L.B.) Jones performed by Roscoe Lee Browne, seeks to engage a respected lawyer to represent him in a divorce action against Emma (Lola Falana), his young wife who’s having an affair with Willie Joe Worth (Anthony Zerbe), a white cop. Jones is seeking a divorce from his considerably younger Emma, alleging she had an affair with white police officer Willie Joe Worth, whom he suspects is the biological father of her unborn child. Continue reading
The Real Story of Jean-Michel Basquiat, often focusing on his transition from a homeless graffiti artist to a global art icon. This YouTube mini-documentary titled The Real Story of Jean-Michel Basquiat was released in 2023. Continue reading
Samuel George “Sammy” Davis, Jr. was born on December 8, 1925. He was an African- American entertainer who broke many barriers and paved the way for entertainers in all disciplines. Davis was primarily a dancer and singer, but he also received acclaim as an actor of stage and screen, musician, and impressionist. Davis died at age 64 in 1990, after spending 61 years in the profession he loved. Continue reading
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
A dance and wellness classes design for Older Adults taught by Walter Rutledge
204 W 134th St, New York, NY 10030
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueA dance and wellness classes design for Older Adults taught by Walter Rutledge
720 Nereid Ave, Bronx, NY 10466
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue