'Little Mermaid' Live-Action Film Casts Halle Bailey as Ariel!

Disney fans....listen up!! A live-action Little Mermaid adaptation is in the works and they have announced who will play the main character, Ariel!

Singer Halle Bailey, one half of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle, has been cast in director Rob Marshall's upcoming adaptation of the beloved undersea tale, ET has learned. The film will feature beloved songs from the animated classic by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as new songs by Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who will also serve as a producer.

"After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role," Marshall said of the performer in a statement. Production on the film is anticipated to begin in early 2020.

Bailey and her sister, Chloe, also both star in the Freeform series Grown-ish in addition to their musical career -- which was kick-started when Beyonce saw their cover of her song, "Pretty Hurts," and asked them to open for the European leg of her Formation World Tour.

By Meredith B. Kile‍ 12:55 PM PDT, July 3, 2019

Source: www.etonline.com

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The History of Braids and Bans on Black Hair

Braids and other traditionally Black hairstyles have been banned in the military, schools, and the workplace — but they're also championed as a symbol of celebration

Source: Shea Moisture's MANE Episode 1

Taraji P. Henson will host this year's Black Girls Rock! Awards

Taraji P. Henson has just been announced as the host of the “Black Girls Rock” 2017 Awards on BET.

“I’m honored to host the ‘BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™’ Awards. I love the message and I love Beverly Bond and her vision. I was lucky to be honored in 2011. It is truly a highlight of my life. Now I’m back to be part of this amazing night to honor the strong and powerful Yara, Issa Rae, Roberta, Suzanne, Derrica and Natalie. Let’s make history together as we come together as women of brains, beauty and in support of each other,” Henson said in a press release announcing her hosting gig.

The Black Girls Rock Awards are targeted to highlight extraordinary Black women who have broken barriers and been uplifting influences in their communities. Honorees include actress Issa Rae, actress Yara Shahidi, singer Roberta Flack businesswoman Suzanne Shank, and Derrica Wilson and Natalie Wilson of The Black & Missing Foundation.

The awards will be taped on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017 and will air on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017 at 8:00 P.M./ET on BET.

Source: The GRIO/BET.com

13 year old Zulaikha Patel leads protest against racist hair policy

Meet 13-year-old Zulaikha Patel, one of the students who helped lead a protest against the discriminatory hair policy at Pretoria Girls High School (a formerly white-only institution in South Africa). 

During the school's weekend fair on Saturday, Zulaikha and her fellow classmates staged a silent protest against their school's hair policy, which targets and restricts how Black girls wear their hair to school. On top of being disciplined for wearing her natural hair, Zulaikha has had to move schools three times because her hair did not comply with the code of conduct. Furthermore, Pretoria High's teachers also prohibit students from speaking their own local African languages in the classroom. 

For Zulaikha this is about: "Fighting for every Black child in this country, because it’s time for our endless cries to be heard."  

The Next 'Iron Man' Is A 15-Year-Old Black Girl

When we think of super intelligent “good guys” in the Marvel Universe, there’s a few names that come to mind. We might think of Tony Stark, who built the Iron Man suit (and Spider-Man’s new threads), or Reed Richards AKA Mister Fantastic, who has basically mastered all aspects of physics, biology, and chemistry.

But according to an announcement made at San Diego Comic-Con, the smartest hero in the Marvel Universe is not Tony Stark or Reed Richards or any of the other superheroes that might have claimed the title in the past. The smartest protagonist in all of Marvel is a little black girl named Lunella Lafayette.

Lunella is the main character in the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur comics, which is a remake of Devil Dinosaur, a classic graphic novel that follows a T-Rex that is magically transported to modern day NYC. In the new version, Lunella replaces the original hero, Moon Boy, and she eventually teams up with the monstrous dino. Part of what makes Lunella so smart is the fact that she carries an “inhuman gene,” and she also is a skillful engineer.

BuzzFeed spoke to Marvel senior editor Mark Paniccia about what’s in store for Lunella in the upcoming issues of the series. Mark said that, “In the third arc of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Lunella faces an impossible half-dozen science-challenges that might not only prove her smarts, but also save the world.”

And that is pretty exciting, not just for older fans of comics, but for the young girls who might read them while growing up. Representation matters, and this news, which follows on the heels of the news that Roxane Gay will write a Black Panther book, is a sign that Marvel is moving in the right direction.

Source: Now This Entertainment/ Teen Vogue

Puerto Rican Superhero Makes Debut

Inspired by the Puerto Rican national anthem of the same name, the superhero La Borinqueña — a woman named Marisol Rios De La Luz, wearing a costume inspired by the Puerto Rican flag — will make her debut this summer at the Puerto Rican Day Parade. She also will be featured in a comic book to be printed in the fall during an event organized by the creator Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez called Café Con Comics (“Coffee With Comics”); it will be held at the CUNY East Harlem campus building in a historically Puerto Rican neighborhood.

La Borinqueña has the powers of nature — such as hurricanes, the sea and the sun — and protects Puerto Rico from natural disasters. Her greatest power, Miranda-Rodriguez says, will be showing Puerto Ricans — those on the island and in the United States — that the power to make Puerto Rico better lies within them as much as it does inside of her.
“It’s not about [her powers], but it’s about what the character represents,” Miranda-Rodriguez says. “She’s here to remind you that the power of our people comes from our people. We don’t have to ask for something when it is already within us. It’s a narrative that’s going to remind us of ourselves. We’ve always had that power. Being Puerto Rican is our superpower.”

It was the Marvel comic featuring Grandma Estela — the one that touched so many readers — that led to Miranda-Rodriguez’s creation of other Puerto Rican comic-book heroes. He says there is power in those panels when you’re able to see yourself through art.
“People saw themselves. And when you see yourself, that’s empowering,” Miranda-Rodriguez said. “When you hear your story, you recognize for the first time that you have that superpower.”

Source: The Washington Post