JUST ADD COLOR-TUMBLR EDITION

(Photo credit: Vici Howard) Vici Howard didn’t get into the entertainment industry to make a film festival. But after creating her own short film, she was led to the path of founding the Chicago, IL-based Black & Brown Femme Film Festival (BBFF), now in its fourth year at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago. The festival will take place July 25-26. “Oh my…

Virginia (Danika Golombek) writes while being visited by a mysterious female figure (Nathalie Söderqvist). (Photo credit: Storyboard Media) Directed by: Mark Wilson Written by: Chris Retts Starring: Danika Golombek, Grayson Eddey, Marcus DeAnda, Zachary Cowan, Nathalie Söderqvist, Greg Lutz Synopsis (IMDb): A brother and sister are terrorized by what seems to be their late-author mother’s…

Billy Porter and Wayne Brady in Encores! La Cage Aux Folles rehearsal. (Credit: New York City Center) One of my favorite films is The Birdcage, so color me excited when I learned that the stage production that started it all, La Cage aux Folles, is getting a Broadway revival called Encores! La Cage Aux Folles. Rehearsal footage has been strategically released to drum up fervor around the…

(Photo credit: Beth Shelburne/UAB) The Alabama Solution opened its audience’s eyes when it premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Its streaming debut on HBO Max later that year showed the U.S. and the world what was happening in Alabama–heinous crimes that most of the state’s population weren’t even aware were happening in their name. Journalist Beth Shelburne is well-known in…

Central to Aleshea Harris’ film Is God Is is the relationship between sisters–and by extension, all Black women. Harris spoke with Just Add Color about how she approached aspects of Blackness, including Black women’s emotional inner lives. Both characters, twins Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) represent different aspects of the Black female experience. In Anaia’s case, in…

Mallori Johnson as Anaia and Kara Young stars as Racine. (Photo credit: Patti Perret/Amazon MGM Studios) Directed and written by: Aleshea Harris Starring: Kara Young, Mallori Johnson,  Janelle Monáe, Erika Alexander, Mykelti Williamson, Josiah Cross, with Vivica A. Fox and Sterling K. Brown. Synopsis (Amazon MGM Studios): In Is God Is, two sisters embark on an epic quest for revenge,…

Tourette’s tics can include obscenities and slurs. These taboo words are emotionally charged and socially significant, so they tend to be more strongly encoded in the brain’s wiring. Dominic Lipinski/Stringer via Getty Images Rena Zito, Elon University John Davidson, whose life inspired the award-winning biopic “I Swear,” involuntarily shouted a racial slur during Michael B. Jordan and Delroy…

Bernie Sanders, then the mayor of Burlington, greets Jesse Jackson backstage at a 1988 Vermont rally where he endorsed Jackson’s presidential bid. AP Photo/Toby Talbot Bert Johnson, Middlebury College Jesse Jackson’s two campaigns for president, in 1984 and 1988, were unsuccessful but historic. The civil rights activist and organizer, who died on Feb. 17, 2026, helped pave the way for Barack…

Tyra Banks attends the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2024 Issue Release and 60th Anniversary Celebration at Hard Rock Hotel New York on May 16, 2024, in New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images This story was originally reported by Jennifer Gerson of The 19th. Meet Jennifer and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to our new…

(Photo credit: The Cre8sian Project) Lainie Sakakura is more than just the current reigning Mrs. Claus. The Broadway veteran, director, choreographer, librettist, producer waved to crowds last year as Mrs. Claus during the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. But the woman behind the mystical Christmas character has experienced the exceptional highs and the absolute horrors of American life as a…

(Photo credit: The Cre8sian Project) Lainie Sakakura is more than just the current reigning Mrs. Claus. The Broadway veteran, director, choreographer, librettist, producer waved to crowds last year as Mrs. Claus during the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. But the woman behind the mystical Christmas character has experienced the exceptional highs and the absolute horrors of American life as a…

The new teaser trailer and teaser poster for Bridgerton Season 4, Part 2 give fans a peek into what the rest of Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek’s (Yerin Ha) magical and dramatic love story entails. As we’ve learned so far in Part 1, Benedict is enamored with the Lady in Silver, but he doesn’t realize that she’s Sophie, the maid and stepdaughter of Araminta Gun (Katie Leung).…

Olivia Dean was one of a few women who won at the 2026 Grammys. Chris Torres/EPA Men rule the Grammys as women see hard drop in wins at 2026 awards Luba Kassova, University of Westminster In her acceptance speech for best pop vocal album at the 68th Grammy Awards ceremony last night, Lady Gaga shone a light on the challenges that women face in studios. “It can be hard,” she said. “So, I urge…

Duane Ervin and Stephen Cofield Jr. in Jamarcus Rose & Da 5 Bullet Holes. (Credit: Marcellus Cox) Directed by: Marcellus Cox Written by: Marcellus Cox Starring: Duane Ervin, Stephen Cofield Jr., Ruthie Austin, Eric McNair Synopsis (IMDb): A Talented High School MLB Prospect spends the day with his new mentor from the Big Brothers of America Program. Monique’s review: Jamarcus Rose & Da…

(Credit: HBCU Week NOW) HBCU filmmakers are celebrated by Black Public Media and Maryland Public Television during the inaugural HBCU Week NOW Student Film Festival. The festival, which began Jan. 27, features 10 selected films from a pool of 36 submissions from across the country. The winning filmmakers are students and recent graduates of Hampton University, Howard University and Spellman…