Will, Chris, The Slap It's All Complicated

 

Sunday Night things got a little uneasy at the Academy Awards. After Chris Rock performed a joke on Jada Pinkett Smith, her husband Will calmly walked on stage slapped Chris and walked back to his seat. By now you've seen the footage, the aftermath, the memes and the numerous viewpoints of everyone around the world on this situation.

From people are too soft to it comes with the territory. Will was right, Will was wrong. What they would have done if they were Will or Chris. Here's my very brief two cents on it, the whole situation is complicated. It's also very easy to say what you would have done when you're not in that exact moment.

Based on Will's speech after he won an Oscar for Best Actor his emotions were high. He spoke of the need at this point in his life to be a protector of those around him. Which alludes to why he did what he did. As a husband he was right in defending his wife, could it have been handled differently? Of course and that's what makes it wrong.

However things also point to emotional baggage, feeling like enough and enough. And overall just being tired of being the butt of jokes. Which points to something we are still fighting in the Black community. The proper outlet and space for Black people, especially Black males to let their feelings out and handle it properly.

Maybe we'll get more light on the situation, maybe we won't. Hopefully the complexities of the situation allows for more open dialogue about mental health and emotions among Black men.

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Give Us A Meteor Man Cartoon!

 My brother and I are huge fans of the 1993 film Meteor Man. We were recently discussing is it time for a remake of the movie and I instantly shot it down, Hell No leave the movie as it was!! Is exactly what I said lol. Then for some random reason a thought popped in my head. Meteor Man is owned and was released by MGM Studios, MGM is currently in the process of being bought by Amazon. Amazon needs fresh content to convince people to use prime video and compete with more popular streaming services. Lastly studios love digging in the archives for the next big property they can introduce to a new generation.

Meteor Man is the perfect property for that to happen....by way of a cartoon series. A Meteor Man cartoon that maintains the same comedic tone as the film with maybe a small dash of the violence depicted in Invincible would be a hit in my opinion. Since its an cartoon, it could be set in the same timeline of the original in the 90's or be moved up to present day with a slightly new take on Meteor Man.

Jefferson Reed could still be a teacher trying to maintain the balance of being a superhero, being a positive influence for his students and include his desire to make sure Meteor Man is portrayed as a positive Black role model through the media. 

The neighborhood and the wacky character's Jefferson knew and loved would have to be highlighted in the show as well. Such as old school music loving but trying to remain young Earnest (James Earl Jones). We can't forget his inner circle of his parents (Played by Robert Guillaume and Marla Gibbs in the film). His best friend Michael played by Eddie Griffin, who wanted to be Meteor Man for his own dating gain. They all could be developed more and have bigger roles,  in supporting Jefferson's mission as Meteor Man.

It's so many avenues they could go with the character's with more time to flesh the story out over 10 or so episodes. It'd also be interesting if the the subplot from the movie, of Jefferson frequently losing his powers if he doesn't touch the meteorite was added to the series and how he goes about maintaining his powers during his day to day life. Does he drink energy drinks non-stop since using his powers drains him?

The cartoon and Meteor Man's journey would not be complete without The Golden Lords being involved in the story. The Golden Lords are a underrated group of villains where every member hair is dyed gold and their attire included gold of some sort. The leader of the group Simon and the group themselves could be fleshed out a bit more regarding what their exact goal was. Was it just to run D.C.? or world domination? Simon's boss Anthony played by Frank Gorshin (The Riddler in the 60's Batman series) and his organization could be portrayed as well, maybe as the overarching villain. The cartoon would get hella bonus points if Roy Fegan is able to return and voice Simon. 

Of course if this were to come to fruition, Robert Townsend has to be involved in the development of the series. If not, maybe some like me who loves the movie 1,000 times over could do the series justice (just throwing it out in the universe). Meteor Man deserves some love and we the fans deserve some sort of continution of the property to enjoy time and time again.

When the movie was released, Marvel released a limited edition comic book series of Meteor Man. Let's get some corporate syngery going and bring that back as well.

Amazon make it happen, We need a Meteor Man cartoon series. 

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Black Museums You May Not Know About

Black History Month is about educating others on how much we've contributed to the world, and celebrating the culture and the things we do that make us, US! Black influence and history is in every facet of society and there are many museums that celebrate that. The Great Blacks and Wax Museum and Reginald F.Lewis Museum both in Baltimore, National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Motown Museum in Detroit, fun cultural museums like the Trap Museum and Culture Experience in Atlanta, Black Hair Experience in D.C. and of course the National Museum of African American History And Culture In D.C.

These are some of the more well known museums, this article will cover 5 museums that explore our rich history you may not be aware of .

Black Writers museum

Located in Philadelphia, this museum displays writings and contributions of many Black writers throughout history. Highlighting the perseverance of Black people to learn to read and write, then create our own stories and testimonies to share with the world. The stated goal of the museum is to inspire the next generation of literary greatness within our community. More Information about this museum can be found on the website https://www.blackwritersmuseum.com/

National Museum of African American music

Nestled in Nashville, TN this museum is fairly new opening in 2020. It showcases Black peoples various contributions to the music industry. All of the genres created, influenced, or inspired by us, and how our contributions to music intertwine with history. This museum is one I definitely plan to visit one day, more details about the museum's long history and it's mission can be foud on the website https://nmaam.org/ 

Apex Museum

Located in the Black mecca Atlanta, the African-American Panoramic Museum explores Black life and  contributions in every avenue possible. One thing that makes this museum stand out is that exhibits are rotated out every quarter, so repeat visitors learn something new each time. The museum's website displays a brief but powerful message, "Whatever you do, never let them begin our history with slavery." The museum's website is https://www.apexmuseum.org/

National Voting Rights Museum and Institute

Located in Selma, Alabama not far from the Edmund Pettus Bridge where "Bloody Sunday" occured. This museum highlights the struggles and battles many African-Americans went through to obtai the basic right to vote. The sacrifices made, the persistent activitst who continued to push forward and even the continued fight to this day for voting rights. More Information can be found on the website http://nvrmi.com/ 

Negro League Hall of Fame

Located in Kansas City is a musuem I have been clamoring to get to for years, the Negro League Hall of Fame. Everyone knows about Jackie Robinson who broke the color barrier in the major leagues, but what about Larry Doby the man who followed in Jackie's footsteps? Or Negro League legends like Satchiel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, and Buck O'neil? This musuem tell's their stories and the story of the leage overall. With so much history packed into the exhibit it is a must visit for any baseball fan. The musuems website is https://www.nlbm.com/

While this is just a handful of musuems highlighting Black History, there are many more throughout the country covering all that we bring to the table. For more information on Black museums

visit https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-museums-united-states-and-canada/

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Black Cartoons You May Have Forgot About

 Probably one of the greatest feelings in the world was sitting in front of the TV, with the biggest bowl of cereal possible watching Saturday Morning cartoons. Unfortunately that feeling isn't as prevelant nowadays for kids, as Saturday Morning cartoons aren't really a thing any longer. Due to cable channels like Cartoon Network and Boomerang not to mention streaming apps, cartoons are accessible anytime for today's kids. 

Since Black History Month is all about what the culture brings to society and it is alot. I wanted to highlighted some forgotten cartoons that starred Black chraracters.  We all know cartoons like The Jackson 5,Fat Albert, The Proud Family, Doc McStuffins, and Static Shock. Here are 7 cartoons featuring Black characters you may or may not know of or even remember. 

C-Bear and Jamal

                                                 

Debuting on Fox Kids in 1996, C-Bear and Jamal starred Tone Loc as a backwards cap rapping teddy bear named C Bear. C Bear becomes alive around Jamal and at times his friends, encouraging them and helping them outlandish child adventures. One of the highlights of the show was one of Jamal's best friends, Kwame. Kwame believed in conspricays and blamed everything on the "man", he was a hotep before that was a thing and as a 9 year old that makes it even more hilarious.

The cartoon only lasted for 13 episodes, which is weird because I could have sworn there were more episodes. Anyway it's currently airing on The Roku Channel, for all who wish to check it out.

Mister T

In the 1980's fresh off his role as Clubber Lang in Rocky III and as B.A. Baracus on the A-Team, Mr. T was a bonafide star. With his signature mohawk look and dripped in jewerly full of gold, along with his "Pity The Fool" catchphrase. People were drawn to Mr. T, Which as customary during that time meant getting your own cartoon. He even had his own cereal to go along with the cartoon.

The Cartoon called Mister T (for copyright reasons) followed Mr. T as a gymnastics coach traveling the world solving mysteries, in the same vain as Scobby-Doo. Each episode featured in a live action segment with Mr. T, first giving a overview of the episode and last providing moral lessons learned. 

Mister T aired for three seasons on NBC, currently only a handful of episodes are available to watch on YouTube.

Hammerman

Just like Mr. T, MC Hammer was not only a rap star he was a world renowned superstar in the early 90's. With his flashing clothes and dance moves to go along with his rap, Hammer appealed to the masses. This bought him deals with Pepsi and British Knights, even a toy deal with mattel for a Hammer doll.

He crossed in the cartoon lane in 1991 with his Hammerman cartoon. The premise was actually promising, regular ol' Stanley is just a guy around the neighborhood helping to keep it clean. He has possession of a pair of talking shoes that transform him into the superhero Hammerman when he puts them on.

The series aired on ABC for 13 episodes, and featured the typical 80's/90's staple of have live action segments featuring Hammer, where he spoke with a group of neighborhood kids about lessons learned during the episode. Hammerman is not currently available on any streaming services, a clip here and there can be found on YouTube.

Kid 'N Play

Like Hammer, Kid 'N Play were successful hip hop artist who had just enough appeal for the masses. So in 1990, fresh off their success with the first House Party film. CBS decided to see if they could be successful in the cartoon world.

The cartoon featured the duo getting into some wild adventures as they embarked on tour for their music career. As a kid not knowing any better, I always wondered why characters like Bilal and the three bullies from the movies weren't included in the cartoon. Of course, those characters were created for the film which had nothing to do with hip hop act of Kid 'N Play.

Just like Mr. T and Hammer, Kid 'N Play appeared in live action segments at the beginning and end of each episode. They couldn't strike gold with the cartoon and it only lasted for one season. A couple of episodes are available on YouTube.

Fillmore!

Fillmore! was an early 2000's ABC cartoon. It focused on Cornelius Fillmore, a one-time troubled middle schooler who has gotten on the straight path. He now investigates "crimes" that occur around his school, X Middle.

Along with his partner Ingrid, the two are members of the school's safety patrol doing what it takes to keep the school safe. The cartoon took heavy influence from crime proceduals and other hard-hitting cop shows toning it down for appeal to kids. It actually is a cartoon adults can enjoy as well due to that very reason.

It ran for two reasons and replayed for years on Disney channels such as Disney XD. It's not currently available on Disney Plus.

WayneHead

WayneHead is a cartoon created by Damon Wayans. Many can take it or leave it with the Wayans family style of comedy. I think their comedy legends, with Damon being the overall funniest of the bunch. From my understanding his intentions were very well with this cartoon, it unfortunately did not pan out well.

The cartoon follows Damey Wayne, a regular kid with a bald head and a club foot just doing regular kid things in NYC. It ran for one season on WB Kids during the WB's early years as a network. I'm not sure if it was because WB didn't have a large following at the time or people just didnt care for the show.

Either way it's a crime the show wasn't able to find it's footing. It's currently available on platforms like Amazon Video and Google Play for a couple bucks.

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales For Every Child

An HBO Kids staple in the 90's was Happily Ever After. The series took fairy tales we all grew up with and switched it up, incorporating different cultures into each episode. Now it wasn't primarily Black characters highlighted in each episode, but a great deal of episodes did include Black characters.

Each episode featured major Hollywood stars at the time to voice the characters, and were narrated by Robert Guillaume. The series debuted in 1995 and ran until 2000, as a kid I didn't realize it but the show highlighted how important representation is.

The series is currently available on HBO Family for those who haven't cut the cord yet, and HBO Max for those that have.

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Subscribe To Grand Crew

 

Without question Abbott Elementary is the best new comedy on TV right now, but dont sleep on another freshman sitcom Grand Crew. Grand Crew is one of NBC’s newest ensemble comedies. Like most sitcoms it follows a group of friends navigating life and their different situations, while relying on one another. I’ll admit it took me a couple of episodes to enjoy Grand Crew and “get” it’s type of humor, which is probably the driest of dry humor. At least to me though, it secretly is a genius program.

The center of these groups of friends is Noah played by Echo Kellum of “Arrow” fame. Noah wants nothing more than to be in a relationship, and he looks to romantic comedies for inspiration which is hilarious. He is a walking romantic comedy encyclopedia, which is a ununsual character trait but is something a person in real life probably has that same quirk. His crew is rounded out by his sister Nicky (Nicole Byer), Wyatt (Justin Cunningham), Sherm (Carl Tart), and Anthony (Aaron Jennings). All working through their own issues but also making things work.

The show has covered some topics I don’t think have been talked about on TV yet. Such as the effects of letting another grown man see you cry, navigating political differences when you’re dating and really into a person. How being a vegan can be looked down upon within the Black community, especially from the older generation. As well as  being a kept house husband just to name a few. Wyatt is perfectly content being a house husband because of his friends constantly lamenting about the lackluster dating scene. A frequent comment I've heard from single people I know, which makes the show even more relatable. 

Take the time to check out Grand Crew, it comes on NBC Tuesdays at 8:30 and can be watched on the NBC App, Peacock, and Hulu. 

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Subscribe To Abbott Elementary

 

Abbott Elementary is ABC’s newest hit comedy, a mockumentary style sitcom similiar to The Office and Scrubs. Starring Quinta Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Tyler James Williams amongst the ensemble cast. The sitcom follows these characters as they navigate teaching at one of Philadelphia’s poorest schools, making the best of a tough situation..

I’ll admit I was a little late to the Abbott Elementary party. I think I started watching on episode 3, I heard people mentioning how good it was. My wife finally nudged me enough to watch it and the word of mouth that it was funny was absolutely correct. The show has potential to be a must watch for years to come, and maybe a classic one day.

One of the highlights of the show to me, is Principal Coleman played by Janelle James. To be perfectly honest Principal Coleman ain’t shit and doesn’t really care about much besides herself. It’s hilarious how oblivious she is to real issues going on at the school while she set's out to make herself look good all the time. I can’t forget school custodian Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) he’s at the point in his career where he just doesn’t care and will say whatever comes to mind. Lisa Ann Walter and Chris Perfetti play their roles to perfection as well. Perfetti as Mr. Hill the socially woke white teacher in everything he touches is hilarious as well.

If you haven’t tuned into Abbott Elementary, don’t miss the boat and check it out. It come’s on Tuesdays at 9:00 pm and you won’t be disappointed.

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Subscribe To Kenan

 

NBC sitcom “Kenan” starring a legend amongst 90’s kids and a future comedy legend period Kenan Thompson is a sitcom I didn’t know I needed. I honestly didn’t feel one way or another about the show, if I checked it out I checked it out and if I didn’t I didn’t. Well I’m here to say I am glad I checked it out.

Just kicking off its second season. Kenan stars of course as a fictionalized version of himself, a local Atlanta TV morning show host raising his two daughters while grieving his wife’s recent passing. Helping him raise his daughters are his brother/manager and his father-in-law played by Don Johnson (of Miami Vice and Nash Bridges fame). A casting choice I certainly didn’t expect to work that does.

What I liked most about the series is that Kenans grieving is an arc within the show. He has a hard time admitting just how much he is hurting, is keeping upbeat as possible for his daughters, and every move he makes he has his wife in mind. The series gets big points for  portraying a Black man as a good damn father doing everything possible not to let his kids down.

It does fall into some sitcom traps, but what sitcom doesn’t? If you’re looking for a good-hearted series with some laughs, Kenan is your show.

The show currently airs on Monday's on NBC. The first season is only 10 episodes. The second season is 5 episodes in. Perfect for a weekend binge during this time of year. You can find it on the NBC app, Hulu, and Peacock so go ahead and subscribe to Kenan.

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