Black Future Month

Alvin Ailey’s Memoria is a deeply personal work and one of his most affecting. Mr. Ailey said that nearly all of his dances had some basis in a relationship, feeling or event that he experienced. In the case of Memoria, choreographed in 1979, his motivation was the death of his dear friend and colleague, Joyce Trisler.

Janelle Monáe (Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Boy Records/Atlantic) – Janelle Monáe is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, performer, producer and CoverGirl spokesperson known for her unique style and groundbreaking sound. She left her mark on 2010s R&B with an energized retro-futuristic sound wrapped in theatrical science-fiction concepts.

Written by Jessica Bolaños Vanegas
Feb.8, 2016

This guide supports further research into Beyoncé's literary, film, and history references in her visual album 'Lemonade.'

Missy Elliott is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Missy Elliott is a living icon. For thirty years, she's been directing the global soundscape, visually reinventing herself and redefining pop music. Missy's career is multifaceted, as she's charted new creative territory through songwriting, rapping, singing, and producing, with style and grace.

The Sun Ra Arkestra is an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up. It was previously led by Sun Ra, an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. It is now directed by Marshall Allen, an early member of the group since 1957.

Official site of George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic Home of the extraterrestrial brothers, Dealers of funky music P.Funk, uncut funk, The Bomb.

Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds: the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what's right.

Oscar-winner for Best Picture, MOONLIGHT is a moving and transcendent look at three defining chapters in the life of Chiron, a young man growing up in Miami. His epic journey to adulthood, as a shy outsider dealing with difficult circumstances, is guided by support, empathy and love from the most unexpected places.

John Akomfrah, director of Seven Songs of Malcolm X , returns with an engaging and searing examination of the hitherto unexplored relationships between Pan-African culture, science fiction, intergalactic travel, and rapidly progressing computer technology.

Is the technology of photography and motion pictures inherently racist? For PRISM, Belgian filmmaker An van. Dienderen invited Rosine Mbakam, from Cameroon, and Eléonore Yameogo from Burkina Faso, to work together on a film in which the differences in their skin color, and experiences as filmmakers, serve as points-of-departure to explore this provocative question.

At the dawn of the 20th century, a multi-generational family in the Gullah community on the Sea Islands off of South Carolina - former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors' Yoruba traditions - struggle to maintain their cultural heritage and folklore while contemplating a migration to the mainland, even further from their roots.