Well Suited Wednesday

Michael B. Jordan
Actor
1987 - 

"I want to do everything. I'm a producer at heart. Eventually, when I can produce the way I want to, my acting's going to help fuel that. And not just vehicles for myself - I'm a member of this film society, and I want to contribute. If you're in the industry, you can't just take from it; you have to deposit something back to keep it going for the next generation."

-Michael B. Jordan

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Recommended Watching:

• The Wire
• Fruitvale Station
• That Awkward Moment
• Friday Night Lights
• Chronicle
• Red Tails
• Full Uncensored Actors Roundtable
• Oprah's Next Chapter
• Bill Simmons Full Podcast
• DP/30 Michael B. Jordan
• Michael B. Jordan Discusses Fruitvale Station
• Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler
• When Oscar Meets Trayvon

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Recommended Reading

• Michael B. Jordan on the George Zimmerman Verdict
• Comic Book Masculinity and the New Black Superhero
• Black Masculinity: The Black Male's Role in Society
• We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity by bell hooks
• Black Men on Race, Gender, and Sexuality: A Critical Reader
• Why The Human Torch's Race Doesn't Matter

Black Excellence Month: Day 25

Shonda Rhimes
Screenwriter  Director  Producer
1970 - 

"I’m a black woman every day, and I’m not confused about that. I’m not worried about that. I don’t need to have a discussion with you about how I feel as a black woman, because I don’t feel disempowered as a black woman.”

-Shonda Rhimes

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Recommended Watching:

• Scandal
• Grey's Anatomy
• Private Practice
•  The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement 
• Introducing Dorothy Dandridge 
• Shondra Rhimes and Sandra Oh
• Kerry Washington Presents an Award to Shonda Rhimes
• Shonda Rhimes talks about the men of Grey's Anatomy
• Oprah tours the set of Scandal
• Work and Personal Life Balance
• 42nd NAACP Image Awards
• Oprah's Next Chapter 
• Celebrity Conversation: Adoption and Creating an Adoptive Family

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Recommended Reading:

• Shonda Rhimes on TV's Lack of Diversity
• Honored With Diversity Award
• Shonda Rhimes to Release Memoir in 2015
• Shonda Rhimes Talks Diversity Award
• Shonda Rhimes Tweets About Lack of Diversity on Bunheads
• Life Lessons from a Hollywood Rule Breaker

Black Men Monday

Ossie Davis
Actor  Playwright  Director  Social Activist
1917 - 2005

“I find, in being black, a thing of beauty: a joy; a strength; a secret cup of gladness.”

-Ossie Davis

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Recommended Watching:

• Malcolm X's Eulogy 
• "Louis Armstrong" 
• Ossie Davis reading Frederick Douglass
• Interview for The Great Depression
• Living Black Manhood
• Discussion on Motivation
• African American Legends
• University of North Florida Interview
• Family's Experience with the KKK
• Do The Right Thing
• Slaves
• King
• Freedom Road
• School Daze
• Jungle Fever
• Malcolm X
• Lincoln
• The Stand
• 12 Angry Men

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Recommended Reading:

• With Ossie and Ruby by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee
• Just Like Martin by Ossie Davis
• Escape to Freedom by Ossie Davis

Black Excellence Month: Day 24

Octavia E. Butler
Writer
1947 - 2006

"You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence. It's just so easy to give up!"

-Octavia Butler

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Recommended Reading:

• Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
• Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
• Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler
• Seed to Harvest by Octavia E. Butler
• Wild Seed by Octavie E. Butler
• We Keep Playing the Same Record
• Octavia Butler on the Poetics of Narrative Embodiment

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Recommended Watching:

•  Women Writing Sci-Fi: from Brave New Worlds
• Octavia E. Butler Cosby Chair Event
• On Charlie Rose
• Hour 25
• Octavia Butler in LA

Black Culture: A Different World

A Different World: 1987 - 1993

Denise, Dwayne, Whitley

Ron, Kim, Jaleesa, Freddie

Mr. Gaines, Col. Taylor, Walter

Lettie, Stevie

Lena, Gina, Charmaine

Dorian, Terrance 

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Recommended Reading:

• A Different World was the last black sitcom to be a hit--but why?
• A Different World Finale: 20th Anniversary
• "It's a Different World" State of HBCUs
• The Cosby Show and A Different World: Impact on HBCU Enrollment
• Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Harrison talk about the Impact of A Different World

 

My Favorite Episodes:

• War of the Words
• Rudy and the Snow Queen
• Gift of the Magi
• Mr. Hillman
• If Only For One Night
• Those Who Can't...Tutor
• Three Girls Three
• Radio Free Hillman
• It Happened One Night
• It's Greek to Me
• No Means No
• There's No Place Like Home
•  Strangers on a Plane
• To Have and Have Not
• Answered Prayers
• The Power of the Pen
• Pride and Prejudice
• Ms. Understanding
• If I Should Die Before I Wake
• Do You Take This Woman
• Mammy Dearest
• Cats in the Cradle
• Save the Best for Last
• Honeymoon in L.A. parts 1 and 2
• Homie, Don't Ya Know Me
• A Rock, A River, a Lena
• Love Taps

♥

Black Excellence Month: Day 23

Madam C.J. Walker
Entrepreneur  Philanthropist
1867 - 1919 

"I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them."

-Madam C.J. Walker

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Recommended Watching:

• Creating Beauty From Within
• Madam C.J. Walker in the National Archives
• Georgette Tutt Talks About Buying From Madam C.J. Walker
• Stanley Nelson Interview's Madam C.J. Walker's Great Grand Daughter
• Sunkissed Girlz Interviews Madam C.J. Walker's Great Grand Daughter
• First Female Millionaire "First Black Millionaire"

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Recommended Reading:

• The History of Black Business in America by Juliet Walker
• Madam C.J. Walker: Building a Business Empire by P. Coleman
• On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker

Black Excellence Month: Day 22

Nichelle Nichols
Actress  Singer
1932 - 

 "I was very blessed in always knowing what I wanted to do, and by the grace of God, I've been able to succeed in my chosen career."

-Nichelle Nichols

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Recommended Watching:

• Star Trek
• Truck Turner
• Heroes
• On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
• Pheonix Comicon 2013
• Breaking Barriers
• Beyond Antares
• On Meeting President Obama
• First Interracial Kiss on Television
• FanExpo 2013
• Pioneer Women of Television

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Recommended Reading:

• Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories
• Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Films
• Professional Women in Star Trek

Black Excellence Month: Day 21

Wangari Maathai
Environmental and Political Activist
1940 - 2011

“I’m very conscious of the fact that you can’t do it alone. It’s teamwork. When you do it alone you run the risk that when you are no longer there nobody else will do it.” 

-Wangari Maathai

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Recommended Reading:

• Unbowed by Wangari Maathai
• The Challenge for Africa by Wangari Maathai
• The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience by Wangari Maathai
• The Canopy Of Hope: My Life Campaigning For Africa, Women, And The Environment by Wangari Maathai
• Nobel Peace Prize Biography
• Death of a Visionary

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Recommended Watching:

• Tribute Film
• The Green Belt Movement
• Life and Times of Professor Wangari Maathai
• World Forum Lille 2008
• Planting Trees is Planting Hope
• Resources and Conflict
• Climate Change Message
• Democracy Now Interview
• Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture 2005
• Global Forum on Freedom of Expression
• Earth Focus
• The Power of Study Abroad

Black Excellence Month: Day 20

Staceyann Chin
Spoken-Word Poet  Performing Artist  Activist
1972 -

“Hungry people make the best revolutionaries. Because when you’re hungry, it’s easy to get angry about things that aren’t right.” 

-Staceyann Chin

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Recommended Reading:

• The Other Side of Paradise by Staceyann Chin
• Staceyann Chin's Views on Homophobia, Jamaica, and Motherhood
• Staceyann Chin: Open Letter to My Unborn Daughter (or Son)
• A Single Lesbian's Quest for Motherhood
• "Truth.Be.Told." Tv Series Highlighting Black LGBT Pioneers
• Resistance Through Poetry
• A Def Poetry Jam of Her Very Own
• Mutha Magazine Interview
• Oprah: Memoirs We Love
• Staceyann Chin: "I have walked long hard roads to get here"
• Staceyann Talks Trayvon Martin and a Feminist Perspective

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Recommended Reading:

• Staceyann Chin Poetry Performance: April 2013
• Tweet This You Small Minded Motherfucker
• If Only Out of Vanity
• Stand Up With Jamaica
• National Equality March Rally
• There is Power in the Pen
• Feminist or Womanist
• All Oppression is Connected
• NEST: Interview with Staceyann Chin
• A City in Tragedy
• Catalog the Insanity
• Poem about Equality
• Navigating Change: From Cunt to Collarbone
• Chat with Staceyann Chin: Brooklyn Review

Black Excellence Month: Day 19

Gabrielle Douglas
Gymnast  Olympian
1995 - 

“Never give up and always keep fighting, because though times may be tough, the sacrifices do pay off, so just keep pushing towards your dream and just love it at the same time and enjoy it.”

-Gabby Douglas

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Recommended Watching:

• The Gabby Douglas Story
•  Gabby Douglas Olympic Trials 2012
• Gabby Douglas Trials & Tribulations 
• Raising an Olympian
• Gabby's Story
• Seventeen Girl Power Tag
• Gabby Douglas on Sway in the Morning
• Oprah's Next Chapter
• Workout of the Week
• Olympic Victory Street
• Gabby Douglas Responds to Her Hair Critics

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Recommended Reading:

• Do Something: Quote of the Day
• "Raising the Bar" Book Debuts
• Raising the Bar by Gabrielle Douglas
• How Did Olympic History Turn into a Hair Debate