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Joe Raedle/Getty Images There are a wide array of holidays celebrated in Black households in December, aside from Christmas. Here’s a list of a few of them and their backstories, as compiled by Essence.  Junkanoo, spelled various ways, including Jankunu and John Canoe, is a lively cultural festival with origins dating back to the 1700s in the Bahamas, Belize, […]

Marvel Studios Disney has dropped Jonathan Majors from future productions as the Marvel villain Kang, the studio said on Monday evening. The studio’s decision came just hours after the actor was found guilty of one count of third-degree assault and one count of second-degree harassment, but acquitted of two other counts of assault and aggravated […]

Johnny Nunez/WireImage Capella Grey dropped a new album just in time for Christmas.  The eight-song project, Nah It’s Brick: A Holiday Vibe, includes features from Lady London, DreamDoll and others.  After teasing on Instagram, the New York native released the project on his SoundCloud account and alerted fans the album would be available on major streaming platforms soon.  It includes tracks titled “Ultimate Gift,” “Wavy New Years” and […]

John Nacion/Getty Images Marvel star Jonathan Majors was found guilty of one count of assault and one count of harassment, but acquitted of two other counts of assault and aggravated harassment in a split verdict Monday. The verdict came after about five hours of deliberations over portions of three days. Majors, 34, was charged with […]

Kayla Oaddams/WireImage Fantasia Barrino says she and her family were the victims of racial profiling during a recent stay at an Airbnb.  She took to social media on December 17 to express the “uneasy” feeling she had after a birthday trip celebrating her son was cut short due to alleged unfair treatment based on her skin color.  “My […]

Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for The New York Times Television producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes is taking on a new passion project. The TV titan, known for hit shows like Bridgerton and Scandal, is teaming up with the Emmett Till Interpretive Center to preserve the history of Till, a 14-year-old Black boy who was kidnapped, beaten and lynched in Mississippi in August 1955 […]

Latto, Jeezy, Lala Anthony and Jayda Cheaves are among the celebrities who hosted Christmas giveaways December 16 and 17.  — Latto organized her third annual Christmas in Clayco event and donated over $350,000 worth of gifts to children from the Atlanta neighborhood she grew up in. — Jeezy and his Street Dreamz Foundation, in partnership with Amazon, delivered bikes, scooters, laptops and other gifts to children in […]

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Nicki Minaj has yet again produced an album worthy of the #1 spot on Billboard‘s Top 200 Albums chart.  Nicki’s fifth studio project, Pink Friday 2, marks her third album to go #1, following Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in 2012 and her debut LP, Pink Friday, in 2011. Upon its release on December 8, Nicki’s 41st birthday, the 22-track project earned 228,000 equivalent album unit […]

Alon Amir The cultural impact of The Color Purple, with its Black characters who break free from oppression, makes it an important film in the Black community, says Taraji P. Henson, who stars as Shug Avery in the 2023 film adaptation.   The themes of resilience and overcoming adversity, as well as this adaptation’s overarching focus on joy, makes the movie relatable to […]