Erin E. Evans


CherryPicks •

Golden Globes 2019: The Nominees Who Could Make History This Year

A quick cheat sheet on all the potential firsts to watch out for on Sunday. The 76th Golden Globe Awards is set to air Sunday, and the night could be full of historic wins. Yes, it’s 2019, and there are still firsts to be won in the world of entertainment. To keep track, here are seven ways nominees could make history at Sunday’s big event, if they win their respective awards (and one sure thing). Let’s dive in. Sandra Oh, Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series - Drama Sandra Oh (
CherryPicks •

The 10 Best & Worst Moments for Women on the Big Screen in 2018

Including: Best action hero, worst ally, best sisterhood storyline, and more. In 2018, there were a handful of women-led films that got everybody talking. Folks loved Crazy Rich Asians for its diverse cast; movies like Widows and Ocean’s 8 were celebrated for featuring women tactically outsmarting the men around them. At CherryPicks, we decided to look beyond just female representation in the film industry, but directly at these actresses’ characters and performances in a few popular—and ahem, n
Mic •

You can thank Natasha Rothwell for keeping the laughs coming on ‘Insecure’

Some of the funniest moments on HBO’s Insecure feature actress and writer Natasha Rothwell, who plays Kelli, the hilarious, frisky, unapologetic friend in Issa Dee’s girl squad. In the second season’s penultimate episode, Kelli calls out Lawrence for wearing a jean-on-jean outfit to a dinner party: “Must have been a sale on denim,” she quips as he walks in looking like an ad for Levi’s. Earlier in the season, she has a matter-of-fact response to the pay gap between black and white workers. “Tha
Mic •

Yvonne Orji is on her way to becoming your favorite black funny woman

Yvonne Orji wasn’t supposed to become famous. At six years old, she moved to the United States from Nigeria with her parents so she could live out the American dream. Translation: Like so many other immigrant children, Orji was told by her parents that she should become a doctor, lawyer or engineer. But, during a recent visit to Mic’s New York office, Orji told me that God had other plans for her. It wasn’t until 2006, after getting a master’s degree in public health at George Washington Univer
Mic •

Michelle Obama's last interview as first lady offers the hope we all need

The finality of the Obama White House set in Monday as the Electoral College convened to cast ballots for the president-elect and CBS aired an hourlong interview between Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama, her final as first lady. Obama talked to Winfrey about the most painful moments of the last eight years, raising children in the White House and where she hopes to have made the greatest impact. She acknowledged the fears of many Americans about the election of Donald Trump, but stressed the im
Mic •

In Issa Rae’s 'Insecure', we finally see what black girl friendship looks like on HBO

Issa Rae has been "trying hard as fuck" to propel her brand of awkwardness from the internet to TV screens. Finally, five years after the debut of her web series The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl and a never-greenlit series I Hate LA Dudes, HBO is putting Issa's socially awkward life on full blast with Insecure, an eight-episode series that airs on Sunday nights. Rae stars as Issa, a 29-year-old black woman who works for We Got Y'all, a nonprofit organization that mentors underprivileged
Mic •

Ava DuVernay's 'Queen Sugar' is TV's most beautiful portrait of a black family

One small part of what makes director Ava DuVernay so distinctive is how she showcases authentic black beauty on screen. Put simply: It's all about the lighting. "You light each one as if they're the hero of the story," she told Vulture of her technique. "It takes a little bit longer and everyone doesn't know how to do it — it's not just putting light on — but it's not impossible for people to learn." For the last few years, DuVernay has positioned herself to be the perfect arbiter of this bra
Mic •

‘Insecure’ season 2 was messy. But that finale was hella satisfying.

The second season of Insecure was hella messy. I reviewed the season positively back in July, after watching the first four episodes, and I still stand by those words. The show — co-created by writer and star Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore — is definitely one of the best comedies on television, and brilliantly captures contemporary black life on the small screen. Issa’s bathroom mirror raps were sharper. The house party scene in the premiere was funny as hell, with Thug Yoda (Tristen J. Winger) an
Mic •

Michelle Obama Spoke Her Black Feminist Truth at the Democratic National Convention

In a rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia Monday, first lady Michelle Obama proved that no one is better suited to convince young women — especially young black women — that it's time to cast cynicism aside and support Clinton, who might become the nation's first woman president. Obama argued that we need "leaders like Hillary Clinton, who has the guts and the grace to keep coming back and putting those cracks in the highest and hardest glass ceiling until she fi
Mic •

#BlackSalonProblems Keep It Real About the Black Hair Experience

#BlackSalonProblems is trending on Twitter and bringing to life all the most hilarious — and often, most traumatic — experiences at black beauty shops. From the long appointments to the hot-as-hell hair dryers to the strategic ways black women sleep to keep that 'do looking good, take a trip to the hair salon via these epic tweets. The appointment is all set for first thing in the morning, the best timing to — hopefully — ensure a speedy experience... When you trying to kill time by reading a
Mic •

4 Ways Cuyahoga County Prosecutors Blamed Tamir Rice for His Own Death

A grand jury in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, decided not to indict Cleveland police officers for the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. At the Monday press conference, prosecutor Tim McGinty referred to Rice's death as a "perfect storm of human error." Shortly after, Rice's family issued a statement through its attorneys and said they were saddened and disappointed by the decision "but not surprised." "It has been clear for months now that Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty was abusin
NBC News •

Black film pioneer Robert Townsend isn't finished making classics

It's the age of reboots and sequels in television and film — and actor and director Robert Townsend has been teasing his fans on social media by asking about their interest in follow-ups to some of his most popular works. In March, the 62-year-old filmmaker celebrated a string of release date anniversaries on Twitter for his films "Hollywood Shuffle," "The Five Heartbeats" and "B*A*P*S." He said the online response to "B*A*P*S," the 1997 comedy starring Halle Berry and Natalie Desselle, as two
NBC News •

Nipsey Hussle's commitment was to his L.A. neighborhood, where he had big plans

It was clear from the very beginning that rapper Nipsey Hussle was going to make it a priority to talk about investing in South Los Angeles. In what is perhaps his first on-camera interview, at the Russell Simmons' Get Your Money Right summit in 2006, Hussle spoke plainly about leaving behind the material things synonymous with hip-hop lifestyle — the diamonds, the flashy cars — to secure the financial future of his family and people in his community.
NBC News •

If it's racist, call it racist: AP Stylebook changes guidelines

If it is racist, call it racist, says the Associated Press Stylebook in a change to guidelines announced Friday. The AP Stylebook, a manual widely used by journalists at many news outlets, including NBC News Digital, has changed its entry on race, advising reporters and editors against the use of ambiguous terms such as "racially charged" and "racially motivated" to describe incidents that display racial bias, the Poynter Institute reported. "The terms racism and racist can be used in broad re
NBC News •

In 'Us,' Winston Duke channels Carl Winslow and Homer Simpson to give off corny dad vibes

Warning: This article may contain spoilers. Add actor Winston Duke's portrayal of Gabe Wilson, the patriarch in Jordan Peele's wildly successful horror flick "Us," to the list of corny on-screen dads. Most audiences first met Duke as M'Baku, the buff, barking leader of the Jabari Tribe, in Marvel's "Black Panther." Yet Gabe is nothing like M'Baku. To make the transformation, the Trinidadian actor, 32, told NBC News that he had to shed his warrior body. "He's a working-for-the-weekend kind of
NBC News •

Black attorney says deputy thought he was a suspect and detained him at court

A black lawyer has filed a complaint against a Maryland sheriff's deputy who detained him in court thinking he was a suspect in a case and did not believe he was an attorney. In a complaint, Rashad James with the Maryland Legal Aid said a Harford County deputy thought he was his client impersonating a lawyer and questioned him at the county courthouse. James' client is also black but was not present at the hearing March 6 to file a petition for expungement — which was granted — the attorney tol
Pop Culture Collaborative •

Out of Prison, Into Television: Emil Pinnock Is Creating the Next Generation of Writers

In a heartbreaking moment of the pilot episode for Up North, Trey, a black teenager accused of a crime he didn’t commit, is on a bus to New York City’s main jail at Rikers Island. On his way to the detention center, Trey (Ian Duff) questions the other arrested adolescents about what to expect. “I mean, I heard stories on my block,” Trey asks. “But what’s it really like?” This question was hauntingly familiar to Emil Pinnock, whose own experiences inspired him to create Up North.
Pop Culture Collaborative •

Diverse Writers in Television Face Systemic Racism and Harassment, New Report Says

For the last decade, television writer Y. Shireen Razack has been working to prove that she’s not just a “diversity hire.” Razack, a woman of South Asian descent with Caribbean roots, currently a writer for NBC’s New Amsterdam, went through the CBS Writers’ Mentoring Program 11 years ago in order to break into the television industry. From CBS to NBC’s Writers on the Verge, to Disney/ABC’s Writing Program, and Fox’s Writers’ Intensive, diversity fellowship/writing programs cover the salaries of
NBC News •

Lisa Borders is doubling down on efforts to reach gender parity across all industries

"She Thrives: Black Women Making History Today" puts the spotlight on 10 amazing individuals whose achievements transcend generations, occupations and regions. These women — all leaders in their communities — are truly elevating the conversation around black identity, politics and culture. Meet all of our "She Thrives" honorees here. President and CEO of Time's Up "Failure is not fatal. It is feedback." Perhaps there isn’t a person better suited to lead Time’s Up than Lisa Borders. Last fall
NBC News •

Nafessa Williams is breaking barriers as TV's first black lesbian superhero

"She Thrives: Black Women Making History Today" puts the spotlight on 10 amazing individuals whose achievements transcend generations, occupations and regions. These women — all leaders in their communities — are truly elevating the conversation around black identity, politics and culture. Meet all of our "She Thrives" honorees here. "Life begins when we follow our dreams and when we encourage people to follow theirs." Nafessa Williams grew up watching “The Cosby Show” and wanted to be just li
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