Every society, culture and ethnic group worships their beautiful people. As well all know, in the mainstream west, beautiful is often believed to be white, eurocentric and thin. In the age old narrative of black women seeking to see their own beauty in magazines, film and on television screens, Coal Crown Creative has taken matters into their own hands. "Classically Beautiful “The Discussion”" hosted by Jasmine Mans (genius poet-scholar behind Footnotes For Kanye) explores the themes of black beauty, black womanhood and motherhood through the lenses of melanated queens. Screenwriter Amma Asante also graces the film with her interpretation of classic beauty.
When asked why Quest (visionary behind "Classically Beautiful") created the documentary, he had this to say, “After hearing about a New York Times journalist, who referred to Viola Davis as less ‘Classically Beautiful’ than Kerry Washington, I felt it in my spirit to do something, to say something. I thought to myself, ‘here is another attempt to divide and conquer’, it saddened and angered me. My feelings towards this issue were very natural, I grew up the only boy. I have two sisters. My younger sister is of a darker complexion than my oldest sister. Sharing the black woman's perspective, to me, means having representation of the many aesthetics that black women represent.”

Touché Quest. And representation is exactly what you’ll get in this thought provoking yet amusing piece because, every black woman has her own story and personality. If you’re looking to be enlightened & lit, check it out below!

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In her TEDxSHHS talk “I search 4 it blinded: the power of self-love and self-esteem,” Caira Lee discusses how to she practices self-love and self-esteem. Lee uses Kendrick Lamar lyrics and a beautiful illustration of her own journey to speak about the power of absolute self-love. She demonstrates that your body, size, race, sexual orientation are assets that don’t need fixing. To her, these are characteristics that we should embrace.

Despite calls from activists and public officials for the removal of the Confederate flag in South Carolina and across the south, it still flies more than a week after the killing of nine men and women at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

In this moment, we're seeing an emergence of passionate and effective youth activism across the country. Young Black men and women are organizing to address rampant inequality in all spheres of our society. Melissa Harris-Perry spoke with Charlene Carruthers of the Black Youth Project about the ways a new generation of activists are making change.

While many view the terms "women of color" and "people of color" as trite phrases that don't accurately describe the histories or experiences of Blacks, activist Loretta Ross provides important historical background on the origin of the phrase. She underscores that the use of "women of color" is about exerting a political identity in opposition to white supremacy.

Watch below.

In anticipation of International Women's Day on March 8, Angela Davis sat down with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez to discuss her vision for the future of activism.

Writer and filmmaker dream hampton organized a march for Renisha McBride and directed this short film about the collective effort to bring her killer to justice.

When Rosa Nell Eaton first registered to vote in 1934, poll workers intimidated her and subjected her to a form of literacy tests. Since that day more than 70 years ago, Eaton has worked in her home of North Carolina to register voters and fight against ongoing conservative efforts to keep People of Color and the poor away from the polls.

She delivered a passionate address to the participants of the Moral Monday protests this Summer. Watch this woman's fervor and be inspired to take action.