Will you go see "Detroit"?

The Kathryn Bigelow directed Detroit is now in wide release. The movie focuses on a police raid in Detroit in 1967 results in a multi-day riot. The story centers on the Algiers Motel incident, which occurred in Detroit, Michigan on July 25, 1967, during the racially charged 12th Street Riot. It involves the death of three black men and the beatings of nine other people: seven black men and two white women.

While it has garnered good reviews it is not getting a good reception in the black community. Some have issues with it being directed by Kathryn Bigelow, a white director and the fact that it was written by a white writer, Mark Boal. Others have issues with the level of violence in the movie. This controversy has hurt the film at the box office with the movie barely taking in $8 million in its first week of full release.

Those that have seen the movie complain about the violence and have said that it was like watching a torture porn movie like watching a "Saw" with black men being tortured and killed. Some have walked out, while others that stayed have vowed to tell others not to see the movie as they see no value in doing so.

Others have pointed out that the film does nothing to inspire African Americans and as often happens in Hollywood movies it is white people that take on the savior role coming off as the good guys while the black characters we should be emphasizing with come off as weak and helpless.

In fairness some have stated that we as African Americans should see the movie so that we don't forget the past and realize that 1967 is not that far in the past. They hope that America seeing the violence and police brutality will open the eyes of many to what African Americans go through.

So which camp do you fall in, will you go see "Detroit"? If you have seen Detroit would you recommend it to others or see it again?

2018 NAACP Image Awards Set For MLK Jr. Day

The NAACP will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day next year by holding its 49th annual Image Awards on the holiday. The group said today that its trophy show will be held January 15, airing live on TV One.

It will mark the first time since 1994 that the Image Awards will be handed out in January, with the show being staged in during Black History Month in February eight of the past nine years. The two-hour special also will include a live pre-show from the red carpet.

“The NAACP is proud to air our 49th Image Awards live telecast on the nation’s most significant civil rights day of the year celebrating the life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said Leon W. Russell, chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors. “In alignment with the National Martin Luther King Day of Service, we are encouraging our nominees, celebrity presenters and performers, network representatives, staff, directors, trustees, sponsors, and branches and units in all 50 states to join us in a day of citizen action volunteer service in honor of Dr. King. As the nation commemorates the 50th anniversary of his assassination on April 4, 1968, we are reminded of the ageless principles of non-violence, truth and justice, humility, and service that he taught all Americans.”

The Image Awards celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film, and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. Nominations will be announced during the week of November 13, when final voting will open.

[SOURCE: DEADLINE]

'Nobody kill anybody': Baltimore activist hopes for homicide-free weekend

Baltimore activist Erricka Bridgeford's message is simple: Nobody kill anybody for 72 hours.

That's a lot to ask for in a city on pace to record its highest annual homicide toll, a place still reeling from the racially-charged riots that followed the 2015 death of Freddie Gray at the hands of police.

So Bridgeford and other community leaders have been hitting the streets of West Baltimore, urging drug dealers and gang members to put their guns down from Friday through Sunday.

"This is about a culture shift," she said. "It's about helping people realize they have a choice in their decision-making. Not just about committing violence but about feeling hopeless that there's nothing we can do about the level of violence in our communities."

With 208 homicides so far this year -- compared with 318 for all of 2016, according to a tally by The Baltimore Sun -- and police-community relations stretched thin, some residents doubt the ceasefire will be successful. Others see it as a way to start taking back control of crime-plagued neighborhoods.

Read more: 'Nobody kill anybody': Baltimore hopes for homicide-free weekend

Sen. Booker acts to prevent Trump from firing special counsel

U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Lindsey Graham moved Thursday to prevent President Donald Trump from dismissing special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating possible ties between his campaign and Russia.

Booker (D-N.J.), who has called for an independent outside investigation, and Graham (R-S.C.), who did not endorse the Republican presidential nominee after his own campaign for the White House fizzled, introduced legislation to block such a move.

The Special Counsel Independence Protection Act would let the attorney general remove the special only after asking a federal court to rule that there was "misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause for removal."

A look at the controversy surrounding President Donald Trump and whether his campaign colluded with Russia.

"A special counsel's duty is to follow the facts and the law wherever that leads," Booker said. "They should never be subjected to interference or intimidation because of where an investigation takes them."

The lawmakers acted amid criticism by Trump leveled against his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who recused him from any involvement in the probe after it was disclosed that he met with the Russian ambassador during the campaign after telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had no such contacts.

Read more: Booker acts to prevent Trump from firing special counsel

Stephen King: Why couldn't Roland the Gunslinger be black

There has been a minor bit of controversy that Idris Elba was cast as what many believe to be a white character known as Roland the Gunslinger in the upcoming Dark Tower movie. Stephen King, the author of The Dark Tower series doesn't seem to have a problem with it all and wonders why couldn't the gunslinger be black. Read the statement King made to CinemaBlend on this below:

What I said in a tweet, after all of that discussion started, was that I didn't care what color he was, so long as he could command the screen, draw fast and shoot straight. It doesn't make any difference to me. I don't even really see people when I'm writing. If I'm writing about a character, I'm behind their eyes. Unless they walk by a mirror or something, I don't even really see what they look like.

What really sort of made it an issue, in my mind, when they cast Idris as Roland was... all of those books were illustrated, to start with. And in all of those pictures, Roland is a white guy. I never thought about that one way or another. But obviously that became part of the mindset.

But you know, it's weird, isn't it? Why shouldn't he be black? Why couldn't it be a black guy to do this? You know what's weirder than that? You see this show Game of Thrones? About Westeros? They're all British! Westeros is basically England, right! And nobody ever questions that. [Laughs] To me, the idea that a black man would play Roland is minor, compared to that.