Black Panther headed toward $150 million opening weekend

Everyone believes that Marvel's upcoming Black Panther movie will be a massive hit at the box office on its opening weekend, but it may be even bigger than initially thought. Earlier projections had it headed for an opening in the $120-$122 million range, but more recent projections show that Black Panther will have one of the biggest openings in Marvel history for a movie without Avengers in the title.

Per Variety:

Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” is heading for as much as $150 million in its North American opening on the four-day Presidents Day weekend, updated tracking is showing.

That’s significantly above the first tracking on Jan. 25 for the Chadwick Boseman tentpole, which initially placed the debut in the $100 million to $120 million range for the Feb. 16-19 period. “Black Panther” could break the Presidents Day weekend record of $152 million, set in 2016 by “Deadpool.” It will easily top the second-highest debut for the four-day holiday, set in 2015 when “Fifty Shades of Grey” opened with $93 million.

Black Panther opens on February 16, 2018.

The movie is directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Chadwick Boesman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Angela Basset, Forest Whitaker, and Sterling K. Brown.

Octavia Spencer is buying out a theater so kids can see 'Black Panther'

Talented Academy Award winning actress, Octavia Spencer is giving back to underserved communities by buying out a theater to allow families to see Black Panther who otherwise may not have been able to.

Via Instgram Spencer announced her plan to buy out a theater in Mississippi when Black Panther opens on Instagram Wednesday, saying she'll be in the state when the movie opens on Feb. 16.

I will be in MS when this movie opens. I think I will buy out a theatre in an underserved community there to ensure that all our brown children can see themselves as a superhero. I will let you know where and when Mississippi. Stay tuned. #KingsAndQueensWillRise #blackpanthermovie

A post shared by Octavia Spencer (@octaviaspencer) on Jan 31, 2018 at 1:03pm PST

Florida to replace Confederate statue in US Capitol with statue of black woman

Florida could soon help diversify the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall, by replacing a Confederate general's likeness with the hall's first statue honoring an African-American woman.

The state Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to install a statue of educator Mary McLeod Bethune in the spot where a statue of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith still stands.

"It's a way of recognizing our history, but also our diversity. It shows Florida in our best light," said the bill's sponsor, Democratic Sen. Perry Thurston. "It's a major message. It shows not only Florida, but the nation that we are coming together and trying to recognize all of our history."

Bethune founded Daytona Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in 1904, which eventually became Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach.

Two years ago the state Legislature voted to remove Smith's statue from the U.S. Capitol over the objection of some members who said that was an effort to erase Southern history.

Smith is famously remembered as the last Confederate officer to surrender a significant force at the end of the Civil War, nearly two months after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia and formally ended the war on April 9, 1865.

The law requiring the removal of the Smith statue set up a process to replace it.

An independent committee reviewed 130 recommendations from Floridians and presented the Legislature with three choices: Bethune; Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who wrote "The Everglades: River of Grass" and is credited with helping create that national park preserving 1.5 million acres (607,000 hectares) of wetlands in southern Florida; and George Washington Jenkins, who started the Publix supermarket chain.

Bethune was the committee's only unanimous choice.

[SOURCE: ABC NEWS]

Congressional Black Caucus to Trump: Thank Obama for black unemployment rate

President Donald Trump opened his first State of the Union address Tuesday night touting low unemployment rates among black Americans.

The Congressional Black Caucus was not very impressed and released the following tweet in response:

Much like the money he inherited from his father to start his business, @realDonaldTrump inherited the low black unemployment rate from @BarackObama. #SOTU #ThanksObama

— Black Caucus (@OfficialCBC) January 31, 2018

The CBC also showed their lack of enthusiasm for Trump's remarks about the African American unemployment rate by giving little to no response:

Members of Congressional Black Caucus offer no reaction as Pres. Trump says "African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded" in #SOTU address https://t.co/q18EZzVe9p pic.twitter.com/Xxkqc7hFt9

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 31, 2018

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History Wins 2017 Design of the Year

Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup’s Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. has been selected as the winner of the Beazley Design of the Year for 2017.

Presented by the Design Museum in London, the award is given to the project that best meets the criteria of design that “promotes or delivers change, enables access, extends design practice or captures the spirit of the year.”

In being named both overall winner and winner of the architecture category, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture outpaced impressive shortlisted projects from OMA, Zaha Hadid Architects, and more, as well as winners from five other categories: Digital, Fashion, Graphics, Product, and Transport.

'We couldn’t look any further than the Smithsonian for the overall award. It is a project of beautiful design, massive cultural impact, delivers an emotional experience and has a scale deserved of this major award,” said jury member Ozwald Boateng OBE. “You enter the building clouded in darkness and work your way through the displays and end bathed in light - this is a project that feels like a major turning point.’

Read more: Smithsonian National Museum of African American History Wins 2017 Design of the Year.