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Debbie Allen gives a lesson on harnessing your power at the Hillman Grad Women On The Rise event

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Photo: Chris Lowe

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“Having power doesn’t mean you can be mean or make people feel lesser; having power empowers people,” Debbie Allen told a crowd of eager listeners at the Hillman Honors Women on the Rise event in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. The April 14 meeting was the brainchild of Hillman Grad Productions’ head of cultural marketing, Marquis Phifér, and a full-circle moment for Lena Waithe, who named her production company after a fictional college from a sitcom on which Allen served as showrunner and producer 122 episodes.

it felt like an escape for me,” Waithe said during a panel discussion moderated by Allen. “When I watched this movie, I obviously wasn’t in highschool yet, but I used to be experiencing college life and what that meant. And that meant community. It meant a chosen family. It also meant involvement in the politics of the time. It taught me a lot; not only about who I used to be as a person of color, but in addition about what it meant to be a good friend. What does it mean to be not only a good student, but in addition a good teacher?

Debbie Allen gives a lesson on harnessing your power at the Hillman Grad Women On The Rise event
Photo: Chris Lowe

Waithe was joined on the panel by Jojo T. Gibbs, star of her BET coming-of-age series, D. Smith, producer and director of the Sundance Audience Award-winning series, and AV Rockwell, winner of the Independent Spirit Award.

During the event, hosted by NAACP Image Award nominee Gia Peppers and featuring aspiring creators in addition to actresses Ashley Blain Featherson-Jenkins, Christina Elmore Duke and Aisha Hinds, each woman spoke about her entry point into Hollywood and key takeaways that they carry with them when reaching the next level of success.

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Smith, a former Grammy-nominated record producer, opened up about her experiences sleeping on friends’ couches for 3 years after being shunned by the music industry when she discovered her identity as a transgender woman.

Debbie Allen gives a lesson on harnessing your power at the Hillman Grad Women On The Rise event
Debbie Allen, Lena Waithe, D. Smith, AV Rockwell at the Hilman Grad Honors. Photo: Chris Lowe

“When I passed, people just stopped coming. They stopped calling. And truthfully, I lost the whole lot,” she said.

Looking for a way out of her difficult situation, Smith asked someone to purchase her a camera, after which made her debut documentary about 4 black transgender sex employees.

“The best thing I’ve learned is that you can’t be creative and jealous at the same time,” Smith told the audience. “You have to stop your ego to move because God, the universe literally activates itself by how you act, and you have to humble yourself.”

Debbie Allen gives a lesson on harnessing your power at the Hillman Grad Women On The Rise event
A. V. Rockwell, Jojo T. Gibbs. Photo: Chris Lowe

Gibbs, who began in stand-up and currently stars in , also talked about the personal responsibility that comes with growing fame. “I have been praying and asking God about where I am now for years, since I was a child, and I think it was only recently that I realized the duality of asking God to be a pioneer in the family and the responsibility and expectation and entitlement that comes from some people to that you are able to do what you do,” she said. “Something is going on in your family, they will pay attention to you. Things come up for your friends and you are seen as the one who can handle them. There may be a lot of expectations placed on your shoulders, so you have to learn to set boundaries, but also to put yourself in front of these people, because you were the person appointed to this position and if God puts you in this position, then you are capable of doing it.”

It’s this reality that led Rockwell, who’s currently writing her next screenplay, to redefine her definition of strength, especially as a woman who has needed to be self-sufficient for much of her life.

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“Being an artist outside the corporate space doesn’t require routine visits every six months where someone asks, ‘Hey, how are you?’ so I’ve learned to constantly check myself in all the ways that everyone shares. How am I? What do I need to work on? Especially limiting beliefs,” she said. “Yes, there may be a fight going on for our people, but I don’t discover with it. I’m aware of it, I navigate because it appears, but it surely isn’t my identity.

Debbie Allen gives a lesson on harnessing your power at the Hillman Grad Women On The Rise event
photo: Chris Lowe

At the end of the panel, Allen received a framed playbill of the musical through which she began her Broadway profession in 1970, and a framed commencement program for Howard’s graduation ceremony in 1971. Receiving her gifts, Allen said, “I’m 74 years old and busier than ever.” before. I’m working on two movies, a Broadway show, and trying to jot down a memoir.

“I say these things to say that the road goes on and you just have to stay on it,” Allen continued. “Stay in the light and keep going. Keep plowing and stay curious. The things I do not know, I would like to know, and that can keep you perpetually young.

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The most elegant moments of beautiful Billie Holiday – essence

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William Gottlieb/Redferns

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When Billie Holiday entered the stage, not only her voice turned her head – it was her presence. Known as Lady Day, she embodied the timeless type of beauty that cannot be reproduced – only worship. More than an icon of jazz, Holiday was a plan: her appearance, its mastery and its unrestricted elegance are still inspired by generations of black women who understand that beauty concerns the soul, as in style.

In the Nineteen Forties, the singer was known for wearing a deep, dark lipstick, which made her hair decorated with gardenia relatively more. Her eyebrows have contained throughout the least times been thrown out and eyelashes? Flirts, feathery and unforgettable. Sometimes she liked to take care of cool and canopy with packaging, contained throughout the least times emanating this sort of glam. In 1939, she added to the photo session, gardens in full bloom-nevertheless it surely’s eyelashes and it is a soft look, to which we’re still attracted.

Quickly until 1947, when the legend hit the stage on the Downbeat Club Manhattan. No foundation, no powder – just daring lipstick, natural leather and star power.

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Until 1957, Billie modified every little thing to her performance to Newport Jazz Festival, leaving Gardenias behind, but keeping a characteristic red lip. And because of all this she never avoided the camera. New head shots, latest corners – because my love is contained throughout the least times in style.

In honor of the late icon we rejoice some of the most unforgettable moments of beauty Billie Holiday.

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Hannah John -kamen on Thunderbolts* and always remains ready to get close – essence

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Killer Action Role on television, science fiction Odyssey Outlaws and Hyper-Dystopian Stories are stuffed with the movie Hannah John-Kamen as a performer with strength in her emotional performance on the screen. A 35-yr-old English actress known for her roles in movies similar to Andas, just like the television program, Likeand is ready to bring her to her because she had large roles supporting in lots of successful franchises. He represents his role Ghost (Ava Starr) in Marvel. Directed by Jake Schreier, The Asterisk within the title of the film is an actual show Way Marvel, and the filmmaker intended to be this story to be the departure of Disney franchise and resign how very different it’s from the more shiny repertoire of Marvel’s movies.

“Jake’s lens of this film was very, tonally specific”, he describes John-Kamen through the conversation. “It was like creating an independent film in the Marvel universe – Jake had a level of sensitivity and nurturing this story.” Re-reembodiment John-Kamena Ava Starr as a spirit, a killer for employment, is a key paria of the newly formed group, which was later recognized within the film as Thunderbolts, the name developed by the character of David Harbor, Aleksiej Andreovitch (Red Guardian).

Hannah John-Kamen on Thunderbolts* and always remaining ready for a rapprochement
(LR) John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian (David Harbor) and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) at Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*. Photo of Chuck Zlotnicka. © 2025 Marvel.

The family roots of John-Kamen reach her Nigerian father and Norwegian mother, who performed significantly different works as a criminal psychologist and fashion model. With her established experience in Performance’s art, she was able to introduce her history of upbringing in a house stuffed with beauty and brains in her roles on the screen. The English contractor doesn’t stop his roles on television and film and cooperated with the maestros cinema, similar to Steven Spielberg (), and now Jake Schreier. “It’s quite difficult, because when you filter abroad, you revolve with a time difference that is easier to say than to do,” says John-Kamen. “In this world it can be a lonely lifestyle that concerns the spirit, and I grounded, taking breath and seeing my loved ones, friends and hugging my dog.”

Hannah John-Kamen on Thunderbolts* and always remaining ready for a rapprochement
(LR) John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in Thunderbolts Marvel Studios*. Photo thanks to the kindness of Marvel Studios. © 2024 Marvel.

Florence Pugh leads as Yelena Belova, a self -sighted super agent who suffers from disturbing episodes that recreate memories of the past that persecute her. The unusual childhood injury Belova led her to becoming a one who acts probably the most alone. Belova and Starr are a fortress behind Anti Hero Alliance of the Thunderbolts. They are the one women in a six -person organization who meets with controversial forces. “He, very, controls himself, his body and making decisions very much,” the John-Kamen explores. “She is Fort Knox and is a lonely wolf.”

Hannah John-Kamen on Thunderbolts* and always remaining ready for a rapprochement
(LR) Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov (David Harbor) at Thunderbolts Marvel Studios*. Photo thanks to the kindness of Marvel Studios. © 2024 Marvel.

The unusual moments of the comedy from the forged, which incorporates Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Pullman and many others, does so related and feel more human than OR. Without having shiny superpowers, which make up lightning, they’re forced to face their reality without pursuing fandoms and public support. In the film Arch Nemesis Thunderbolt is the vengeful figure of Louis-Dreyfus, Valentina Allegra de Fountaine-infiltrating director who tries to manipulate and remove the Marvel Hero team.

Hannah John-Kamen on Thunderbolts* and always remaining ready for a rapprochement
Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) at Thunderbolts Marvel Studios*. Photo thanks to the kindness of Marvel Studios. © 2024 Marvel.

During the 2 -hour journey, which makes up the history of Thunderbolt’s origin, the audience experiences the way in which these qualified warriors are still fighting for the worst problems. Ava Starr remains under the radar for many of the film because he has more sequences than words. “Her guard is very elevated,” says John-Kamen. Ava Starr appears when Yelena Belova needs her most to save the world overtaken by darkness. The character of Lewis Pullman, Robert “Bob” Reynolds, is armed against Thunderbolts, and his arch symbolizes how our minds may be as powerful because the uncomfortable villain.

Hannah John-Kamen on Thunderbolts* and always remaining ready for a rapprochement
(LR): Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbor), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) in Marvel Studios “Thunderbolts* © 2024 Marvel.

Schreier’s approach to this film within the Marvel series was to enlarge greater than outside, removes all glamorous aesthetics that makes the heroes so aspirative. Even in Thunderbolts marketing, a wheat box standing in the course of the box is caught to satirize the trail of superheroes created within the Marvel cinema. Each anti -hero character stands in front of its own internal battles created by the trauma and wounded within the script by Eric Pearson. “We really laughed between shots,” Hannah warns me, talking in regards to the heavier features of the film. “I really created this beautiful family in this cast.”

In general, it is a story that follows wounded individuals who learn to treat. Along the way in which, they establish a family bond and support system. In 2025, when people can feel more disconnected, the narrative of Thunderbolts hits the home harder, watching the characters construct sufficient confidence and mental Harta to stand in themselves and their newly discovered friends. “I think that at the end of this movie I want you to hug a loved one or make sure someone feels safe and informed him that they do not have to boldly smile,” John-Kamen says.

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Karen Pittman in the latest drama Netflix “Forever” – Essence

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Karen Pittman during the thirty first Guild Actors Guild Awards. Photo: Maya Dehlin Spach

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Karen Pittman is just too accustomed to prime quality content. From, to, she built a profession playing dynamic characters at the center of an intelligent, conscious society. But in the recent Netflix Pittman series, he enters the unknown territory – each skilled and emotional. Adapted by Mara Brock Akil and the performer produced by Regina King, the concert again imagines the iconic novel by Judah Blume from 1975 through a up to date lens, concentrating black love, family and growing pains of adolescence in America Pre -Floyd. This is a type of project that usually doesn’t come – and Pittman knew about it after the jump.

“I don’t have such a thing on my work on TV,” says Essence. “I did it in the theater, but not in this way with these colleagues.” When Akil turned to her regarding the role of Dawn Edwards-Reduer with a high power and fierce protective mother-she showed that the stars were leveled. “Not very often in your career, as an actress, people will allow you to break your mold and do something else,” he says. “And Mara is known for the concentration of black women. It meant to me.”

In the series Dawn is the mother of Justin, teenagers moving in the old flame, identity and independence. It is an effort that required Pittman to make use of his mother’s own instincts – but with restraint. “Dawn and I are two very, very different mothers,” he says with amusing. “But this level of cruelty in how it protects my children? I am completely adapted with it. There is no compromise for me in this way.” While Dawn emanates what Pittman calls “Razzle Dazzle” – a type of presence that makes people sit straight when he enters the room – she can be harsh, sensitive and struggles with the terrifying transition to permit her son to enter a situation that she will be able to’t control.

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Karen Pittman in the latest drama Netflix
Michael Cooper Jr., Wood Harris and Karen Pittman in “Forever”, courtesy of Elizabeth Morris / Netflix

The series takes place in 2018, and sometimes the Nominee Actors Guild awards as “preliminary sketch”. Before Pandemia, before he calls for racial justice, the series records quiet fears that defined so many black households. “This is an uncertain place for a mother,” he explains. “Watching your child goes to the hostile world. This program reflects where we were as a country and why Dawn is so focused on the development of the Son.”

This helps that Pittman’s stars are Wood Harris, who plays Father Justin. Two actors divide not only skilled chemistry, but a typical language that reaches their roots. “We spoke smoothly with each other,” he says. “Wood was simply an ideal star-open gentleman, accessible and full of respect for work. Our heroes love deeply, and the conflict between them concerns noble problems, not a small drama. This made the scenes rich.”

The dream team doesn’t end there. Pittman lights up, saying that he’s directed by King, whose artistic instinct and private experience have added work. “Regina grew up in Los Angeles, she was the mother of her son at this age – there was such a large synergy,” he says. “He is the director of the actor, completely commanding, but also related to the crew in a way that made the whole set feel grounded.”

But this Akil, says Pittman, who built the foundation. “Mara could write for everyone, do everything – but she decides to warm up her work around us,” he says. “She is intended in a way that I have never experienced. We saw her influence by: – ​​But this series gives us a different dimension of her vision. It is delicate. It is sharp. It is deep, deeply black.”

For Pittman, It’s greater than a brand new loan on her impressive CV – it is a type of return home. A probability to stretch, cooperation with creators that admires and tell a story that resonates at every level.

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“This is one of those rare times in which work, people and message are consistent,” he says. “And when it happens, you jump.”

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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