‘Coming 2 America’ Premiere Supported Black-Owned Businesses Chris Gardner
Amazon Studios delivered the world premiere of
Coming 2 America on Wednesday night for cast, press and VIPs by supporting black-owned businesses in the process.
Ahead of the virtual unveiling, attendees received a pair of boxes containing gifts for a viewing party that included dark chocolate salted caramel pretzel bark by Zac’s Sweet Shop, artisanal popcorn by Pop’s Kernel and chocolate bars by Harlem Chocolate Factory. A second box revealed a gold crown atop a velvet pillow with a bed of roses underneath, a decadent surprise in line with the film’s royal plot.
Credit: Photo: Alaric Campbell Photography
Malene Barnett s plate is full. When she isn t traveling between her Caribbean-inspired home in New York City and Temple University in Philadelphia, where she s completing an MFA in ceramics, she s exploring the future of dwellings for Black families through Obsidian, a first-of-its-kind concept house.
The project is seminal for the Black Artists + Designers Guild, the nonprofit she founded with an unapologetic mission of carving out space for Black design talent. The guild is not about, how are we going to show up in your space? My point was, we don t need your space to show up. That s why we created our own, she says.
Kevin Queiroz for New Kingston Media
When diners think of Harlem restaurants, most are typically drawn to ones located along Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Lenox Avenue. But a new heated outdoor dining setup along a two-block stretch adjacent to the historic Strivers’ Row is looking to bring attention to restaurants further up north.
The Renaissance Pavilion, located along Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd, between West 137th 139th Streets, is a collaboration between local non-profit Harlem Park to Park, WXY Architecture + Urban design, the Black-owned restaurants guide EatOkra, UberEats, and PR firm Valinc.
Unveiled earlier today, the pavilion includes multiple outdoor dining structures featuring artwork from local artists and heaters for diners to eat outside during the winter months. Each of the structures vary in size and correspond with the footprint of each participating restaurant. The outdoor structures were created entirely free of cost for the restaurants, and will serve