Page 3 - Yake Smith News Today

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Ya'Ke Smith, associate dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and an associate professor of film at the University of Texas at Austin.

OUR RIGHT TO GAZE: BLACK FILM IDENTITIES SEE EVENT DETAILS In this collection of six shorts, filmmakers gaze at themselves and their world, attempting to make sense of what they see reflected back. From gripping drama to heart-warming comedy, Our Right to Gaze: Black Film Identities features timely stories from Black artists that take us outside of the ordinary. Runtime: 82 mins. The "Paradox of Expectation"...its the idea that wanting to rid yourself of expectations is a paradox - literally th...

I can’t stop thinking about Fern in the snow.   Played by Frances McDormand in Chloé Zhao’s stunning “Nomadland,” the character is living out of her van, traveling the country after both an economic bust in her industrial community and her husband’s death have left her adrift. In a scene that stuck in my head even before Austin was blanketed in white and its worn-out residents were left to freeze, Fern finds herself somewhere out in empty America, the vistas searing, blank an...

The 78th Golden Globe Awards are scheduled for Feb. 28 and will be shown on NBC.  Amy Poehler and Tina Fey will return to host the ceremony, which they last led in 2015.  The Golden Globes typically take place in January.  The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which gives out the awards, pushed the ceremony to February this year, citing the coronavirus pandemic.  Streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon, dominated the list of nominees, both with their own films — like “Ma Rai...

Yeah, in the San Francisco Bay area, Berkeley.   A lot of people can get burned out on that subject matter. What keeps you interested in digging into the darker side of human behavior, now in the film world?  I was magnetized to this world a bit as a kid. My dad was in the DA’s office depicted in Errol Morris film, “The Thin Blue Line.” So as I grew up, he dragged me around to precincts and the courthouse and jails. I think his intention was that I would be scared straight, but in...

Black UT-Austin faculty discussed hiring across different UT schools while students called for increased funding and the removal of “The Eyes of Texas” during the second day of the State of Black UT event, a three-day discusion regarding inclusion on campus.

Austin 360 A Black Panthers leader. A couple in love in midcentury America. A beauty queen who wants better for her daughter. We recently asked an Austin expert for recommended movies to watch this Black History Month. Yake Smith is an associate professor of film at the University of Texas, as well as the Moody College of Communications first associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion. Hes also a celebrated filmmaker in his own right: Smiths debut feature, "Wolf," premiered at South ...

St. Ursula grad, ‘Project Runway’ alum is Taft Museum’s 2021 Duncanson artist-in-residence St. Ursula Academy graduate and ‘Project Runway’ alum Asha Ama Bias-Daniels is the Taft Museum of Art’s 2021 Duncanson artist-in-residence. The couture designer will lead public programs, teach workshops, and visit schools across Greater Cincinnati for two weeks in April, the 12th-26th. (Source: Taft Museum of Art Facebook page) By Jennifer Edwards Baker | January 25, 20...

Residents along the closed MLK March route still celebrate civil rights leaders dream during pandemic FacebookTwitterEmail 1of7 A small group of marchers participate in the People?•s March for Freedom from Pittman-Sullivan Park to Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. The annual MLK march went virtual this year due to coronavirus concerns. Traditionally, the march draws thousands of participants.Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-NewsShow MoreShow Less 2of7 A small group o...

Socially distanced block party planned for MLK holiday FacebookTwitterEmail Marks Outing is presenting an MLK block party on Monday at its businesses on East Commerce Street.Mike Sutter /Staff Although the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day march will not be in person this year, you can still support local black-owned businesses at a socially distanced block party on Monday. The event will feature food trucks and entertainment starting at 1 p.m. at Marks Outing, which is traditionally the unoffi...