In Hollywood, there are certain directors and producers who have reached a level of power and success that allows them a rare amount of creative freedom. This list is very short and includes names like Steven Spielberg, James Camron, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Ridley Scott. With the exception of Tyler Perry, you don’t see Black artists in this conversation. Whatever you think of the Madea filmmaker’s content, you can’t deny the success of his projects.

What makes his ascent even more interesting is that he did it on his own terms. He turned his popular stage plays into movies, which also spawned TV series. He transformed those hits into his own studio in Atlanta, building an empire of Black Excellence. Even if you don’t like Tyler Perry’s work, you have to admit he has achieved the kind of power that Black artists rarely get an opportunity at. However, there are a few directors, producers and actors who are setting themselves up to hit that status. It’s really just a question of whether they want the stability and protection of a studio behind them, or want to call their own shots with creative freedom. Check out our suggestions for Black directors who could be the next Tyler Perry.

Jordan Peele

What sets Jordan Peele apart from other filmmakers is that you immediately recognze his movies before you ever hear a word of dialogue. In the horror world, you need to have a tone that stands out from the pack; otherwise, you’re just making another scary movie that will disappear in the crowd. The way he effortlessly blends explorations of race and class into his psychological thrillers is masterful. His visuals are always unique, leaving an impact that fans analyze long after the films have left theaters.

His production company, Monkey Paw, is branching out into other genres with films like “Monkey Man” and TV series like “Scare Tactics.” His style is so distinctive that characters and set pieces from his movies appear at Universal Studios Hollywood.

When your projects have an unmistakable signature, and you’ve branched out into other elements of entertainment, you’re definitely headed to another level of success.

Shonda Rhimes

Whether it’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” or “Bridgerton,” Shonda Rhimes has given us some of the most intense, messiest, and most entertaining TV of the last 20 years. She and her Shondaland team excel at finding captivating stories and compelling characters for us to obsess over.

What she does better than almost any other producer is pair the right teams together to deliver the best projects. She can be the boss, and also trust the people on her teams to do their jobs. This may not sound like a big deal, but a lot of leaders aren’t great team players.

She’s already created an unforgettable TV empire, so it’s not a matter of her becoming the “next” anyone —it’s about her getting her due as a game changer.

Ava DuVernay

Ava DuVernay is an acclaimed director, who’s already a big time Hollywood power player behind the scenes. Her films routinely receive awards buzz and raves from critics. The only thing she hasn’t had is a huge box office hit, but it doesn’t seem like that’s what she’s looking for.

DuVernay is an artist in the truest sense of the word. She makes movies that speak to her creatively and tells stories that she feels need to be told. Most importantly, she’s telling our stories in a beautiful, compassionate, insightful way.

We want her to have major influence in the rooms where it happens, because we need someone like Ava advocating for quality Black entertainment.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson

The rapper-turned-TV producer has grown his G-Unit Film & Television production company on the strength and popularity of the “Power” universe. He’s parlayed the franchise’s success into a new studio in Louisiana. He’s even sought out Perry’s advice as he embarks on new ground for his company.

The next step for Fif is to branch out into other genres that don’t revolve around crime families and gang rivalries. We’d love to see G-Unit do sci-fi, rom-coms, period pieces and maybe a musical. A new studio will offer opportunities for all kinds of unexpected projects.

Ryan Coogler

The man behind Marvel’s Wakanda universe has repeatedly proven himself as a talented storyteller. His films are unapologetically Black, showcasing our joy, heartbreak, strength and family. Based on the “Black Panther” box office alone, Coogler could write whatever ticket he wants.

He already has a production company that gives him creative freedom and control, so if he wants his own studio, we have no doubt he’ll find a way to make it happen.

The real question is whether he’ll go it alone, or partner up with his frequent collaborator, Michael B. Jordan.

Michael B. Jordan

The “Creed III” star/director is heading into his filmmaker era, looking to expand the “Creed” universe, create new worlds and broaden his acting career into fresh spaces.

Jordan may have the closest trajectory to Perry, as he’s the only actor here. However, his connection to two major franchises gives him a leg up at the box office.

As a bonus, we’re here for any opportunity to see him and Ryan Coogler collaborate.

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Following its electrifying world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the highly anticipated horror-thriller HERETIC has dropped a chilling new trailer, offering a tantalizing glimpse into the sinister twists that await audiences. The film, which blends elements of religious horror with psychological suspense, stars Hugh Grant in a hauntingly malevolent role, alongside rising stars Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East. HERETIC is set to open in theaters nationwide on November 8th.

In the film, two young missionaries, portrayed by Thatcher and East, find themselves caught in a terrifying ordeal after knocking on the wrong door. They are greeted by the diabolical Mr. Reed, played by Grant, who ensnares them in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, testing the limits of their faith and survival.

Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the creative duo behind A Quiet Place, HERETIC promises to deliver an unforgettable and terrifying experience just in time for the holiday season.

Mark your calendars: HERETIC hits theaters everywhere on November 8th.

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Inflation has been a central concern for voters in the upcoming election, with many pointing fingers at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. But is it fair to blame them entirely for the rising cost of goods? The answer, like the causes of inflation itself, is complex.

Although inflation is currently at its lowest since March 2021, many families continue to struggle with higher prices. News stories and social media show some voters blaming the Biden-Harris administration for costs rising. On this week’s episode of “Politics Explained,” we look at the theories about inflation that take into account that inflation just didn’t start with one president.

During former President Donald Trump’s administration, Trump often boasted about low unemployment and economic growth, much of which was inherited from the Obama administration. However, Trump’s decision to engage in trade wars, particularly with China, led to tariffs that disrupted supply chains and, in some cases, led to higher prices for consumers.

Then came the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which severely disrupted global supply chains and led to sharp price increases. As travel restrictions and labor shortages mounted, inflation skyrocketed, exacerbating the economic downturn.

In response to the pandemic, the U.S. government took significant steps to stabilize the economy. Trump signed the bipartisan CARES Act in 2020, providing relief funds to millions of Americans. However, some economists theorize that the surge of cash flowing into the economy, coupled with limited supplies, fueled demand and contributed to rising prices. When Biden took office in 2021, the economy was still reeling from the pandemic’s aftermath. His administration went on to sign another stimulus package, despite concerns about inflation.

Global factors such as the war in Ukraine and corporate price gouging also played significant roles in inflation. Companies that saw record profits during the pandemic often kept prices high even when supply chain disruptions eased. Despite this, many Americans looked to President Biden to solve the problem — but they also blamed him, too.

Historically, U.S. presidents have been blamed for inflation and economic downturns, even when their control over them was limited. In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter faced severe criticism for high inflation (and his “malaise speech,” contributing to his loss to Republican candidate Ronald Reagan. Similarly, George H.W. Bush lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton due to a recession in the 1990s.

So what have Joe and Kamala done about inflation?

The Biden-Harris administration has taken steps to combat inflation. In 2022, President Biden authorized the release of oil reserves to lower gas prices, passed the Inflation Reduction Act and supported the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates to slow spending. However, whether these measures will alleviate voters’ concerns remains to be seen.

As the 2024 election approaches, both Harris and Trump have presented their economic plans. Trump promises more tariffs, which economists warn could further drive up inflation. Harris, on the other hand, pledges to support middle- and lower-income families with tax breaks and address corporate price gouging.

In the end, voters may not only judge candidates based on who does more to fix the economy but also on who tells the most convincing story about their efforts to do so. The debate over presidential responsibility for inflation is as much about perception as it is about policy.

With the election around the corner, the public will soon decide whose narrative they trust more.

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In a classic example of political misdirection – or perhaps consciously focusing on the wrong shit just because — Donald Trump moseyed on the presidential debate stage Sept. 10 and referenced a debunked online rumor that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating household pets for sustenance.

“In Springfield they’re eating dogs,” Trump said on the debate stage in the midst of Vice President Kamala Harris bringing shame to his entire lineage on national television. “They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”

Pretty much er’rybody and they mama have called bullshit on Haitians in Springfield eating animals, including the Republican governor of Ohio and the Republican mayor of Springfield. Even the city’s police chief said it’s not true – and you know something wild was said when a police chief is defending a group of Black folks.

Trump’s statement was glaring nonsense statement from a man who has built his entire political career on saying things that don’t make no damn sense. Just the same, he’s doubled down on his foolishness, claiming that he will “mass deport” Haitians in Springfield, according to the BBC.

Problem is, members of our country saw fit to give this fool a platform and power, so his words have actual, real-world consequences…truth be damned.

There have been threats of violence in the city. Haitian parents have kept their children home because schools in the Springfield area have received bomb threats. A whole ass college (Wittenberg University) has cancelled sporting events and in-person classes because they fear for the safety of their students...all because a dude with a disturbing relationship with tanning lotion said something blatantly false on television.

Nearly all of the Haitians in Springfield are there legally, and because many fled a living situation the likes of which most of us will never experience: Gang violence runs rampant in Haiti, and the political leaders of the country seem unable to get a handle on it. After the July 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the 43^rd president of Haiti, the country’s residents have dealt with food insecurity, displacement and constant threats to their life.

Many Haitians came to the small town of Springfield in search of normalcy – instead they find themselves victims of a rumor so ridiculous it barely merits repeating out loud.

But Black Americans already know what’s up: the Pan-Africanism movement of yesteryear demanded that we come together as part of the same diasporic community in the face of violence from our oppressors. Elders in the South put it a different way: Black folks is Black, no matter where you go. Many of us encounter the same struggles living in a country built on the myth of whiteness as an ideal.

Use whatever platform you can access to push back against this narrative plaguing our Haitian brothers and sisters in Ohio. Because if we don’t…who will?

———-

Lawrence Ware is a teaching assistant professor of philosophy at Oklahoma State University and associate director of its center for Africana Studies. You can reach him at law.writes@gmail.com.

A Black mother died in Georgia after the state’s strict anti-abortion laws caused an almost 24-hour delay in her care.

In August 2022, Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, traveled to a North Carolina clinic to have an abortion, People magazine reported. She could not have the procedure done in the state of Georgia, where she lived, because she was six weeks pregnant — and following the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, the state had enacted a ban on abortions after six weeks’ gestation.

The clinic gave her the pregnancy-ending pills mifepristone and misoprostol, which she took back home in Georgia. Days later, Thurman developed a rare complication where she didn’t expel all of the fetal tissue, according to ProPublica, the outlet that first reported her case.

Thurman, a medical assistant and mom to a 6-year-old boy, began experiencing heavy bleeding and pain before eventually losing consciousness at home. Her boyfriend called an ambulance and she was taken to Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge. The tissue that remained had caused her to develop an extremely dangerous infection known as sepsis.

However, due to Georgia’s anti-abortion laws, doctors didn’t proceed with a D&C (dilation and curettage). Despite her losing consciousness in her hospital room and her condition worsening rapidly, she did not receive treatment for nearly 24 hours.

ProPublica reports that an official state committee found that doctors waited for 20 hours to operate while they monitored Thurman’s infection — during which time her blood pressure dropped to dangerous levels and her organs failed.

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After her death, a state investigation found that it was “preventable” — and ProPublica said that Thurman’s is the first known “preventable” case linked to abortion.

The publication notes that it will more than likely take another two years to fully learn the impact of losing Roe v. Wade as many hospitals have a two-year reporting lag in the causes of deaths of patients. However, it is not surprising the first public story is a Black woman. The maternal health crisis continues to impact Black mothers disproportionately.

What happened to Thurman isn’t just among the risk of an abortion. This can also occur in the event of a miscarriage, vaginal delivery, or C-section, according to the Mayo Clinic. When many warned that overturning Roe v. Wade and allowing the states to decide could have adverse effects on women’s health at large, this is what many feared.

“We actually have the substantiated proof of something we already knew — that abortion bans kill people,” Mini Timmaraju, president of the abortion-rights group Reproductive Freedom for All, said to Mother Jones about Thurman’s case. “It cannot go on.”

Meanwhile, in Georgia, Dr. Krystal “KR” Redman, who co-founded SPARK, told the outlet, “Amber’s case is just an example of the ongoing systemic negligence that continues to claim the lives of Black folks.”

Redman added, “Reproductive justice is not just about abortion access, but also about the broader right to quality, comprehensive, full-range, culturally humble care, life-saving health care for all of us.”

Mere moments before his arrest, Sean “Diddy” Combs was hanging out in Central Park. According to footage obtained by the Daily Mail, the embattled rapper was seen in one of the most popular parks in the country with his son Christian Combs just hours before Homeland Security arrested him at his Manhattan hotel.

In the footage, the rapper was seen in a black tanktop, gray sweatpants, and white sneakers, casually sitting in the park among the many New Yorkers and tourists. Though a few commenters couldn’t believe it could be “Diddy,’’ the mogul is seen clearly in the video, sitting sunshine and flipping through his phone in one of the park’s open areas. While he looked relaxed, many commented that he also looked stressed and worried.

In other footage obtained by the Daily Mail, Combs was also seen walking around the streets of midtown Manhattan, engaging and taking selfies with various fans who came up to him. Mere hours after the Central Park footage on Monday afternoon, Combs was arrested by Homeland Security outside of his Manhattan hotel room.

As The Root previously reported, Diddy was arrested on Monday on a list of very serious charges, which were revealed on Tuesday morning. Among them, Diddy is facing three charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

In a press conference on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams detailed the charges, saying that the disgraced musician allegedly, “used force, threats of force, and coercion to cause victims to engage in extended sexual performances with male commercial sex workers, some of whom he transported or caused to be transported over state lines.”

The federal indictment also details Combs’ allegedly planned and controlled the sex performances called “freak offs.” Williams detailed that these events would allegedly last days at a time, involved drugs, and were even recorded by the rapper on multiple occasions.

On Tuesday after his arrest, Diddy plead not guilty and was denied bail, as The Root reported. Per ABC News, Diddy was denied bail once again on Wednesday and was ordered to remain in federal custody in a special housing unit of Metropolitan Detention Center-Brooklyn.

Viewers of the footage of course took to the comment section on TikTok with their thoughts on the footage, with one user writing, “hes trying to soak up normal life before going in…for possibly a long time.” Another one shared similar sentiments, suspecting that Diddy may have known that the arrest was on the way. They wrote, “he knew. that’s when u start appreciating simple things in life.” Many others said he looked scared or stressed.

During a wide-ranging interview with the National Association of Black Journalists and WHYY public radio, Vice President Kamala Harris talked about race more extensively than she had since emerging as a presidential candidate and, subsequently, the Democratic Party’s nominee.

The historic presidential figure (Harris is the first Black woman and Indian American to be a major party nominee) discussed reparations for the first time as vice president and outlined the systemic harms to Black communities caused by the United States history of the enslavement of African Americans and racial oppressive laws.

“We just need to speak truth about history. In spite of the fact that some people try and erase history and try and teach our children otherwise,” Harris told theGrio during the 45-minute sit-down interview in Philadelphia on Tuesday. “We need to speak truth about the generational impact of our history in terms of the generational impact of slavery, the generational impact of of redlining, of Jim Crow laws.”

Harris was responding to theGrio’s questioning of her position on H.R.40, a 35-year-old bill that would create a commission to study the history of slavery and racial discrimination and establish legislative ways to redress it. 

“We need to speak truth about it in a way that is about driving solutions,” said Harris, who co-sponsored H.R.40 when she was a U.S. senator.

Though members of the Congressional Black Caucus and advocates have called on President Joe Biden to take executive action in the absence of three decades of inaction on Capitol Hill,  the presidential hopeful signaled she believed it should happen through Congress. She cited the ability of Congress to hold hearings and “elevate” knowledge about the history of slavery and racial discrimination. 

However, the vice president added, “I’m not discounting the importance of any executive action.”

Tying it back to her economic plan for if she wins the White House in November, Harris said her ideas to create an “opportunity economy” will seek to address “explicitly the obstacles that historically and currently exist” in areas like student loan debt, medical debt, bias home appraisals and Black maternal mortality.

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., along with the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, has championed bills like H.R. 40 and another bill that would establish a U.S. Commission on Truth Racial Healing and Transformation. In an exclusive statement for theGrio, Lee applauded Harris for her nod to the need to seek reparative solutions to the impact of slavery and discrimination. 

“I am pleased that Vice President Harris acknowledged the important role truth plays in our quest for racial healing and transformation,” said Lee. “My legislation to establish a commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation would usher in a truth-telling moment, educating and informing the public about the historical context for the current racial inequalities we witness each and every day.” 

Marcus Anthony Hunter, chair of African-American studies at UCLA and who helped draft Lee’s commission on Truth, Healing and Transformation, told theGrio he “found the exchange really meaningful.”

He added, “It’s the first time we’re getting answers and a discussion on record.”

Hunter and other advocates who worked with Lee and Jackson Lee had long grown frustrated with the lack of progress on creating a reparations commission, despite states like New York and California and local municipalities passing similar commissions. 

But Hunter said despite Harris’ apparent preference for congressional action on creating the commission, such a commission via executive action “can be the resource for the legislative policy.” He continued, 

“Executive commissions have also had hearings as well. So there is, I think, a complimentary nature of executive action around issues like reparations and reparative justice that are important,” said Hunter. “I think we were hearing the beginnings of an acknowledgment around that, but hopefully it’s just the beginning of a broader, you know, interest in an appetite in this area.”

Despite what appeared to be an aim not to focus her presidential campaign on her racial identity and race more broadly — instead focusing on themes of unity and moving “forward” — Harris leaned in on race in ways she hadn’t prior to Tuesday’s interview with Black journalists.

Though she declined to comment during a CNN interview two weeks ago about her Republican presidential opponent Donald Trump’s false claim that Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, “turned Black” for political purposes, Harris on Tuesday said plainly, “I’m Black” when answering a question from theGrio about courting Black men voters. The vice president said she had to “earn” their vote and didn’t expect their support simply because she is a Black woman.

Political pundit and radio host Reecie Colbert acknowledged Harris’ “reluctance” during her CNN interview and the presidential debate against Trump to talk about her racial identity. 

“One thing about her is she wants to do things on her own terms. She wants to have the conversation on her own terms,” Colbert told theGrio.

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Being a parent is one of the hardest jobs in the world. So why are some women choosing to do it alone? A growing trend among some women is choosing to do motherhood by themselves, taking on all the responsibilities, both mentally, emotionally, and financially.

Single motherhood is still considered by many to be taboo and many in our community look down on women raising children on their own. That hasn’t stopped a growing number of women from still choosing that path. The journey can look different for each woman. In this new and honest limited series, “Choosing Motherhood with Eboni K. Williams,” theGrio host, and journalist Nicole Ellis talk about their individual decisions regarding single motherhood and all that comes with it. Topics will include defining single motherhood, egg freezing, donor selection, financial costs, concerns, and dealing with criticism from societal stigmas.

In episode six of “Choosing Motherhood with Eboni K. Williams,” Williams and Ellis elaborate more on the financial cost of freezing their eggs, and Williams gets candid about her embryo transfer experience. 

According to the Emory School of Medicine, an embryo transfer is when an egg, fertilized with sperm outside of a woman’s body, is implanted back into a woman’s womb. Then, between nine and 14 days later, a woman can learn if the transfer was successful and if she is pregnant. The IVF Center reports the average success rate on the first try of an IVF transfer is between 20–35%. That’s where the financial costs of egg freezing can become expensive. 

Another option for women with fertility issues which may also be more cost-effective is IUI (intrauterine insemination), where sperm is inserted directly into the uterus during ovulation to increase the chances of fertilization. 

According to Fertility IQ, the average cost of an egg freezing cycle is $11,000, which includes hormone stimulation, egg retrieval, and lab processing. There are additional costs, around $5,000 for medication, plus fees for storing the eggs. The cost of IVF (in vitro-fertilization) is even higher, around $24,000.

Tell us about your journey to motherhood. Did you have to use IUI or IVF treatments, and how did that work out for you? Share your thoughts on egg freezing, IVF, and more at theGrio.com or on our social media pages.

Hip-Hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs isn’t the only person facing trouble in light of his federal indictment. If the allegations against Diddy are true, there’s likely no way his executive staffers were completely oblivious to the nefarious activity allegedly going down. And after Diddy was officially denied bond, his federal indictment continues to draw strange comparisons to that of Jeffery Epstein’s.

Just like Epstein had Ghislaine Maxwell to help cover up his dirt, Diddy’s chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, has been continuously named as his co-conspirator and even his “manipulator in chief,” according to the New York Post.

In 2021, Combs called Khorram his “right hand” for years, and her now deleted LinkedIn page listed her role as Diddy’s chief of staff since 2020, the Daily Mail reported. Khorram position in Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment can also be traced back to 2013.

So with over a decade connecting her to Diddy’s executive team, Khorram just might play a bigger role in Diddy’s mess than she’s really given credit for.

This isn’t even the first time Khorram’s name has come up in Puff Daddy drama. Back when music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed his lawsuit against Combs, Khorram — often referred to as “KK”— was also named as a defendant over 50 times in the court document. According to Jones, Khorram was complicit in the alleged sex trafficking, drug supplying, and ongoing physical abuse listed in his suit. In fact, Jones’ official filing also calls Khorram “THE GHISLAINE MAXWELL TO SEAN COMBS.”

In 2021, Maxwell was convicted of facilitating Epstein’s abuse between 1994 and 2004. On Tuesday (Sept. 17), a federal appeals court upheld her sex trafficking conviction, so she will remain behind bars continuing her 20-year sentence, according to Fox News. Unlike Maxwell, however, Khorram wasn’t named in the federal indictment against Combs, but if you ask music producer Lil Rod Jones, she had a hands-on role in all of the allegations against Diddy.

Jones’ suit also alleges he confided in Khorram about his discomfort over Combs’ sexual advances, but in response, she allegely said, “you know, Sean will be Sean.” The lawsuit continued that Khorram “attempted to downplay Mr. Combs groping of Mr. Jones anus and genitals, as friendly horseplay, stating that those acts were Mr. Combs way of ‘showing that he likes you.’”

Even though Khorram’s name doesn’t appear in the federal filings against Diddy, the document often mentions “high-ranking supervisors” as co-conspirators to the alleged crimes. With this in mind, we have to ask what exact role will Khorram play in Diddy’s future trial? Will she go down in Diddy’s Titanic or will she jump ship before then?

Khorram has not responded to any claims against her or her boss, but according to the Economic Times, close sources suggest she could cooperate with authorities as the investigation continues.