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Protesters stop traffic in Washington

Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty

Chicago Woman Starts Petition For Sex Strike

April Lawson noticed dozens of men camped outside of a store for the latest pair of Jordans as if it was a regular day. Unfortunately, most “regular” days in Chicago involve gun violence and Lawson is taking drastic actions to insight change. Similar to the premise of the Spike Lee film, Chi-Raq, Lawson created a Change.org petition to encourage women to withhold sex until the men of Chicago stop the violence. “My silent protest to fight this battle is by keeping my panties up and my skirt down, one day at a time. My legs are closed to you. IT’S GAME TIME” said Lawson in her manifesto. [ABC Chicago]

New Study Finds Black Males Don’t Expect To Live Beyond Age 35

The American Sociological Association and the Journal of Health and Social Behavior has released a new study on “Adolescent Pessimism” which surveyed nearly 20,000 young adults. Only 50% of the African American participants were confident about living past age 35. Similarly, the Mexican-born immigrants surveyed believe their life expectancy is approximately age 35. In contrast, 60% of the Caucasian youth polled are confident that they will reach the average life expectancy age of 79. While activists are promoting, #BlackLivesMatter, the study reiterates the importance of reminding the youth that while a situation may seem bleak in the moment, they should strive to live life to the fullest. [Huffington Post]

African American Author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Wins Coveted Literary Prize

When Toni Morrison sings your praises, you must be doing something right. Morrison said fellow author Ta-Nehisi Coates “fills the “intellectual void” left after James Baldwin’s death.” It was announced yesterday that Coates won the National Book Award for nonfiction, for his powerful book, Between The World And Me, which has spent over four months on the New York Times Best Seller list since its release in July. The book is a narrative from father to son about the trials and tribulations that come with being Black in America. [Entertainment Weekly]

Mayor Lovely Warren Wants Syrian Refugees To Call Rochester Home

Following the terrorist attacks in Paris, nearly 25 US governors are trying to ban Syrian refugees from relocating to their state. The inclusive assumption amongst the politicians is that the displaced Syrian’s may have ties to terrorism. Rochester Mayor, Lovely Warren is taking a more optimistic stance on the situation. Warren, who identifies as the ‘daughter of an immigrant’ believes that anyone who has the opportunity to come to the U.S., should be treated equally. “We cannot close our doors to a community because of fear when we have a proper vetting process.” she said. “I want [the refugees] to know…that they can have a safe place to live [in Rochester]. A safe place to raise their family and go to college; that’s what the American dream is about” she added. [The Huffington Post]

The Hollywood Reporter Gets Dragged For Lack Of Diversity

Of the eight actresses on the latest cover of The Hollywood Reporter, no women of color were selected. In attempts to address the lack of diversity, editor Stephen Galloway goes into great detail about the campaigns that take place every fall prior to Oscar nominations in January. “In doing all that this year, as we prepared for this cover, we discovered precisely ZERO actresses of color in the Oscar conversation” said Galloway. This sparked a social media backlash as to why, in 2015, women of color still have to fight for recognition and representation from the mainstream media. “Black Twitter” has started the hashtag,  check out some of the powerful tweets on the topic below. [The Hollywood Reporter]

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.