#hbcu dancers

[rexotically]

I was a hitten kitten 😸😺

[ricefame]

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[klonnieshippersclub]

If Bonnie had the opportunity to pursue something unrelated to Mystic Falls and magic, what would it have been? Would she have went to an HBCU? Continued cheerleading?

A question about Bonnie’s hobbies? Perfect. Based on the few things we’ve seen Bonnie do. Taking pictures at the Founder’s Day Celebration I can see her into photography. When Bonnie at Abby’s house she tended to her garden. So another hobby outside of magic.

It’s mentioned in season 3, that she and Matt were lifeguards at the pool for a summer. He actually buried the whistle from that summer during season5.

In season 6, Bonnie mentions she missed being around people so I could see her choosing jobs or hobbies that aids in that community value that she craves. In season 8, we see her jogging to Caroline’s house. In a deleted scene post-Enzo’s death she was jogging and intended to avoid Stefan. Our girl has a diverse physical skillset, she does triathlons for sure.

As for cheerleading a 100% yes. Kat Graham is a trained dancer and not allowing Bonnie to be showcased dancing more was a crime! They could’ve made her the caption of the cheer squad? I’ve seen that behind the scenes video of Kat and Candice dancing that’s all I’m going to say there. Hear me out what about majorette Bonnie? That would be great too. Bonnie’s probably tired of being the only black woman in town. She’d love an HBCU. She deserves friends outside the MFG more than anybody else.

Taking a moment here everyone else got to include their IRL hobbies or a piece of themselves in their characters but Kat. Nina wanted her Bulgarian roots in there? Katherine and Elena has that. Candice King used to be a singer? We get moments of Caroline singing. Paul/Ian want to be the bad guy some more. Silas is created and Damon has these back and forth evil moments. Michael Malarkey has a music career? Enzo teaches Bonnie how to play the guitar. There’s so many moments where Bonnie and Kat were sidelined we’d be here all day if we started listening them. TVDU fans continue to pretend that characters like Vicki, or Caroline, or Katherine, The Mikaelson’s or whomever suffered as heavily as Bonnie did in the narrative. When that is simply false.

As a Bonnie fan first and foremost this is why most Bonnie fans stick with each other. TVDU fans like to minimize the racism that Kat faced and how that plays into Bonnie, while claiming that Bonnie fans only label people racist. Arguing that Bonnie fans are irrational for calling out the show and how that racism perpetrated in TVDU. When they simply cannot mentally handle that their favorite show or character benefits of of the mistreatment of a black actress/character. Racism is not just an opinion as much as these fans believe it is.

Your asks sounds like a potential college AU for Bonnie/Klonnie. Please tell me you’re writing this! I’d be honored to read it and so would other Klonnie fans.

[aswrittenbyaj]

dance for you

pairing: riri williams x Black reader (feminine) summary: it's the first home game of the season and majorette dancer riri is excited to hear the roar of the crowd in the stans. too ad her number one fan is stuck working. wordcount: 3.1k warnings: rated 18+. minors dni. cursing. not beta’d (that’s a warning in itself). let me know if i missed any! dedications & credits: originally inspired by dominique getting ready for carnival in a couple videos that @axailslink posted a few months ago. hbcu!shuri and hbcu!riri live rent-free in my mind so i went with it. not gonna lie yall, i'm not the happiest with this, only because it was supposed to be longer. every time i tried to expand on it, it just didn't feel right to me which is why the ended may feel a bit abrupt. there might be a part 2 in the future (or a stand alone that could be read in connection to this), but for now, i hope you enjoy.

gif conversions, divider, and banner by: me

she looked so fucking gorgeous. 

it was a little after five when you arrived to riri william's on-campus apartment, smirking up at the small yet advanced security camera she had rigged in place of a key. though you were a little skeevy about facial recognition and have your face scanned into the ether, you trusted her...and you loved being able to pop in and out of her place whenever the desire was there.

you didn't have much time before your six o'clock shift, this weekend being mandatory for all bartenders and not to brag, but you were one of brimstone's best. hell, you should've been. you had worked there since you were a freshman, unable to drink, but more than capable of keeping the liquor flowing and charming your way into extra tips.

ending the door, you headed towards the open bathroom door, your feet stopping as did your heart the second your gaze landed on the beauty that was your girlfriend in makeup. your approach had gone unnoticed, riri's eyes closed as her best friend viv continued to pat the beauty blender up her cheekbones, across her forehead, her back to you. 

"oooh, bitch, i'm scared of you," viv had said, giggling as she put down the orange sponge egg, grabbing the setting spray.

a fine mist sprayed from the clear matte bottle, giving your girlfriend's skin a dewy cast. white teeth flashed between nude painted lips as she laughed, the sound your favorite melody. 

you shifted in your position, leaning against the door frame content with watching your shawty get pampered in peace. she didn't always do this. between her classes, "side hustle", and working on her inventions, riri rarely had the time to press pause on life that was long enough to take time out for herself. honestly, the only time she really allowed herself to get dolled up, outside of date night with you, was during football season.

as a fly girl, a majorette on your university's dance team, there were certain level of self-maintenance riri was required to sustain and while during the off-season that meant she was focused more staying conditioned for the next season, the end-of-summer through winter window was when your girlfriend spent more time (and your money) getting her face beat, her hair styled and her nails filled in. 

not that you were complaining. you would never complain about doing something that made her so happy, her inner glow was physically visible to the naked eye. you be able to provide that for your girl? it made you feel favored and fortunate. 

except on nights like tonight.

though subtle, your shift in movement caught her best friend's attention, eyes glancing up at you through the mirror before going back to the task at hand, rocking her weight back onto her left leg.

"looks like i ain't gonna be the only one scared tonight," she said, swapping the setting spray for a black and white circular hand fan, viv flicking her wrist back and forth, the gentle flow of air speeding up the makeup application drying time.

"whatchu mean?" riri asked, her head tilting slightly, perfectly scuplted brow quirking in interest.

"'cause with the way your girlfriend is lookin' atchu right now, anybody try to step to you tonight finna be scared for a whole 'nother reason."

you couldn't help, but laugh, throwing your head back; first, because of viv's commentary, but as always, your attention was never too far from riri. she chuckled before her friend's words fully interlocked cohesively in her mind, eyes opening immediately, knowing exactly where to look to connect with your own. your pink tongue dragged across the plump of your bottom lip as you settled into the full intensity of those brown eyes focusing on you. 

"hi baby," she said sweetly, soft smile spreading into a wider grin. 

it was clear from the alertness in her eyes, she hadn't expected you to stop by. honestly you were pushing it pretty close since it was a ten minute drive to brimstone, and you still needed to head back to your apartment to shower and get dressed, but if you were stuck working all night, surrounded but a bunch of horny, drunk, and high people, you damn sure were gonna make sure you saw your baby first.

hopping down off the bathroom sink counter, she side-stepped viv, arms immediately wrapped around your waist. careful not to ruin her best friend's hard work, you nudged her chin up, full lips coming down to press against hers, supple as always. 

"hi beautiful," you said, pulling back just enough to mumble the words against her duo-tone lips before capturing them with your own again.

"uh, yeah, girl, i'll meet you downstairs in like twenty minutes."

you barely heard viv as she grabbed her things and left, your attention solely on the young woman who had captured your heart a year and a semester ago. her hands toyed with the hem of your shirt, fingers brushing against the velvet of your skin as your hands shifted  to the sides of her head, fingers threading themselves in her microbraids. 

you pressed your lips against hers a couple more times before pulling back a few more inches to just look at her, taking her in. she used to hate when you did that, stared at her like she was the most precious thing in the world, as if just having her here proved the existence of magic and miracles. 

these days, things were different, her gaze now a mirror, reflecting back a love so deep you could free fall in it and never touch to bottom.

"you so damn pretty," you said, shaking your head slightly as if her beauty were an insult, lips curling upwards into a smile at the way she beamed at your compliment.

"thank you mami," she said, leaning up to press a kiss to your jaw before letting you go, turning to clean up the leftover mess on the counter. "so...how long are you mine for?"

her tone was played casual, but you knew how to see beyond the dramatic lightness of her words.

"forever and a day, but..."

you approached her from behind, hands brushing the terry fabric of her robe as they wrapped around her waist.  you buried the rest of your statement in the space between her neck and robe collar.

"...unfortunately i have to leave in, like, five minutes ago."

"right now? are you serious?" 

you didn't even need to glance in the mirror to see the downturn of her lips though she revealed it to you, half turning in your arms to meet your gaze.

"you really can't make it tonight?"

you sighed softly, the slump of your shoulders obvious. you hated to disappoint her.

"i wish i could." your bottom lip poked out for a second, mimicking her pouty facial expression. "brian's making everybody touch the clock this weekend and since i didn't work last night..."

your voice trailed off, hand on her hip smoothing down over the curve of her ass as you leaned back in for another kiss, this one searing with memories of just how the two of you spent your night off. you weren't the only one still drunk off recollection, a throaty moan vibrating against your lips the second they touched hers. 

all too soon, you pulled apart, a sigh falling from between her painted pout, and not the kind of sigh you loved to coax out from her.

"but you have to go."

you could see her trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice, the urge to kick yourself growing stronger.

"i have to go," you confirmed, the hand on her chin moving down to mimic your right, ten fingers splayed against the soft cotton covering her ass. "but text me where you end up after the game. i'll come find you after my shift," you promised, eyes staying locked on hers for a moment longer, waiting for her nod in agreement. 

her eyes fluttered closed as you pressed a kiss to her forehead, right hand coming down to slap her left ass cheek, the contrast in action drawing a gasping giggle from her and a smirk from you as you made your way out her dorm apartment's door.

yeah, you made a mistake coming in to work tonight. it wasn't that it was boring, not per sé, but at 7 o'clock, it was still pretty early. the only people at the bar were those who couldn't get tickets to the game and with a stadium who's capacity sat at 20,000 people, that number of fanatics without was relatively low. 

still, you weren't bored. you'd just rather had been somewhere else. 

like at the stadium cheering your hbcu's football team on at its first home game of the season...and watching the love of your life shake her ass with a touch of class in the sexiest uniform you've seen in your four years of attending. 

the worst part about it was that you hadn't even seen riri wearing it in-person, instead only getting 8-second glimpses of it on the social media stories of her dance sisters. the last one had been a casual version of the fly girl sway, complete with attitude poses and your favorite thing to see her wear, a smile.

fuck, you had to get out of here.

it took you two beer replacements and an appetizer sampler platter to come up with an easy, but fail-proof way to get out of a shift with a guy like brian. it wasn't hard to find him, the older man hiding away in his office, no doubt watching the game's live feed on his laptop.

your knuckles rapped sharply against the door twice, your boss' head snapping up immediately as if he had gotten caught doing something forbidden. he was so busted. you coughed once to hide your amusement.

"uh, hey brian, i know i just clocked in like 2 hours ago, but i gotta go home."

if anyone knew how to frown with their entire face, it was brian. even his nostrils seemed to display disappointment in your words. 

"and why exactly is that?"

"it's personal."

"so is having a job and working your intended shift to totality."

how you didn't roll your eyes at his bullshit was beyond you. instead, you looked away, left then right, weight shifting back and forth as your shuffled on your feet. after the moment of awkwardness you purposely created, you peeked up at him, grimacing.

"so my cycle just started and there's bl-

brian's work-weathered hand came up to stop your sentience from continuing to completion, just as you knew it would. this was a fifty-four year old man who took his tmi very seriously, which made it pretty easy for you to exploit in emergencies like this. 

"just go, but i expect you to prepared to pick up some extra hours next weekend."

the not-so-veiled threat barely made it to your ears the way you rushed back down the hallway, feet squeaking against the titled floor as you narrowly missed a busboy in your haste.  you rounded the corner of the small break room, using the term "room" loosely.  deft fingers spun the silver combination lock, the tumbler dropping the base so you could pull open the creaking metal door and grab your backpack from the bottom. yanking at the ties of your waist apron, you pulled out the folded bills from the front pocket, the meager tips you managed to earn in the almost two hours of your shift, before shoving the apron and your lock into your bag. 

a loud clang sounded in the room as you closed the door, your feet already in motion towards the entryway and then out the back door.

you contemplated whether or not you should change before heading to campus, your work uniform of black jeans and a black fitted black t-shirt not the worst fit in world, but still nothing close to your usual style. a glance at the clock on the dash told you that if you wanted to see riri's lithe form dancing her heart out, the outfit change would have to wait.

it was a good thing you decided to skip it, too, since the parking lots were full. the packed side streets and grass lot parking had you wishing you had finally gotten your motorcycle license.

turning the block the stadium was on, you could hear the roar of the crowd. you wanted to believe it was for your school, but since the opposing team's school was only two hours away, it wouldn't have surprised you in they had fans attending by the bus-load as well.

just as you were able to say "fuck it" and risk parking in front of the two-hour meter parking you knew was located a couple streets over, a bright orange sign caught you attention, the word "media/press parking" in bold, black block lettering. a smirk formed on your face as you cut your wheel in the new direction.  

the roar of the crowd near deafening as the home team gained 20 yard, only 10 more yards to go to widen the score gap with less than two minutes on the clock before half time, . squeezing through the slow walking and talking bodies, your hand gripped tighter the canon dslr camera that hung from the leather strap adorning your neck, backpack straps trapping the "campus media" badge and lanyard close to your chest.

you had never been so grateful to have joined the yearbook club a year ago, an extra curricular supplement to your photography minor. the navy blue and platinum silver badge pretty much let you get behind the scenes of any school event, which you used to your advantage, flashing the plastic card at the security guard blocking the tunnel gates before slipped past him.

you carefully maneuvered your way along the sideline towards the home team's side of the stans, grateful the that violence of the game was taking place at the other end of the field. it would be just your luck that you got all the way here just to get tackled by a defensive player trying to take down a running back. 

honestly, you couldn't care less about the game, about the screaming fans and the hyped up players near the bench waiting to take their turn on the turf. your eyes searched the stands, instead, easily landing on the twelve dancers sitting poised, one leg crossed over the other as the band behind them transitioned into a new tune.

holding up the camera, you took a few test shots of the fly girls, thumbing quickly to adjust the settings before bringing the viewfinder back up to your face. you couldn't help but zoom in, catching candids of your girlfriend as she waiting for the dance captain to start her lead-in. 

glancing over your shoulder to be sure you were still in the safety zone, you refocused on the task at hand. since there were already other campus photographers on the sidelines, you technically didn't have to get photos of the game, but you weren't going to break cover now, not after you busted your ass to get where you were standing in the first place.

you snapped another photo, looking down at the digital screen with a frown, not exactly happy with the aperture priority.  fiddling with the dials, you glanced up at the stands again, head bobbing as your eye caught the dancer next to riri giving her a nudge and pointing in your direction. speedily, you lifted the camera back up to your face, index pressing down repeatedly as you captured her reaction to your presence. shifting the weight of the camera to your left hand, you raised the right, returning her enthusiastic wave before catching the kiss she blew at you with a smirk.

riri was literally glowing.

the energy in the air was electrifying, supercharged, after the Bruisers took the W, keeping them undefeated at the start of the season. thankfully the teams, band, and dancers were allowed to clear the stadium before the fans, event staff such as yourself following behind.

leaning back against the sleek black of your audi r7, you settled in to wait for riri to exit the blue double doors. honestly, you didn't mind letting the thousands of people fight their way out of their spots and onto the road. you were in no rush, giving a polite smile or wave as familiar faces as they cleared the press lot.

the slight bite of the cool breeze stroked against the bareness of your arms, your hands sliding back and forth to warm them despite the perfectly working heaters on the other side of the car door. just as you were about to give in and sit inside, the petite woman emerged from the double doors, her eyes scanning the busy lot until she found who she was looking for.

you.

it was as if a switch had turned on, the way riri brightened up the moment her eyes landed on you. a smile stretched wide across her face. legs kicking dramatically behind her, she half-jogged in your direction, both hands tucked into the kangaroo pocket of her oversized h---  wait, that was your hoodie. as well as your sweatpants, tied tight to her waist though still baggy on her hips.

"you missed me that much you had to steal my clothes?" you asked, pulling her into your arms.

leaning into her, riri's back bowed slightly as you pressed your full lips to hers, arms pulling her in closer as your lips traveled to her chee bones, her nose, her forehead. her laughter stole her breath as she gave it to the wind, pearly whites to the sky as she grinned.

"well i didn't know if you were comin' or not so i had to do what i had to do." she shrugged, eyebrow quirking as she stood bold in her truth, in her blatant desire to have you close.

"well, i'm here now so no substitutes needed, aight?" your hands slide away from her as you moved to open the passenger side door for her. "so where we headin'--yours or mine? i know you prolly wanna shower before we hit up some parties and i damn sure ain't wearin' this shit out tonight."

eyes never leaving her frame, you watched riri glide into the front seat with the gracefulness only a dancer could have. 

"we can head to yours. i think my 90's lakers jersey dress is over there and you got the perfect jordans to go right wit em too." 

there wasn't anything to say to that, nothing to do but to chuckle and shake your head as your fingers pushed the door closed. there was security in the way riri was so confident in her ability to just assume your things as hers. pride would swell in your chest seeing her swimming in your clothes, her healthy appetite and habitual exercise routine aiding in the appearance of her natural petiteness. not to mention that shit turned you all the way on.

it never felt unappreciated in the way her presence carried over into your personal space, not with the way the invitation was always mutual.

[neotrances]

Beyoncés homage to frankie beverly’s iconic “Before I let Go” sung as a bonus track for the “Homecoming” feature length film. This song was used as closing credits for her 2018 coachella performance, making history as Beyoncé became the first and only black woman to headline coachella, all videos in this compilation are behind the scenes looks at the making and preparation for “Homecoming” with cameos from HBCU marching bands, majorette dancers, supportive staff, her children, and former destiny’s child members. Beyoncé’s coachella performance has been noted as a major celebration of black history, love, culture, and most importantly music genres pioneered by african americans.

[whiskeyswifty]

do you have any favorite non-Taylor performance looks? I really like hearing your thoughts on that stuff because it goes beyond "looks good/looks bad"

sorry it took me a while to answer this but i wanted to give you a good answer! i am terrible at thinking of thinking of things off the top of my head so i compiled the below over a few days. i'm sure i missed many that i'll kick myself for later, but this is what i got for now! also thank you so much for saying that! I love being thoughtfully critical and analytical of things, especially fashion and clothing which, to me, is function first. that can be boring for some people who want to just like or dislike something, and they're totally valid for that. but i'm glad you enjoy this sort of discussion like I do. it's really fun for me to probe my brain this way so thanks so much for sending this question! (these are in no particular order other than just what popped into my head)

Beyoncé at Beychella

an obvious choice, a recency bias choice, but also there's a reason this pops into your brain (if it does, which makes you correct and hot). While most of the people who remember this experienced this via the livestream that night (if you're like me losing my mind at 2 am) or via the eventual tour movie on netflix, it's still extremely successful because of the distance the camera often sits from the stage. very out of the norm for a filmed concert, where the instinct is to get close ups which make the film worth watching. if i wanted to see full stage views i would just go to the concert. but the reason the camera spends so much time far back and beholding the entire stage is because as much as beyonce is the center of the show, the stage and every single member of her band and dancers were also the center show. it was a full experience from corner to corner, and a major part of what made it so breathtaking was the tour costumes. color blocking isn't anything revolutionary, but it's so rarely employed like this because tour designers fear same-ness and losing the popstar amongst the dancers. but employed in this way, where the venue created audience members at extreme distances, it was a logistical stroke of genius to create a sea of yellow or pink, easy to see and behold from long distances. Also, a fantastic execution of a concept (which i'll probably reiterate several times that a unifying concept is CRUCIAL) that is both theatrical to watch and personal to the artist. Not only featuring the artistry and visual of outfitting her dancers and band/orchestra as HBCU marching band and color guard members, but going as far as to make her own fake sorority, i mean that's just spectacular. Effortlessly cool in it's appearance, while also deeply moving to the HBCU and black community who got to see their artistry and culture proudly displayed by the worlds biggest popstar. doesn't get better than this, in my opinion. Thoughtful, logistically solving problems, and wholly unique to the show and the artist herself. BONUS for her opening costume where she appeared as Queen Nefertiti!!!! all designed custom for her by olivier rousting, of balmain wunderkind fame. TWO DIFFERENT VARIATIONS OF THIS AS WELL

2. Britney Spears - Dream Within A Dream Tour

one of the all time tours in general, in the history of pop tours, and one of the major components was the costumes. Too many to find and show, but that's also what makes it marvelous. An astounding number of costume changes and sets that worked with the costumes in concept. One of which is above, a giant music box that she rises out of dressed as a ballerina in the middle of the show. another being the denim cowboy outfit, complete with chaps and a lucite cowboy hat because the show broke out into rain. it was an indoor traveling show, and yet the entire final song was done in the rain. also, projected onto the rain was a 30 ft tall hologram of britney IN THIS OUTFIT. I highly suggest you check out this tour if you can find it. there is a tour movie and it's probably on youtube somewhere. She also brought out a lot of her music video costumes, including my favorite, the lucky feather trimmed robe which translates phenomenally on stage.

3. Madonna - Confessions tour

another one for the history books, just an incredible run of dozens of costumes all unique to the themes of the songs or chapters of the show. above, she opens the show in a sexy riding outfit with a mane coming off the top of the hat (she got very into being an equestrian in her british era until she had an accident with her horse). you can see in the background a lot of the dancers are also outfitted in riding outfits, all with crops and helmets. you can also see the male dancers who are dressed as like bdsm horses, complete with reigns in their mouth, who she then RIDES on their backs. Only to be followed up by a performance of like a virgin where she performs suggestively on top of a saddle. she runs through 19 songs in full, almost each of them with their own sets including a whole parkour set and finishing off with the final "disco" act. complete with a saturday night fever suit that she and her dancers wear and ending in a roller disco. incredible stuff. we love a strong theme that ties into the theatrics!!

4. Ariana grande - dangerous woman tour

this one is less flashy and showy, but i really love structural costumes. given ari's low center of gravity, they're easy for her to pull off! joking, but also she does minimal dancing and comes from broadway/theater so she can carry more theatrical costumes. and i love when a costume cuts a cool silhouette and transforms the body. having been to this tour, the pink chiffon bow outfit was one of my favorites because of how the loops bounced as she ran around, as if they were little wings. Also, she closed the show (post encore) with an extended dangerous woman, complete with fire on stage and her at the end of the catwalk in this black latex gown. Her black silhouette against all the red/orange was really striking and you can't really see it here, but it dragged all around her and made her look like she was this foreboding black sludge demon. all while going on the most insane vocal runs i've ever heard in my life, completely ad-libbed.

5. Lady Gaga - Monster Ball Tour (original theater run and revamped arena run)

it would not be a complete list without miss gaga herself, the woman who singlehandedly reset what it meant to be a popstar. And it began with this tour, which after Kanye's taylor swift fiacso in 2009, went into hiding and their joint tour that was planned was scrapped. instead, gaga embarked on the monster ball tour, which she threw together in a few weeks i believe. it was a theater only show, so a small stage, but she went all out. and as we all know, her favorite way to devote resources is to pour them into costumes via her haus of gaga team. The costumes on this first leg of the show were whacky, sculptural, and of course, very theatrical, making her a larger than life popstar even on the small stage. The show was revamped after the north american run with europe getting a totally reworked and redesigned show that was upgraded to arenas. super deep little monsters cherish the memories of this brief and wildly creative show. i mean the exoskeleton costume is astounding. there are many more you can look at, and i encourage you to if you have never seen or heard of this brief, first leg. although i did go to both, and i enjoyed the arena tour too and all of it's upgrades. including how she lit her tits and crotch on fire i meeeeaaaannnn. now THATS a tour costume.

Honorable mention - Beyonce Formation tour

the hats truly being one of the most memorable visuals i've seen on a tour in person. i has higher seats for this one, and it was at citi field which is a baseball stadium, notoriously HORRENDOUS for concerts. anyway, from the cheap seats i could even be blown away by the opening of the song, formation, where she and a group of dancers, all donning these exaggerated brimmed hats, marched forward from backstage as the screens parted. they were lit so they were full black silhouettes and you couldn't tell which one was beyonce, on purpose. the opening to the song was extended as they stomped around until they lifted their chins and revealed themselves in the light, to rapturous applause. it was dramatic, but so simple, and a great example how tour costumes don't have to be intricate. sometimes, it's way more effective to play with shape and shadow and drama. She also closed the whole tour run by swapping out the black bodysuit for a yellow cavalli suit, which i mean INCREDIBLE flex to wear a full 3 piece suit when you're sweating and running around. cut gorgeously on her, those fantastic flared legs. In lemonade, bumblebee yellow, of course.

i limited it to tour looks cuz if i delved into award show looks that might take me forever to compile. also this is not a definitive list, even for myself. i'm sure i forgot some favs i just couldn't keep adding to this and putting off posting this ask forever lol. anyway, hope you enjoyed this as much as i did going down memory lane.

[dotthings]

I’ve talked about All American on here a few times and you should give that show a shot (it’s on Netflix in the US for catching up), now that I’m caught up and current on its spin-off All American: Homecoming, I highly recommend that as well.

Both shows have large predominantly Black ensemble casts, with LGBTQ+ rep among its main characters, both allow its characters to be flawed, good, complicated, make mistakes, grow, both shows deal in generational trauma, both shows give depth to the parental and faculty generation as well as the young characters, both directly address socially and culturally relevant difficult subjects in its stories from a character-driven standpoint.

One thing AA:H does that AA doesn't, and something that is very rare on tv, is centering female athletes. All the pressures and the entwining of the sport as a canvas for telling personal stories and how they deal with life is here the way tv has done for male athletes, and AA does via football, AA:H does this for women (tennis players). AA:H also has male athletes (baseball players) as main characters, but it’s balanced between the women athletes and the men.

Also as with AA, there's focus on different discplines not just sports. AA:H has a main character who is a dancer, there’s another who used to be in football and had to give that up, so he moves over into music. AA:H also has an array of parent and faculty generation of characters who are given depth and dimension. There’s a lot about generational trauma, social pressures, societal pressures, professional pressures. There’s found family and blood family love and troubles, there’s a really good storyline about adoption.

AA:H along with using sports as its canvas for personal stories (tennis and baseball) is most of all about life at an HBCU (Historically Black college and universities). The fictional Bringston University is set in Atlanta, GA, although the series is filmed in Burbank, CA.

The whole cast is excellent and the writing is poignant and the cinematography and directing is top-notch. The characters are all multi-dimensional. And as with All American the exploration of pressures put on Black women in particular is a highlight.

I tend to be very genre focused in my choices in TV, I lean towards SF and magic and monster hunting and mystical warriors as the canvas, but sometimes I latch onto mainstream dramas and AA and AA:H are doing really really good things, not just “good for CW” but doing some things few shows on broadcast or streaming are doing. All American and All American: Homecoming deserve far more attention than they’re getting.

(I’m sorry that CW network’s reputation seems to have played a role in harming shows like these, because people understandably grew wary of touching the network. But right now is a really good time to support AA and AA:H, give them streaming views, if you get caught up, give them views in the CW app. They’re the top 2 performers in demo on CW right now so I’m fairly sure they will survive the next wave of cuts but anything fans can do to demonstrate to the new network ownership the value of these shows would be a good idea too).

[airmanisr]

TSU9717#25 by 2C2K Photography Via Flickr: Texas Southern University vs. Houston Baptist University 9-7-17 BBVA Compass Stadium Featuring the Ocean of Soul Marching Band Motion of the Ocean Dancers & the Ocean Waves HBCU Band Black College Band SWAC

[supportbuyingblack]

Is stripping in the metaverse the new side hustle? NFT promoters on TikTok are allegedly scamming young men, proposing offers of more than $10,000 per week for them to pose as female strippers in the metaverse. DailyDot reports that multiple videos have been posted across the social media platform exposing users to footage of luxury items like cars and stacks of money claiming to have earned it from being virtual exotic dancers. In a video posted by the TikTok account @holynft, wads of cash and luxury cars are flaunted, along with a cut showing a virtual dancer and a real-life person in front of a green screen. “This is your sign to fake being a girl and start stripping in the metaverse,” a caption reads. @holynft You need to be on this wave… #business #entrepreneur #sidehustles #sidehustle ♬ original sound – ojccccc The account assured interested TikTok commenters that the venture is entirely legitimate and the only way to learn, according to @holynft, is by joining their Discord. According to DailyDot, users who have inquired about the money-making scheme are allegedly directed by moderators on the forum to the Discord server’s own NFT project known as Holy Nephalem before realizing they have been deceived. Follow Us @supportbuyingblackdao For Black Owned Business Highlights & Tutorials On Marketing Your Business Online. Join Our Decentralized Black Social Network to Practice Circulating Our Dollars. Become a owner just by joining and vote on community building projects. #blackandimproud #blackhistorymonth #melaninrich #blacklove #blackconsciousness #blackandproud #blackisbeautiful #blackunity #blackgirlmagic #staywoke #buyblack #blackexcellence #blackmensmiling #blackpantherparty #blackwomen #blackleople #blackhistory #blacklovematters #blackwealth #hbcugrad #hbcupride #hbcu #blackfamily #blackhistory #thehbcuapp https://www.instagram.com/p/CjbXUynO-Z9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hbcu-dance-love]

The Fabulous Dancing Dolls - Southern University vs. Prairie View University (2019)

[marleybee]

Alcorn State University Golden Girls…throwback 💛💜

[on-another-lev]

I am an artist. . . . . . Preset : @modelshop.store Model : @jamaljosef #LAPhotography #LACreator #Model #CreativeDirector #HBCU #Picortiz #California #Dancer (at Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CaqHgYcvjsH/?utm_medium=tumblr

[j-setteitoff]

Morgan State University Foxy Dancers 2016 Halftime [X]

[douxescape]

💋 | the sweetest thing.

[airmanisr]

TSU9717#26 by 2C2K Photography Via Flickr: Texas Southern University vs. Houston Baptist University 9-7-17 BBVA Compass Stadium Featuring the Ocean of Soul Marching Band Motion of the Ocean Dancers & the Ocean Waves HBCU Band Black College Band SWAC