I know that times are hard and everybody, including the big wigs and legends in Hollywood, need to go to work. But there are just some movies that I never thought these 10 very talented and even legendary actors and actresses would take part in. From films about video girls to black superheroes and random snakes on planes, as the anti-drug organization D.A.R.E. used to say, “Just say no.” That’s what these folks should have done when the scripts to these movies came across their desks.

Ruby Dee – Video Girl

Anytime a cast includes names like Lisa Raye, Bun B, Melyssa Ford, Meagan Good, Angela Lola Luv and Yung Joc, the legendary Ruby Dee’s name shouldn’t be attached to it. But sadly, Ruby Dee surprised the hell out of me when she appeared in the movie, Video Girl, starring Meagan Good, playing in a lead role as her grandmother. The film was about a failed dancer who becomes a popular star in hip-hop music videos, but sadly becomes addicted to drugs.The small-budget film is already a BET Thursday night classic. Coming just a few years after she picked up an Academy Award nomination for her role in American Gangster, I definitely wasn’t expecting to find one of the legendary stars of A Raisin in the Sun acting alongside the star of The Players Club in the same movie. 

Source: Kickstarter.com

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee are a classic Hollywood couple and their grandson, Muta’Ali Muhammad, wants to bring their story of love and light to life with a feature-length documentary titled, Life’s Essentials with Ruby Dee. Muhammad describes his vision as a “documentary style film about love, art and activism [that] tells the story of one of the most enduring couples of our times, Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee. “According to a description on Kickstarter.com:

Ossie & Ruby’s achievements in love (sustained marriage for 57 years), art (pioneers in black theater) and activism (always using their influence to help “the people”) parallel nearly a century of change in America. With this story being told through the lens of their grandson (filmmaker), an innate hunger to learn everything possible about Ossie & Ruby’s lives and apply it to today’s fight to preserve love, art and activism is always present.

Based on candid questions, revealing conversations, and never-before-seen family archival material, Life’s Essentials with Ruby Dee shares the wisdom of the ages with this present generation and carries the legacy of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee forward in history for the first time in feature documentary form.

Muhammad is attempting to raise money to create the film which is why he started a petition on Kickstarter. He’s attempting to reach his $50,000 goal in the next 37 days and if it worked for Issa Rae and Awkward Black Girl, we think it can work for him.

Check out a snippet of what the film will show in the clip below and tell us what you think. Will you support this effort?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Black women have an extraordinary impact on the world, and Crystal McCrary is capturing all of those modern-day successes and triumphs in one book. Through written word and photo essays, Inspiration: Profiles of Black Women Changing Our World, tells the unique stories of 30 black women who are current game changers.

From entertainers to athletes, politicians, and business owners, this book covers black women from all social, cultural, and political walks of life, such as Betye Saar, Majora Carter, Thelma Golden, and Bethann Hardison. Well-known figures such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Ruby Dee, Patti Labelle, Shonda Rhimes, and Venus Williams are also featured.

Wesley Royce, assistant editor for ABRAMS, the publisher of the book, said throughout the book there were a few common threads woven throughout each woman’s story of success.

“These women put in an immense amount of hard work into developing their skills and they didn’t just believe in themselves— they believed in sharing their talents with the world,” he said.

Wesley also noted that no woman said they achieved their success on their own.

“They also all spoke about the importance of other strong women in their lives— whether it was their mothers or own children or friends— and the strength they drew from their support was crucial to their success.”

The book is currently available as a hardcover and for e-readers. For more information visit the ABRAMs blog. Will you check out this book?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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While there are no official statistics on Hollywood marriage, a fool can see that the celebrity divorce rate is even more out the box than the already-high one for us regular folk. That’s why these long lasting Black power couples give us the ‘warm fuzzies’.  We salute them for keeping their love strong in an industry that makes healthy relationships almost impossible to sustain. If you need a little inspiration when it comes to love today, check out our list of long-lasting Black Hollywood couples!

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We live in a society where greater than 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, and a great proportion of those are due to cheating. A recent report published in the Journal of Sex Research, claimed almost a third of partners who said they were monogamous had in fact slept with someone outside of the relationship. And some behavioral scientists claim that monogamy is indeed unnatural. Some would argue that it appears monogamy isn’t working for people. And if it truly isn’t, many debate whether open relationships are the way to go.

An open relationship is one in which a couple agree to be together, but also agree to have romantic or sexual relationships with additional people. There are no set rules when it comes to open relationships. It’s basically up to the couple to determine the boundaries of acceptable behavior.

Many have opposed the idea of open relationships, and condemned people that practice them, claiming that the lifestyle is simply for the “selfish” and “immature.” And many people in open relationships assert that they have a better grasp on love and reality, unlike their monogamous counterparts that secretly cheat, deceive, and pretend to be monogamous. For an unmarried individual like myself, I wonder if those really are the only two choices: 1. Be in a monogamous relationship where someone secretly strays from time to time or 2. Be in an open relationship.

The topic of open relationships is definitely a hot button issue for people- especially those that have been cheated on. And while monogamous relationships aren’t convention, there are many couples that have had successful open relationships. For example, iconic couple Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis admitted to having an open marriage. And when asked to explain their rationale for that type of relationship, the late Ossie replied: “It occurred to us, from observation and reasoning, that extramarital sex was not what really destroyed marriages, but rather the lies and deception that invariably accompanied it — that was the culprit. So we decided to give ourselves permission to sleep with other partners if we wished — as long as what we did was honest as well as private, and that neither of us exposed the family to scandal or disease.”

But it didn’t just end there. Interestingly enough, Ossie also went on to say this: “Looking back, I’d say no matter what did or did not happen, we freed each other. And in doing that, we also freed ourselves…Sex is fine, but love is better. That’s the most important part of being free. In light of what we learned, is extramarital sex something we recommend as a regular part of marriage? Not now…not anymore. Not since AIDS has entered the equation, and genital herpes, syphilis, and other diseases.”

It sounds like a lot of us could learn from Ossie and Ruby. And after reading what they had to say about love and marriage, I’ll say this: If I ever get married, my goal is to have the type of relationship that Ruby and Ossie shared- an honest, happy, and healthy one. I’m a romantic, but I’m also a realist. I don’t believe that people who expect monogamy are unrealistic; and I don’t believe that people who desire multiple lovers are selfish. No matter the type of relationship that you choose, whether your relationship is successful all boils down to how honest you choose to be with yourself and your partner. There are pros and cons to both types of relationships, monogamous or open.

Can open relationships work? Yes. Is monogamy too much to ask? No. I have my own opinions about relationships- some of them conventional, others not so conventional. And for those that simply argue that open relationships are better because monogamy doesn’t come naturally, I will say this: Even if monogamy doesn’t come naturally to our species, this doesn’t mean that honesty doesn’t as well. Monogamy may not be a choice- but honesty is. And regardless of what type of relationship you ultimately choose, each will take a foundation of mutual respect and open communication. If you don’t have that, any relationship will fail.

What are your thoughts on open relationships? Why do you think people cheat instead of being honest with their partner?

Dr. Phoenyx Austin is a physician, writer, & media personality. Known for writing on health related issues as well as witty, straightforward commentary on life, love, and culture, Dr. Austin is also working on her first fiction book- a psychological thriller. If you want to know more about Dr. Phoenyx Austin and her future projects- check her out on Facebook!