BLAC Fridays: Summer of Love ?

When it doesn’t even get dark until 10, the nights get long and full of good trouble — and we’ve got the soundtrack for it, plus a deeper dive on exploring relationships outside the monogamy paradigm. We took a little break last week, and there’s been no shortage of news, from Darius Cooks facing a reckoning to Emmy noms and a couple stars we lost. Shake up a gin-blueberry cocktail and settle in. 

-Billy and the team at BLAC Magazine

Best of the Rest is a roundup of things you may not have known that you needed to know. Yet here we are. To get the Best of the Rest in your inbox every Friday. Subscribe to BLAC Friday’s. Your inbox will thank you. 

Rest in peace to two of our faves

Two of our favorite screen stars have bid a sad farewell due to complications from different forms of cancer. Suzanne Douglas, who starred in “Tap,” “The Parent ‘Hood” and most recently “When They See Us,” died last week. She was 64. Just this past Monday, Charlie Robinson, who starred as Mac on “Night Court,” “Set It Off” and “Love In the Time of Corona” also passed away. He was 75. (USA Today, Yahoo News)

Social media food star Darius Williams accused of abuse and scamming

Allegations against Darius Williams, also known as Darius Cooks, have been online since 2020, but didn’t attract much attention until they were shared by Angela Davis aka The Kitchenista and then re-shared by Food Network star Sunny Anderson. In reporting published by Black Enterprise and TheGrio, Anderson said, “Hopefully people that do business with him will research him. When you add up everything, he took an opportunity and ruined it. At every turn, he’s choosing to be dishonest, and I hope he stops.” (TheGrio, Black Enterprise)

Every new play on Broadway’s fall lineup is written by Black playwrights

Of the seven new plays scheduled to hit Broadway this September, all are penned by Black writers. Among the shows is “Chicken and Biscuits,” a comedy by Broadway first-timer Douglas Lyons, and “Skeleton Crew,” written by Broadway veteran and MacArthur Genius Grant awardee Dominique Morisseau. Learn more about all seven plays here. (NPR)

Marla Gibbs gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Did you know Marla Gibbs didn’t have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?! Well, that error is being corrected on July 20. That’s when the 90-year-old industry icon will receive her well-earned flowers and accolades. (TheGrio)

Alyson Felix is covering childcare for pro athletes competing at the Olympics

Alyson Felix is championing support for mothers who are pro athletes just as fiercely as she’s become the most decorated Olympian in track and field history. In partnership with Athleta and the Women’s Sports Foundation, she’s launched a $200,000 fund to cover childcare costsfor parents competing in the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics. (Fast Company, CNBC)

Black-owned Paralee Boyd Salon to become a national franchise

Dana White, founder and owner of the Detroit-based Paralee Boyd Salon, aims to make history by becoming the first Black woman to successfully franchise a hair salon business. Her salon model is inspired by the lean auto manufacturing process with a mission to cater to people with thicker, coarser hair textures, as opposed to popular franchises like Great Clips and Supercuts that are geared toward people with finer hair textures. (MLive)

The John Shippen Invitational debuts in Detroit

The John Shippen National Golf Invitational was established by Intersport to identify historical barriers and expand upon Black representation in the sport of golf to create awareness, access, and opportunities for persons of color in the business of sports. The event is named after John Shippen, Jr., the first American-born golf professional and first Black golf professional.