Black Legends

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 30 November 2023 > What's On

Black Legends is a musical comedy that traces more than a century of African American music along with landmarks in the civil-rights movement and Black American history. We know some of you took classes when it was on last year. It’s back on  in Paris until at least the end of January. The musical doesn’t … Continue reading “Black Legends”

Basquiat, Music and Warhol

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 08 June 2023 >

Everybody (or almost everyone) has heard of Andy Warhol, but not all students will be familiar with Jean-Michel Basquiat, a New York artist whose lively and colourful paintings are on display in Paris, either paired with music or in a display of works produced with Warhol. These two exhibitions are not only windows into his … Continue reading “Basquiat, Music and Warhol”

Exhibitions: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Music and Warhol

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 09 May 2023 > What's On

Two exhibitions in Paris celebrate the life and legend of the first African-American artist to become an international star. Jean-Michel Basquiat, an African-American artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent, was born in New York in 1960. He began spray painting graffiti slogans on walls and doorways in the city’s Lower East Side in 1979. … Continue reading “Exhibitions: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Music and Warhol”

Happy Kwanzaa

Posted by Speakeasy News > Sunday 18 December 2022 > Celebrate

In the U.S.A., the holiday season starts with Thanksgiving at the end of November and encompasses Christmas and New Year. For over 50 years, African Americans have had another holiday to celebrate: Kwanzaa, from 26 December to 1 January. The celebration was conceived by a civil-rights activist and doctoral student in African studies at the … Continue reading “Happy Kwanzaa”

Josephine Baker: An Incredible Life

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 26 November 2021 > Ready to Use

Our bioboxes are short “Who Am I?” quizzes to help introduce pupils to famous figures in the English-speaking world.  This one is on Josephine Baker as she enters the French Panthéon. For more information on Baker, see our article. You can download the biobox below to use it offline with your pupils.  

Josephine Baker Enters the Panthéon

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 18 November 2021 > Celebrate

On 30 November, Josephine Baker will become the sixth woman, and the first black woman, to enter France’s Panthéon, where the country honours its greatest heroes. The Franco-American dancer and singer was an active member of the Resistance in WWII and civil-rights activist in the U.S. Freda Josephine McDonald was born into poverty in St … Continue reading “Josephine Baker Enters the Panthéon”

Jane Campion Honoured at Lyon’s Lumière Festival

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 05 October 2021 > What's On

The Lumière Festival in Lyon from 9 to 15 October has a great programme of films in various languages including English. And it will be giving the prestigious Prix Lumière to New Zealand director Jane Campion, as well as showing a retrospective of her films. Campion is not a prolific filmmaker, but her films are … Continue reading “Jane Campion Honoured at Lyon’s Lumière Festival”

Respect: Aretha Franklin Biopic

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 23 August 2021 > Ready to Use

A new biopic of soul diva Aretha Franklin takes its title from one of her most famous songs, “Respect”. This resource will introduce pupils first to the song, which became an anthem for the women’s movement and the civil-rights movement. Then they can discover the biopic. Jennifer Hudson was chosen by Franklin herself before her … Continue reading “Respect: Aretha Franklin Biopic”

“Strange Fruit”: a Searing Protest Song

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 25 May 2021 > Celebrate

Jazz singer Billie Holiday’s 1939 recording of “Strange Fruit” has become one of the most potent protest songs in U.S. history. Its images of lynched African Americans accompanied the civil-rights movement but still evoke uncomfortable truths today. The song was written by a Jewish Communist high-school teacher, Abel Meeropol. It was originally a poem, written … Continue reading ““Strange Fruit”: a Searing Protest Song”