By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — A Hip-Hop giant and one of the genre’s founding members is coming to Nashville this weekend as part of an effort to save a historic building. Grandmaster Flash is the headliner for a benefit concert at the Ryman that is part of efforts to convert the currently vacated Morris Memorial building into a Civil Rights museum. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, and was designed by a Black architectural firm. A press conference was held last Friday during which coalition members discussed their goals and talked about…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The reshaping of the Nashville Predators continued last Friday as the team placed forward Matt Duchene on unconditional waivers. This move was followed by a buyout of his contract, a decision that made him a free agent. Duchene had signed a seven-year, $56 million dollar deal back in 2019. By doing this the Predators will take cap hits of $2.56 million next season, $5.56 in 2024-25, $6.56 million in 2025-26 and $1.57 million from 2026-2029. It follows a decision to trade center Ryan Johansen to Colorado June 24 for Alex Galchenyuk, another deal that…
Despite its reputation in some circles as strictly a sport for whites, the National Hockey League is making Major League Baseball look weak and ineffectual in terms of outreach and courting new and diverse audiences. Last week they made two bold announcements that put them on the pathway in terms of permanently exploding the myth hockey doesn’t want Black participation. In Nashville, Tennessee State University announced plans to become the nation’s first HBCU with a hockey program. They will begin at the club level and hope to have a men’s team ready to go by the 2024-25 school year, with…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The latest production from the Tennessee Playwrights Studio (TPS) offers a powerful message, one that no doubt will resonate with audiences the way it did with the cast and crew both before and during rehearsals. “Fan Me With a Brick,” a stirring work written by Kenley Smith and directed by Shawn Whitsell, with original research by V. Yalewa Sparrowhawk Ferguson, debuts this weekend at the Darkhorse Theater, 4601 Charlotte Avenue. For Whitsell, one of Nashville’s busiest and most prolific theatrical personalities, this play has struck a lot of chords due to its story, which…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Although many in the acting community feel she should have received one on merit, actress Angela Bassett will finally get an Oscar. Bassett is among a group of distinguished individuals in the film industry who will receive honorary Oscars later this year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the announcement last week. Bassett was nominated this past year for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” She became the first person starring in a Marvel film to earn an Oscar nomination. The 64-year-old Bassett also was nominated…
Two names have made tennis news lately, one that’s still gaining recognition, and another that’s an all-time great. While Francis Tafoe is a rising star, Venue Williams is among the finest tennis players of all time in either men’s or women’s circles. Each has been in the news over the past few days as the tennis world’ anticipates the start of Wimbledon next month. A few days ago, Tafoe became only the third Black American to make the men’s top 10. That came on the heels of his third career ATP title in Stuttgart June 18. The 25-year-old’s achievement puts…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Less than a month after taking over as new head coach of the Predators, Andrew Brunette has made his first major move. He chose Derek MacKenzie as his new assistant, with the team making the official announcement last Thursday. MacKenzie spent three seasons coaching with Brunette with the Florida Panthers. Last season the 42-year-old MacKenzie was coach of the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL. Like Brunette, he also has a sizable track record as a player. MacKenzie spent 16 years in the NHL with three teams. One was the Atlanta Thrashers. The others were…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The vast majority of NBA fans were sleeping last Wednesday night when the Memphis Grizzlies landed one of the league’s best defensive players. The Grizzlies were part of a three-team deal with the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards. When the dust settled on a deal that had to be completed before 12 midnight Eastern time, the Grizzlies had acquired longtime Celtics guard Marcus Smart. The Grizzlies sent the Celtics their first round pick in this year’s draft (the 25th overall selection), plus the Golden State Warriors top-four protected pick in 2024. They also sent…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Samuel L. Jackson has portrayed Nick Fury, head of the spy agency SHIELD, through so many Marvel films and television shows that only longtime comic book readers remember the original character was a white World War II veteran who later switched over to the world of espionage. But in the new Disney+ series “Secret invasion,” which debuted last Wednesday, viewers will see a very different version of Nick Fury. Fury and his allies are trying to prevent an invasion of Earth by the shape-shifting Skrulls. It’s the ninth TV series in the Marvel Cinemstic Universe…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — A longtime musical legend and a contemporary performer who has excelled in both hip-hop and acting circles were among the list of distinguished artists named to receive 2023 Kennedy Center Honors last Thursday The great Dionne Warwick and Queen Latifah, currently star of the CBS show “The Equalizer,” will join Barry Gibb, longtime actor and comedian Billy Crystal and multi-Grammy Award winning opera singer Renee Fleming as this year’s recipents of the 46th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievement. The Kennedy Center Honors recognizes artists who have made profound contributions to the cultural…