Teens Celebrate Passing of CROWN ACT Ordinance in Louisville

The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act is now law in Louisville, Kentucky, thanks to a group of young teens known as The Real Young Prodigy's.

The CROWN Act was created in 2019 by The Crown Coalition and Dove as a movement that aims to protect all different styles of hair within the black community. California was the first state to pass the law.

In March 2020, The Real Young Prodigy's (TRYP) rallied alongside other youth and supporters to the Kentucky state capitol in Frankfort for the passing of House Bill 43. Thus far only 13 states have completely passed the legislation and Kentucky is not one of them. However, the ordinance of stopping discrimination against natural hair within any school or workplace did become law in other cities such as Covington.

National CROWN Act Day is now celebrated each year on July 3.

The power in black hair independence is magical and says so much about an individual. Singer India Arie mentions how she is not her hair, whereas other celebrities' teach us for others to not touch our hair and for us to whip our hair back and forth.

TRYP rise to fame began with their single RAParations, a song that caused a lot of controversy due to it's civil right historical references. The Prodigy's serve as a voice not only for themselves yet also younger people within their community.

The group was formed at Wheatley Elementary School under the instruction of the 2019 Kentucky Elementary Teacher of the Year, NyRee Clayton-Taylor. A teacher who teaches her students creative reading and writing through hip hop.

Last year their focus centered around Police Brutality which includes fighting for Justice For All black lives across the country including one that hits very close to home, the life of Breonna Taylor.

TRYP music has both powerful content and dancing fun for people of all ages.

On Saturday the group of teens were able to display that during their concert celebration at the Shawnee Community Center where MelodicallyInTune's own Melody Simone served as the hostess for the afternoon.

Be on the lookout for more empowering music and events from The Real Young Prodigy's.

Here are the NaeNae Twins TikTok dance challenge to TRYP song CROWN. Show off your crown and lets see what you got...

#TheRealYoungProdigys #NationalCROWNActDay #ItsTheCrownForMe

You can sign the petition to help ban discrimination against natural hair by going to www.thecrownact.com

New Online Music Show, TechniQolor Coming Soon

Bringing you nothing but SoulTrain, BET 106&Park, Rap City in the Basement and MTV TRL type of vibes with this new show.

An amazing concept brought to us by an entrepreneur and writer of the movie Frat House, DJ Darryl "PartyAllWknd" Stephens presents us with the show, 'TechniQolor.'

"People can expect to be entertained and visually stimulated. The goal is to produce vibes through the screen. It's also a dope way to introduce some new, upcoming artist to the world." -DJ PartyAllWknd

TechniQolor is a show that will highlight independent artist as well as showcasing dope mixes of well known music gurus.

The name of the show serves as a combination for both words technique and color. The original premise for the show had to find a way to display PartyAllWknd's skills as a DJ with a twist to it.

Once him and his team director Rodney Cox, creative director Keshia Parker, director of photography Kyle Gordon and co-host Kina Turner "started developing the show which then took off and created a life of its own," PartyAllWknd states.

The show is scheduled to premiere Wednesday, October 16, 2019 on the TechniQolor TV YouTube page.

Host Turner interviews artists about recent tours, music videos, dance challenges and more.

The first episode is expected to give everyone a lot of F.L.A.V.A with special guest Hip-Hop Femme Rap artist Sasha Renee along with providing a Dreamville mixtape vibe featuring dancer Phillip Hancock.

"As a DJ, I come up with the set. Whether its a particular artist or genre... then we build the set from there. A lot of times the set will coincide with the music, ex. J.Cole mix has a basketball... we all know J.Cole loves basketball. Little stuff like that."

The show will air weekly on YouTube every Wednesday at 6pm. The first season may have a few breaks in between but we have plans for 10 episodes each season.

The next scheduled show will be the following Wednesday, October 23, 'The Marathon Continues' and following weeks episode three titled 'Heyyy Mrs. Carter Part One.'

For those interested in being a part of the show email: info@techniqolortv.com

Follow TechniQolor on social media

Instagram: @techniqolor

T.H.U.G✊🏿

Where a teenage girl is constantly switching between two worlds... Speaking on the act of code-switching, which is when you're turning 'it' on and turning it 'off'... referring to one's blackness.

It is a film inspired by the book 'The Hate U Give' written by Angie Thomas. She happens to be a huge fan of rapper, Tupac as well. While writing this book Thomas was able to find a connection with the term "THUG LIFE" and events taking place in today's society such as: gang violence, black on black crime, white crime, police brutality and a 'corrupt' system.

When attending #NABJ18 in Detroit, #MelodicallyInTune sat in on the Arts and Entertainment Taskforce, 20th Century Fox Presents a Clips & Conversation Reception where director of the film, George Tillman Jr. spoke with moderator Roland Martin and fellow journalists and other professionals about the movie schedule to hit all theaters on October 19.

The main character, Starr Carter played by Amandla Stenberg is constantly reassured that her father Maverick Carter (Russell Hornsby) did not name her Starr for no reason and that not everyone was giving the same superpowers.

The Carter's (Regina Hall, wife/mother), growing up in Garden Heights only wants a better life for their family. Starr and her siblings Seven (Starr's half brother) and Sekani were all given unique names with a special meaning. None of them attended their "neighborhood school" because the only thing people do there is either get jumped, high or pregnant. Starr's parents sent them off to a predominantly white private school called Williamson.

"Our live is here [Garden Heights] because our people are here."

Garden Heights was one world but the school they actually attended was another. For instance, talking slang makes white people seem cool but for Starr it would only make her hood.

"We have not been trained to be unapologetically black"

-Roland Martin, NABJ18 Convention

The director Tillman Jr. faces these same experiences until this very day.

In the movie he wanted to display that Starr could have a white boyfriend, black best friend and still live the best of both worlds. He continues on to say "be who you are, don't be afraid of being who you are!"

We must have conversations about black and white people so that things can keep getting better and we can keep moving forward.

It's a movie displaying that "where you live does not define who you are." At one point within the movie, Starr feels as if she has to be quiet so she don't seem like a poor girl from the hood who just now saw her friend get killed.

At a point within the movie, Starr's uncle Carlos (Common) plays the role of a cop and states how the views of police officers are different and that we live in a complicated world. After being given two different scenarios, most people as in white people when dealing with blacks being pulled versus dealing with someone else white they "don't see it as a crime but another traffic stop gone wrong."

One of the incidents Tillman used as motivation amongst completing this film was the Philando Castile, who was a 32 year old man at the time who got pulled over in Falcon Heights, Minnesota and shot to death by a cop.

Within the movie it shows how it's "Just US for justice." Us meaning black people... Starr has to deal with the fact that her second life of people doesn't understand the seriousness of what happened to her best friend Khalil (Algee Smith) and being black in America.

"Violence brutality, it's the same story just a different name."

"Division is how they win unity is how they crumble."

The concept of acting black but still keeping the same white privilege isn't an option for black people.

Director Tillman Jr. presented this film to 20th Century Fox Pictures by telling them it's not only about the things that are happening right now today in society geared towards police brutality but also displays personal growth, love, respect, relationships amongst others and yourself...

Watch the official trailer of The Hate U Give.

The entire movie is heartfelt and had us in tears drowning in our feeling with a remarkable ending.