A Seat at the Table: The Diaspora Dialogues' International Women Of Power Luncheon

The cloudy skies and crisp air hoving around Los Angeles were a blatant indication that a new time is brewing in Hollywood. On the heels of #OscarsSoWhite, and the watershed year that has birthed the Time's Up movement and reinvigorated Tamara Burke's #MeToo movement -- Black women continue to be ahead of the curve. During Oscar's weekend, various parties and events were happening all over LA, but executive producer and media maven Koshie Mills' International Women Of Power Event presented by The Diaspora Dialogues was a celebration of women of the African diaspora who are often looked over during awards season. A lush event hosted by Destiny's Child alum Michelle Williams and held at the Marriott in Marina Del Rey, celebrities, activists and attendees gathered to celebrate several powerful women who have impacted those in the diaspora on a global scale. Mills who owns the consulting and public relations firm K3PR wanted to honor women in Entertainment, Business, Beauty, Music, and Fashion.

"I wanted to create a culturally enriched authentic experience with a female aesthetic, where a mosaic of women from the continent and the diaspora can converge, bond, share, uplift, empower and embrace each other's diverse experiences in one room," Mills reflected. "This is an opportunity for everyone looking at Africa and its Diaspora to see how African women are not only beautiful, regal, intelligent, powerful, resourceful and resilient; we are owning our own narrative and reclaiming our Queendom for the world to see."

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Kobe Bryant's Film Mentors Are Two Legendary Black Women

Kobe Bryant is the first professional athlete, and the first Black person to ever win an Oscar for Best Animated Short film. He took home the prize for his film, Dear Basketball. The film is based on a letter he wrote to The Players' Tribune on November 29, 2015, announcing his retirement from basketball. "The hardest thing for an athlete to do is to start over," Bryant said as he stared at his Oscar in shock backstage at the 90th annual Academy Awards. He described winning the award as a better feeling than achieving any of the five championships that he won during his career in the National Basketball Association. Bryant has always known that he's wanted to tell stories. However, moving from the court into film world was no easy task, especially considering the rhetoric that suggests athletes should simply shut up and dribble. "To be here right now gives me a sense of validation," the former Laker explained.

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