After Temple gymnast Kyrstin Johnson's routine went viral, her journey to success continues to inspire fans
In January, Temple University gymnast Kyrstin Johnson's
floor routine to Kendrick Lamar's hit song "Not Like Us"
went viral on social media. But the sophomore is inspiring others with more than just her incredible moves on the mat.
Johnson said people come to see her perform simply for the routine. With it, she's able to show the world who she is.
"I am able to show my personality and have fun and just take it in the moment," Johnson said of her performances.
Johnson started competing in gymnastics at 10 years old. She says she's considered a late starter.
Far from being discouraged, the young gymnast made strides in other ways. She earned a full ride to Talladega College in Alabama, one of just two historically Black colleges with a gymnastics program.
"I never had that experience with girls that look like me on the team," Johnson said. "I had an African American coach that was female. I could relate to her."
Johnson made history as the first and only HBCU gymnast to win a national vault title. She's a vault champion and four-time All-American, but her historic year was met with a heartbreaking end after the university cut gymnastics due to funding.
"I had to make a big decision in a short amount of time," Johnson said.
Johnson left her scholarship behind, moved to Philadelphia and walked on to a new team at Temple.
"Why let someone take something from me when I can continue somewhere else?" Johnson said.
Johnson's transition to join the Owls wasn't easy. She said she experienced some culture shock but was welcomed with a lot of support.
Johnson's future is bright. She's looking forward to continuing to grow with her team, but professionally, she aspires to be a veterinarian.
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Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
American Black Film Festival is in Miami. Here are some films to check out
As the pandemic forced a global shutdown halting businesses, communities and touching every aspect of how society functioned in 2020, a pivotal election was brewing across the U.S. — one that would have a major effect on southern states. And as that chaos brewed, Black Voters Matter decided to meet the moment. Their efforts to energize and register voters is chronicled in a new documentary, 'Love, Joy & Power: Tools For Liberation.' That story is one of several films screening at the American Black Film Festival when it rolls into town this week highlighting Black storytellers and providing resources for those in the filmmaking industry. Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright said the film is a story about overcoming, pointing out the significance of the film's debut close to Juneteenth. 'It's not just the story of 2020 or the story of Black Voters Matters, it's really a story of how we have historically overcome, including going back to just Juneteenth,' he told the Herald. 'It shows the work that we're doing, but it also shows what movement is really like.' The film's timing is not lost on Albright, who said the story is essential at a time when Black stories and how they are shared is either being banned or altered in schools and libraries. 'Liberation' is just one of the films ABFF attendees can see when it kicks of Wednesday. We've put together a few more for you all to check out: 'Love, Joy & Power: Tools For Liberation' In this documentary, readers are taken on a journey through the efforts of Black Voters Matter to turn Georgia 'purple' in the 2020 election through grassroots voting efforts across the South, including Florida. The film, directed by Daresha Kyi, will screen at 1:10 p.m. Thursday at O Cinema. 'The ReWrite.' What is an authentic Black voice? That's what screenwriter Elliot (Stephen Barrington) obsesses over after he is told by white executives how Black people should sound and act. He wrestles with this as he tries to find the balance between being authentic and making money. 'I just want to sell without selling out,' he says. The film, directed by Terry Dawson, debuts at ABFF at 2:15 p.m. Thursday at Miami Beach Convention Center in Screening Room #2. 'Wait Until Tomorrow' The intersection of race, wealth and opportunity take center stage in this documentary that follows the lives of various Black families in the United States. The stories drive home the realities behind data examining the search for economic mobility. Directed by Osato Dixon will show at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at O Cinema. 'Carnival: They Can't Steal Our Joy' The colors. The beads. The feathers. The sounds. These are some of the things that make up Caribbean Carnival. But Ian Mark Kimanje's film, 'Carnival: They Can't Steal Our Joy,' pulls back the layers of the festival's significance culturally and historically in Toronto and beyond. Making its U.S. premier, the film will screen at O Cinema at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Black Film Festival spotlights Black storytelling with a made-in-Miami film
Kionne McGhee is a lot of things: The son of a South Dade bean picker. A former 5000 Role Models mentee. Howard University alum. Liberty City native. An attorney and a Miami-Dade commissioner. But in his film 'The Reject,' based on his two books 'A mer[e] I Can is American' and 'Conquering Hope,' we meet a child with dyslexia and ADHD, who struggled academically and dealt with chronic absenteeism, and confronts the deaths of his father and brother. And he's not ashamed of any of it, describing his film as one that tells the story of neurodiversity and how Black children can overcome those challenges to achieve success. 'The film tells the story of how those gifts, if taken in the right light and nurtured, can be beneficial to the person that God has given those gifts to and that person then can turn around and be of benefit to the community as a whole,' he told the Herald. McGhee's story is one of several powerful narratives that highlight Black South Florida stories to emerge in the past few years. 'The Reject' is showing at the American Black Film Festival, a showcase of Black talent, networking event for indie filmmakers and a who's who of Black actors, directors and producers that takes place this week in Miami. This year's festival, now in its 29th year, features an array of panels dedicated to Black storytelling, full-length films, documentaries and shorts films. Saturday's premier event, 'Remembering Love Jones' highlights the significance of the '90s film 'Love Jones' and features a conversation with co-stars and ABFF ambassadors Nia Long and Larenz Tate. There is also ABFF Community Day on Sunday which will include a screening of 'The Reject.' While McGhee's film is the only one set in South Florida featured in this year's lineup, it is the latest in a string of films set in the Miami area that center on Black stories to be produced in the last several years. Other films include 'Mountains' by Monica Sorelle, the Regina King-directed 'One Night in Miami,' the now-canceled HBO series 'Rap Sh!t,' and of course Academy-award winning movie 'Moonlight.' Creating films that focus on Black Miami comes at a crucial moment: Efforts to suppress Black history and literature in classrooms and libraries have been at a fever pitch in Florida and nationally, even as local activists, educators and historians push back against those attempts. Tate said it's important to normalize telling Black stories with an authentic, truthful voice and in unapologetic ways. 'We have a history of other groups telling our stories, shaping up the narrative from the prism of non- Blacks and that being the standard, and it was normalized,' Tate told the Herald. 'That's what needed to change. And when we are able to tell our stories in the most truthful, honest way, the most creative way, you know, the impact is everlasting, and that's what we need.' Tate said Black people need transition from being consumers of entertainment to being producers. 'We as a group, we support entertainment, we consume it,' he said. 'So it's important for us to balance the things out by not only being consumers, but also producers, and that's why I think it's really important for us to tell our stories.' The 'Moonlight' effect Tate said ABFF plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of Black artists such as Ryan Coogler and Liberty City native Barry Jenkins, whose first film, 'Medicine for Melancholy,' debuted at the festival. 'It is a place where we all can come in, have that synergy, to network and whatever experiences that we have over that week, we take that with us.' South Florida-based filmmaker Rachelle Salnave credits South Florida and ABFF with the start of her filmmaking career, even after having her first film, 'Harlem's Mart 125: The American Dream,' rejected for a screening at the festival years ago. At the time, Salnave had just received a hefty severance package after being laid off from a job. 'I got a pass to come to ABFF, and I was like, you know what? I'm not going to let their rejection stop me. I'm going to make everybody in this festival think that my film is in that festival,' she told the Herald. 'I did and it worked.' Salnave said she took a trip to the 2010 ABFF where she connected with a film professor and pitched Robert Townsend a short. 'I raised my hand real quick, and I got up there, and I was able to pitch to him live in front of 500 people,' she recalled. Salnave said the growth in Black Miami films is in part due to the success of 'Moonlight.' University of Miami film professor Terri Francis echoed that sentiment, noting that those who worked on that set, such as director Faren Humes, have gone on to have thriving careers in film. This year her friend's daughter, Ruby Rose Collins, has a short film about her late grandmother and filmmaker Kathleen Collins called, 'all the love i could handle' screening at the festival. 'The expertise that we're seeing in current independent films in the city, and also the legibility of their films does come from the work experience, and, of course, the accolades from that film,' Francis said, who has had Jenkins speak to one of her previous classes. 'Their films are all super different. People are not making 'Moonlight' over and over.' 'It's encouraging' Apart from the success of 'Moonlight,' South Florida documentary filmmaker Cathleen Dean, noted there are grants that have helped fuel the influx of Black films set or based in Miami. Still, she noted that even with that filmmakers aren't simply waiting for the funds to trickle in before they pick up a camera. 'It's encouraging that we have a lot of young filmmakers who are ambitious, who are not sitting around waiting for grants, and they're just getting out there, and they're doing their thing, and they're utilizing these new tools of social media and inexpensive cameras to get their stories told,' she said. Al Martin, chair of the University of Miami's Cinematic Arts department, said platforms such as Tubi have also diversified where independent filmmakers can post their movies. 'We have so many platforms on which stories can be told. For all of the discursive shade that gets thrown on Tubi, the fact is, is that it is giving a number of young Black filmmakers the opportunity to have their work shown on Tubi, and that is not unimportant,' he said. For as many Black stories that come out of South Florida, Dean hopes more are told and that the kinds of stories told are diversified. 'They need to be amplified, and not just sit in Miami-Dade at art house theaters, but show that these stories are important to the nation,' she said. She noted that McGhee's story is a step in encouraging diverse Black stories out of South Florida. 'It's inspiring, and it's encouraging to other people, to other young Black boys and girls,' she said. 'They know that they can come out of the projects and end up sitting in a seat of power up in Tallahassee.- Tate echoed those sentiments, saying ABFF is in many ways necessary to celebrate success for Black filmmakers and create opportunities for budding filmmakers. 'It's really important for us to have these types of festivals and these types of spaces [and] that we can look to each other, to celebrate each other and work with each other, and not look for permission from anyone else outside of what we're doing,' he said. 'Creatives from the entire diaspora that are coming together to celebrate and recognize one another.' If you go: What: American Black Film Festival When: June 11-15 Where: Miami Beach Convention Center, O Cinema, Lyric Theatre, New World Center - Performance Hall, Cost: Screenings range from free to $16; Remaining festival passes are as low as $680; Community Day is free Info:
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Is it art, or is it stealing work? Album cover designers stare down an AI future
TORONTO - Finger Eleven guitarist James Black has picked up a new instrument, one that pushes the boundaries of his visual imagination — generative artificial intelligence technology. The Toronto musician and graphic artist admits it's a controversial choice, but over the past year, he's been using the tool to help design his band's new album covers. Each one showcases grand concepts, stunning imagery and ultimately a piece of art that demands attention in an era where all musicians are jostling to stand out. 'We're in the blockbuster age where people like to see big, big things,' Black says from his office. 'Whenever I have an idea, it's usually something beyond what we have the resources to do, and AI means you don't have to put a lid on those ideas.' His work usually starts with typing a few descriptive words into AI software and collecting the images it spits back out. Then, he uses photo editing to fine-tune his favourites so they fit his original vision. Sometimes, he submits those altered images back into the AI to generate more ideas. 'There's quite a bit of back-and-forth where you're applying your own skill and then putting it back in,' he said. 'It's a little bit like arguing with a robot. You have to nuance it into doing what you want.' One of his first experiments was the cover artwork for Finger Eleven's 2024 single 'Adrenaline.' The illustration shows a curvaceous woman in a skin-tight red-and-white-racing suit, her head concealed under a motorcycle helmet. She's standing in the middle of a racetrack with her back to the viewer. A cloudy blue sky imparts an otherworldly calm. Anyone who's seen recent AI artwork will probably recognize the hyperrealistic sheen of its esthetic. Other familiar AI trademarks are there too, including a landscape firmly rooted in a dream world. Generative image models are trained on billions of photographs to learn patterns, such as recurring shapes and styles. They then use that information to construct images that can often seem familiar. Many fear that the tools also draw from copyrighted pieces without permission from their creators. It's a legal quagmire that only skirts the surface of the ethical debate around generative AI models. Beyond the copyright risks, critics fear the technology will cost album cover designers and photographers their jobs. But AI programs such as NightCafe, CoPilot and Adobe Firefly offer cutting-edge possibilities that many artists say they can't ignore. Still, Black said he understands there are ethical concerns. 'I'm definitely torn myself,' he said. 'But I'm using it because it extends as far as my imagination can go.' Other musicians have found that generative AI answers the demands of a streaming industry that pressures them to churn out new music, eye-catching lyric videos and other visual elements regularly. But some fan bases aren't sympathetic to those reasons. Last year, Tears for Fears was slammed on social media after they revealed the cover of their live album 'Songs for a Nervous Planet,' which had several familiar AI image traits. The illustration shows an astronaut staring straight at the viewer, their face concealed under a space helmet. They're standing in the middle of a field of sunflowers that stretches into the distance. A cloudy blue sky imparts otherworldly calm. The cover's creator, Vitalie Burcovschi, described it as 'art created by AI using human imagination.' But fans were quick to accuse the band of using AI that might have scraped copyrighted work. As blowback intensified, the English duo released a statement calling it 'a mixed media digital collage, with AI being just one of the many tools used.' Pop singer Kesha encountered similar flak for the cover of her 2024 single 'Delusional,' which featured a pile of Hermés Birkin bags with the song's name spray-painted across them. Fans instantly recognized common flaws of an AI-created image: misspellings in the song's title, sloppy digital fragments. Some demanded she redo the artwork with paid photographers. It took months, but the singer replaced the image with a photograph of herself tied to a chair. She assured fans it was created with an 'incredible team of humans.' 'AI is a Pandora's box that we as a society have collectively opened, and I think it's important that we keep human ramifications in mind as we learn how to use it as a tool and not as a replacement,' she said in an Instagram post in May. Illustrator and musician Keenan Gregory of the band Forester says he used AI technology to extend the background of an old photograph so it could fit on the cover of the band's upcoming EP. The original image for 'Young Guns' was taken in the 1940s as a vertical photograph and showed bass player Dylan Brulotte's grandfather strolling through the streets of Edmonton. Gregory needed a square shape for the album cover, so he put the shot into Photoshop's generative AI tool, which artificially extended the frame's left and right edges with more detail. He removed certain background elements, like storefront signs, with a blend of traditional photo editing techniques. 'Typically, an artist would have to do that manually,' he said. 'But having AI provide you with options, which you then edit, is very powerful.' Gregory said he considers AI one of a photo editor's many tools, adding he didn't use it to make the cover for Royal Tusk's 'Altruistic,' which earlier this year won him a Juno Award for best album artwork. Even when musicians are transparent about using AI, some fans are not ready to embrace it, as British Columbia rock band Unleash the Archers learned last year. Vocalist Brittney Slayes said their concept album 'Phantoma' told the story of an AI gaining sentience and escaping into the real world in the body of an android. To explore the album's theme, Slayes said some of her songwriting drew inspiration from ChatGPT suggestions, while they used visual AI programs to create inspiration images for songs. She said the band also filmed a music video for 'Green & Glass' and then fed the finished product into an AI model trained on artwork by Bo Bradshaw — the illustrator for the band's merchandise. It spat out an AI-animated version of the video. 'We paid to license all of his artwork ... so he was compensated and he was credited,' she said. But the reaction was swift. Some listeners accused the band of theft, alleging that despite paying for Bradshaw's work, the AI tool likely used other unlicensed art to fill out the visuals. 'We didn't realize that even though our model was trained after one artist, the program was going to fill in the blanks with others,' Slayes said. 'People didn't care. The second the word 'AI' was used, we were targeted. You know, the usual Twitter uproar, being like scraped across the internet as these terrible people that use AI in their music.' Unleash the Archers responded on their socials, issuing a statement acknowledging they had unintentionally implied their video featured original artwork by Bradshaw when it was actually produced through an AI program without his direct involvement. Their statement recognized how fraught the risks are for bands eager to explore new technology, saying that 'while we were expecting some controversy, we weren't expecting as much as we got.' Slayes said the backlash has forever sullied her connection to the album, which she originally intended as an exploration of an inevitable AI future. Instead, to her, it's become a reminder of how fast-developing AI technology is provoking deep-rooted anxieties. 'People are still afraid of it,' she said. 'And for good reason, because it is taking jobs.' For other artists, she urges them to think carefully about how they introduce AI into their own projects: 'If you're going to use AI for your artwork, you've got to have a really good reason.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025.
