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One of the world's treasures, the fossilized hominid known as "Lucy," goes on public display in Texas on Aug. 31. But controversies are swirling around the exhibition at the Houston Museum of Natural Science — the only confirmed stop so far on what the Ethiopian government hopes will be a lucrative tour.

Artist & Activist Rhodessa Jones talks about The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women. The Project has earned attention and praise for helping to lift imprisoned women's lives and voices. The actress, teacher and a playwright discusses her portrayals of women as they persevere through major life changes have won acclaim.

Madagascar lets the big questions about carnivore versus herbivore fall by the wayside in a successful rush for fun and visual entertainment, according to our movie reviewer.

Writer Suzan-Lori Parks has won acclaim for depictions of African-American life. The author of Topdog/Underdog discusses two of her favorite dramatic scenes, from The Sound of Music and Taxi Driver.

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns returns to PBS with Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, a profile of the world's first African-American heavyweight boxing champ.

The highlights of Cicely Tyson's life and career tell a story of personal excellence -- and interesting choices. The Oscar-nominated actress is back on the silver screen in two recent films, and talks with NPR's Ed Gordon about balancing her acting career with her active humanitarian efforts.

NPR's Ed Gordon speaks with Actress Kimberly Elise, who stars as Helen McCarter in the box office hit Diary of a Mad Black Woman. The film deals with the struggles that women encounter while finding their own identity, and the self-image of African-American women.

What began as a modest effort to ease racial tension in rural Kentucky coal country produced an unexpected musical result: Hick-hop is a compelling mix of uniquely American musical genres: bluegrass and rap. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Paul Winfield, the third African American nominated for a best actor Oscar, died Sunday of a heart attack. He was 62. Winfield earned his Academy Award nomination for his turn in the 1972 film Sounder. In 1995, he won an Emmy for his portrayal of a federal judge in the TV show Picket Fences. NPR's Bob Edwards has a remembrance.

Film critic Bob Mondello reviews director Peter Jackson's version of the classic 1933 movie, King Kong. This full-color, digitally generated Kong nearly doubles the length of the original -- and Mondello says it's worth nearly every minute.