To all the mothers, grandmothers, daughters and sons – may you have a wonderful day celebrating or being celebrated as the most important women in our lives. Happy Mother’s Day – like Kevin Durant says, you are the real MVP!
Posts published in May 2014
Michael Sam, a defensive end for the University of Missouri, was drafted by the St. Louis Rams on Saturday, making him the first openly gay athlete to be drafted in any of the four major American sports, and putting him on track to be the first openly gay player in the National Football League.
Sam, who was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, went as the 249th pick. He is only the second person ever to hold that title and fall out of the top 33 picks of the NFL draft. The other was Chad Lavalais of Louisiana State University, who was picked 142nd back in in 2004. Before the draft, CBS had Sam’s prospect ranking at 169.
If Sam went so late in the draft because teams were concerned about the unwanted attention that selecting the first gay player, they did not seem to be concerned about such impressions across the board; Zach Mettenberger, who plead guilty to sexual battery after groping a woman outside of a bar, went second in the sixth round of the draft. Prince Shembo, who was investigated in connection with the sexual assault of a woman who soon after committed suicide, was the 139th pick.
Now that Sam has been drafted, he will move onto the next challenge of securing a spot on the roster. He’ll need to make the team over the summer to become the first openly gay player actively in the NFL, and his spot isn’t guaranteed. As Alex Leichenger previously pointed out here on ThinkProgress, “Sam is considered undersized for an NFL defensive end and may have to become a linebacker in the pros…. His pass-rushing ability would be an advantage at outside linebacker, but there will be questions about whether he has the speed to play in pass coverage in the NFL.” Sam also had a fairly bad showing at the scouting combine earlier this year.
Still, some predicted that Sam would have difficulty finding a team that would draft him because of his coming out. One general manager predicted that he would not be drafted at all. And while public statements from teams and players in the league were encouraging, behind-the-scenes talk from people in the league showed doubt that Sam would garner a pick in the draft.
“I just know with this going on this is going to drop him down,” an NFL scout anonymously told Sports Illustrated. “There’s no question about it. It’s human nature. Do you want to be the team to quote-unquote ‘break that barrier?’”
Below is video of the moment when Sam got the news:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW-_fFdkegs&w=560&h=315]
article by Annie-Rose Strasser via thinkprogress.com
Series starring African-American actresses are a big trend next season. Chalk it up to the popularity of ABC’s “Scandal” and the visibility of its glamorous star, Kerry Washington, or maybe a bolt of lightning that suddenly hit Hollywood after Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis got Oscar nominations in the same year for “The Help.” (Spencer won for Best Supporting Actress.) Any way you look at it, sisterhood is powerful.
Spencer, who has had a recurring role on CBS’ “Mom” this season and was rumored at one point to star in a remake of “Murder, She Wrote,” gets her own show in “Red Band Society,” a Fox medical drama that involves many supporting teenage characters who live at the hospital where Spencer is a doctor. Similarly, ABC recently ordered a new Shonda Rhimes series, “How to Get Away With Murder” starring Viola Davis as a law professor who gets wrapped up in a murder mystery with four students.
Taraji P. Henson, who was killed off CBS’ “Person of Interest” this season, dusted herself off and will report for duty on “Empire,” a new, soap-style series about the world of hip-hop music from Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, who collaborated on the smash film “The Butler.” Henson plays Cookie Lyon, the former business partner and ex-wife of Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), a music mogul trying to stay relevant.
Veteran actress Alfre Woodard has played everything from a freed slave in “12 Years a Slave” to a desperate housewife. She’s on the upswing, career-wise. Woodard is going to play the president to Katherine Heigl’s crusading CIA agent in the NBC drama “State of Affairs.”
Finally, Rashida Jones has been cast as “Angie Tribeca,” a TBS satire on police procedurals that was created by Jones’ “Office” co-star Steve Carell and his wife, Nancy.
article by Robert Rorke via nypost.com
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s” Larry Wilmore has been tapped to host “The Minority Report with Larry Wilmore,” a new Comedy Central show to air in the 11:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday timeslot currently occupied by soon-to-be “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert.
“The Minority Report” premieres in January and promises to “offer a comedic look at news, current events and pop culture from unique perspectives not typically on display in late night television.” It was created by Jon Stewart and will be produced by Stewart’s Busboy Prods., with Stewart and Wilmore serving as exec producers.
The selection of the African-American Wilmore breaks up the white-male homogeneity to most of latenight TV. The lack of diversity in the latenight talk-variety show arena has been in focus in recent months amid the generational shift of hosts at NBC (where Jimmy Fallon took over “The Tonight Show” from Jay Leno in February) and CBS (where Colbert is to succeed David Letterman next year).
“We are thrilled to be expanding our relationship with Jon Stewart and Busboy Productions, and are looking forward to the world getting to know Larry Wilmore even better. He’s a spectacular talent in front of and behind the camera,” said Michele Ganeless, Comedy Central prexy. “‘The Minority Report with Larry Wilmore’ follows in the Comedy Central tradition – bringing new perspectives to the day’s events and breaking ground in the world of late night television.”
Actor former NFL player Terry Crews has sealed a deal to become the new host of the syndicated Who Wants To Be A Millionaire for the next 13th season, which launches in the fall. He succeeds Cedric the Entertainer, who hosted the show this season. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is going through a number of changes, including a move to to Stamford, Connecticut where it is expected to benefit from a tax break.
Crews, who co-stars in Fox’s comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, had been exploring doing a syndicated show and met with several studios, with Disney-ABC jumping in with the Millionaire offer. “Terry is engaging, endearing, smart, and quick on his feet — the perfect combination to lead one of the longest-running franchises in game show history,” said Janice Marinelli, president, Disney-ABC Domestic TV.
This marks the latest career expansion for Crews who started as an athlete before moving to entertainment. “In addition to my film projects including Blended, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and now being a first time author, hosting has always been a dream of mine, and I couldn’t have asked for a greater opportunity,” he said. Crews’ recent credits include a recurring stints on The Newsroom and Arrested Development and roles in Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club and Ivan Reitman’s Draft Day.
Next up is the comedy Blended with Adam Sandler and he’ll be reprising his role as “Hale Caesar” in the third installment of the Expendables franchise. Crews also penned his first book, memoir “Manhood,” which comes out May 20.
article by Nellie Andreeva via Deadline.com
President Obama has taken a stance on the kidnapping of nearly 300 Nigerian girls.
In a statement released Tuesday, he said the U.S. will do everything to help Nigeria find the girls, most of whom were taken during an April 15 kidnapping from their school. Obama has said that the first priority is to find the missing girls, however there will be a focus on the alleged kidnappers, members of extremist group, Boko Haram.
“In the short term our goal is obviously is to help the international community, and the Nigerian government, as a team to do everything we can to recover these young ladies,” said Obama during a NBC Today interview. “But we’re also going to have to deal with the broader problem of organizations like this that…can cause such havoc in people’s day-to-day lives.”
President Obama also commented about the impact that the abductions have had on him as a parent, “Obviously, what’s happening is awful and as a father of two girls, I can’t imagine what their parents are going through,” he said.
The President revealed that the U.S. has been looking to work with Nigeria to contain Boko Haram for some time now and hopes that the recent incident will, “…mobilize the entire international community to finally do something against this horrendous organization that’s perpetrated such a terrible crime.”
The U.S. is gearing up to lend a helping hand, sending U.S. military and law enforcement personnel who specialize in investigations, hostage negotiation and victim assistance among other things.
The State Department has warned U.S. citizens against traveling to Nigeria for the time being.
To get involved and keep the conversation going use the #bringourgirlsback hashtag or visit change.org to sign the petition calling for the rescue of the girls.
article by Dominique Hobdy via essence.com
It’s that time of year where high school and college students alike are celebrating their academic accomplishments and preparing themselves for the next big challenge in life. But unlike most kids who celebrate their high school and college graduations years apart, Florida teen Grace Bush is celebrating both academic achievements in the same week.
At just 16, Bush already earned her Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from Florida Atlantic University last Friday and plans to receive her high school diploma from Florida Atlantic University High School on May 9th. Attending a high school that allows high achieving students to also take college courses while working on their diploma, Bush took full advantage of the opportunity.
“I started when I was 13 at Broward College and I also took my classes throughout the summer, so I was able to finish it before four years,” Grace tells CBS Miami.
Now with a bachelor’s degree under her belt and a high school diploma on the way, Grace, who finished college with a 3.8 grade point average, plans to pursue a master’s degree this fall and then attend law school.
“I would eventually like to become Chief Justice of the United States,” says the high achieving scholar on her future career goals.
article by Courtney Connley via blackenterprise.com
Yesterday University of Missouri’s defensive end Michael Sam was selected as the winner of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. The award, which is given to individuals who transcend sports, will be presented at The 2014 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPYs) on July 16th. Other recipients of the award include Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela and Billie Jean King.
Michael Sam made history in February by becoming the first Division I college football player in history to come out as gay. Sam, who was named the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-SEC selection during his senior year at Missouri, is expected to be picked in the NFL Draft in the upcoming days.
Sam joined a growing list of notable athletes who have come out recently, including Jason Collins, Robbie Rogers, Brittney Griner, Orlando Cruz, Megan Rapinoe, Lori Lindsey, and Tom Daley.
article by Hayley Miller via hrc.org
Sherwood Brown Jr. and his father, Sherwood Brown Sr., graduated from college Saturday — together. The father and son each received their degrees from Florida A&M University’s School of Business and Industry, according to a news release from the university’s official website.
Sherwood Jr. entered FAMU in 2008 with his eyes set on a career in the music industry. He took classes in FAMU’s Department of Music and courses on the “business of music” in SBI.
Sherwood’s father graduated from FAMU with a bachelor’s degree more than 20 years ago. He made a promise to himself to return to FAMU and complete a Masters in Business Administration, which he finally did this past weekend.
Sharing the stage was a coincidence, the duo tells the university’s official website: “It was not planned,” said Sherwood Jr. “We just looked up one day and realized that we would both be graduating at the same time.”
The elder Brown wanted to be an “example to his children” on the importance of “never giving up on your goals.” The Brown family mantra is: “If you start something, finish it.” On Saturday, they finished their education together.
article via thegrio.com
According to Variety.com, “Empire,” the drama project from Lee Daniels and Danny Strong set in the world of hip-hop, has been picked up as a new series at Fox.
The family drama from Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox TV stars Terrence Howard as industry heavyweight Lucious Lyon, a tough but wise patriarchal figure. The cast also includes Taraji P. Henson, Gabourey Sidibe, Trai Byers, Kaitlin Doubleday, Grace Gealey, Bryshere ‘Yazz the Greatest’ Gray, Jussie Smollett and Malik Yoba.
The project reteams “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”‘s Daniels and Strong, who co-wrote this pilot with Daniels directing. Grammy Award-winning Tim “Timbaland” Mosley wrote the music for the pilot — marking the first time Mosley has worked so closely on a drama pilot. Executive producers are Brian Grazer, Daniels, Strong and Francie Calfo.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
The family drama from Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox TV stars Terrence Howard as industry heavyweight Lucious Lyon, a tough but wise patriarchal figure. The cast also includes Taraji P. Henson, Gabourey Sidibe, Trai Byers, Kaitlin Doubleday, Grace Gealey, Bryshere ‘Yazz the Greatest’ Gray, Jussie Smollett and Malik Yoba.
The project reteams “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”‘s Daniels and Strong, who co-wrote this pilot with Daniels directing. Grammy Award-winning Tim “Timbaland” Mosley wrote the music for the pilot — marking the first time Mosley has worked so closely on a drama pilot. Executive producers are Brian Grazer, Daniels, Strong and Francie Calfo.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson