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Posts published in January 2016

Ava DuVernay, Melissa Harris-Perry, Black Lives Matter & More to be Honored at Revolution Awards for Black History Month

By goodblacknews on January 27, 2016

2015-02-03-06-24-27.jpgHarlem-based cinema foundation ImageNation will honor the brightest entertainers and advocates who exude “Black Excellence” during the annual Revolution Awards, set to take place in New York next month.
The awards’ theme, eloquently titled Cocktails, Cinema & Revolution, will honor famed director Ava DuVernay, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry, Black Lives Matter, and actor Hill Harper on Feb. 10.
ImageNation founder Moikgantsi Kgama shared her thoughts about how this year’s show will tie into Black History Month.
The Revolution Awards came to fruition in 2003, honoring the accomplishments of activists, actors, and artists who step outside the box to help improve Black and Latino communities. Past honorees and participants include Spike Lee, Congressman John Lewis, Erykah Badu, Lee Daniels, Talib Kweli, and the late Ruby Dee.
“History is being made everyday. This event celebrates Black History Month by recognizing our most inspiring change agents while highlighting ImageNation’s newest monthly film program Cocktails & Cinema. I am looking forward to the Revolution Awards returning to an epic evening of honoring those who make a difference,” said Kgama.
In addition to the awards, the film 1982, starring Hill Harper, Sharon Leal, Wayne Brady, Troi Zee, La La Anthony and Ruby Dee, will be screened. The movie stars Harper as a father protecting his daughter from his wife’s battle with drug addiction.  Harper will also engage in a discussion of the film with director Tommy Oliver, image activist Michaela Angela Davis, and noted psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere.
The event is open to the public. To find out how you can be part of the magic during Black History Month, get a ticket here and find out more about ImageNation’s 20-year legacy here.
article by Desire Thompson via newsone.com

"Southside With You" Movie Chronicling Michelle and Barack Obama's 1st Date Opens to Raves at Sundance

By goodblacknews on January 26, 2016
Southside With You
(PHOTO CREDIT: SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL)

It’s not every couple who has a feature film made about their first date. Then again, not every couple is the Obamas.

Southside with You, directed by Richard Tanne and starring Tika Sumpter and newcomer Parker Sawyers, details the Obamas’ multilayered first date (despite Michelle’s insistence that it was, most certainly, not a date) as the couple traverses through Chicago, going to the Chicago Art Institute, the movie theater and finally, an ice cream parlor.
Though the flick doesn’t have a release date yet, it recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where critics gave it two very enthusiastic thumbs up, calling it a classic romance story. Check out some of the outstanding reviews below.
From Variety: “Despite its unassuming modesty of scale, budget and commercial potential, “Southside With You” stands as something unique, even audacious in American independent movies: a fact-based presidential “prequel” that seeks to present two iconic world figures as convincing and relatable romantic leads.”
From The Hollywood Reporter: “The result makes you realize how few realistic and three-dimensional date movies have been made in an era of throbbing hook-up encounters and R-rated horny teen gross-outs.”
From Mashable: “If you’d never heard the name Barack Obama, Southside With You could stand alone as a sweet, mature drama with layers of social and racial issues, family dynamics and, yes — romance.”
From MTV: “It’s hard to distance Barack and Michelle from their historical legacies, but Tanne’s nuanced approach succeeds at making this film about the tempestuous beginning, not the happily ever after.”
From The Daily Beast: “A first kiss so hot it made theatergoers at Sundance melt in the aisles.”
We can’t wait to catch this one in theaters.
article by Taylor Lewis via essence.com

Miss Naturally Crowned Carolina Pageant Celebrates both Natural Hair and Black Female Entrepreneurs

By goodblacknews on January 26, 2016

2014 and 2015 Miss Naturally Crowned Carolina Pageant Contestants
2014 and 2015 Miss Naturally Crowned Carolina Pageant Contestants (photo via madamenoire.com)

Most beauty pageants claim they’re about celebrating brains and beauty. But the beauty (and body) part often gets a majority of the shine while the brains get whittled to one or two questions on stage.
That’s what best friends Maureen A. Ochola and Jessica E. Boyd hope to change. The two created the Miss Naturally Crowned Carolina pageant, a natural hair celebration also focused on business that’s been disrupting the Southern pageant scene since its 2013 debut in their hometown of Columbia, S.C. It has proven to be a success, so much so that they’re putting on their third exhibition on April 16.
“I had a high-level overview of pageants when we started, and they all seemed to be focused on the just physical aspect,” Ochola said. “What I like about what we’re doing is we’re highlighting natural hair. We take that confidence and add on the business element because that’s really what you need to be successful in business. Confidence.”
The pageant focuses on the beauty of natural hair and the beauty of Black female business owners. Miss Naturally Crowned Carolina started as a program to grow interest and a customer base for the co-founders’ original business idea: a brick-and-mortar natural haircare beauty supply store. They started social media accounts to test their idea first, and the accounts gained popularity.
“The money that it takes to start a store, we really didn’t have,” Boyd said. “We thought: How can we stay relevant and make people continue to be excited until we can get the store open?”
The two chose to think outside the box and celebrate two things they love: natural hair and business. “We thought about a pageant,” Boyd said. “In December of 2013, we announced we would have it.”

Miss Naturally Crowned Carolina Pageant Co-founders Jessica E. Boyd and Maureen A. Ochola
Miss Naturally Crowned Carolina Pageant Co-founders Jessica E. Boyd and Maureen A. Ochola (photo via madamenoire.com)

The organic success of the pageant was a pleasant surprise to Boyd and Ochola. It gave them the initiative to explore the pageant as a legitimate extension of their original idea. It was clear that such celebrations were needed and gaining quite the following.
“After the first pageant, it kind of took off. We sold out of tickets,” Boyd said. “The impact it had on the girls and the community, in general, took on a life of its own. It wasn’t a question. We had to bring it back and do it bigger and better.”
It’s not a surprise that creativity in business is also one of the pageant’s key themes. Miss Naturally Crowned Carolina contestants learn firsthand about entrepreneurship and small business.
“Last year we added a twist: a business pitch idea because that’s essentially what we’re doing,” Ochola said. “Why not introduce that to these girls as well?”

Aretha Franklin Donates Hotel Rooms and Meals to Victims of Flint, Mich., Water Crisis

By goodblacknews on January 26, 2016

501811194-musician-aretha-franklin-attends-the-opening-of-the
Aretha Franklin (MIKE COPPOLA/GETTY IMAGES)

The Queen of Soul is doing her part to help residents in Flint, Mich., during the city’s water crisis. Aretha Franklin plans on donating rooms at a Holiday Inn in Southfield, a Detroit suburb, for 25-50 people, according to Click on Detroit.

In addition to the rooms, food will be provided by the local Coney Island restaurant. Franklin’s father’s church, New Bethel Baptist in Detroit, will handle the screening of Flint residents who want to participate.
“Detroiters usually come to the aid of Detroiters—and Flint is certainly regarded as Detroit,” Franklin said in an interview. “Hang in there,” she advised Flint residents.
article by Yesha Callahan via theroot.com

‘Birth of a Nation’ Lands at Fox Searchlight in Record $17.5 Million Deal at Sundance Film Festival

By goodblacknews on January 26, 2016
The Birth of a Nation Sundance
Image from “Birth of a Nation” (COURTESY OF SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVA)L

Fox Searchlight, the specialty films division of 21st Century Fox,  is closing a $17.5 million deal to acquire worldwide rights to “The Birth of a Nation,” a drama about the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner, that had an electrifying premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
The Weinstein Company, Netflix, Paramount, and Sony were among the companies making offers on the picture. Bidding lasted through the night, with one company, believed to be Netflix, offering $20 million for the picture. The deal is the richest in Sundance history.
The film was written and directed by Nate Parker, who also stars as Turner and invested his own money in the production. Parker is best known for his work in “The Great Debaters” and “Beyond the Lights.” The response to the picture was seismic and the Oscar buzz erupted as soon as the lights went up following the picture’s debut at the Eccles Theatre.
In a rave review, Variety critic Justin Chang wrote, “‘The Birth of a Nation’ exists to provoke a serious debate about the necessity and limitations of empathy, the morality of retaliatory violence, and the ongoing black struggle for justice and equality in this country. It earns that debate and then some.”
The cast includes Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley and Mark Boone Junior.
article by Brent Lang and Ramin Setoodeh via Variety.com

Fox Franchise Reboot '24: Legacy' Casts 'Straight Outta Compton's Corey Hawkins as Male Lead

By goodblacknews on January 25, 2016

Corey Hawkins 24After lengthy on-and-off negotiations, Corey Hawkins (“Straight Outta Compton”) has signed on as the male lead in 24: Legacy, Fox’s pilot that reboots the 24 franchise with brand new characters, led by Eric Carter (Hawkins). The character, who succeeds Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer as the hero on the show, was conceived as written as African American. Sutherland is not reprising his role and is not creatively involved in the project at this time.

24: Legacy, written by 24 veterans Manny Coto and Evan Katz and directed by Stephen Hopkins (who helmed the original 24 pilot), centers on military hero Eric Carter (Hawkins) and chronicles his return to the U.S. and the trouble that follows him back – compelling him to ask CTU for help in saving his life, and stopping what potentially could be one of the largest-scale terror attacks on American soil. Coming from a very rough background, Carter turned his life around in the Army Rangers but now, back home in Virginia with his wife Nicole, he’s pulled back into action as his past comes looking for him.
Unlike the original 24, which was centered squarely on Jack Bauer, 24: Legacy will have a strong female lead, a woman with a long history at the agency and former head of CTU. There will likely be mentions of former CTU members from the original 24 series on 24: Legacy, and some of them will be featured in photos, but there are no plans for any of the 24 cast members to have an ongoing presence on the new series.
24: Legacy is executive produced by Howard Gordon, Coto, Katz and Brian Grazer through 20th Century Fox TV, Imagine TV and Gordon’s Teakwood Lane Productions.

Hawkins is coming off his breakout role as Dr. Dre in the feature hit Straight Outta Compton. He also recently did an arc on the hugely popular AMC series The Walking Dead and will next be seen in Legendary’s Kong: Skull Island. A graduate of Juilliard, Hawkins previously starred on Broadway in Romeo & Juliet.
article by Nellie Andreeva via deadline.com

"Perfect Guy" Writer Tyger Williams Thrills Again with "Bad Influence" at Broad Green Pictures

By goodblacknews on January 25, 2016

Tyger Williams
Screenwriter Tyger Williams (MICHAEL BUCKNER/VARIETY/REX SHUTTERSTOCK)

Broad Green Pictures is developing the drama “Bad Influence,” based on a pitch from “The Perfect Guy” writer Tyger Williams.
The story is centered on a single mother who has to deal with her son’s obsessive ex-girlfriend. Producers are Offspring partners Jennifer Gibgot and Adam Shankman.
“The Perfect Guy,” starring Sanaa Lathan and Michael Ealy, was a major success for Screen Gems with a worldwide gross of $60 million on a $12 million budget. Williams writing credits also include the Hughes Brothers film “Menace II Society” in 1994.
article by Dave McNary via Variety.com

Marley Dias, 11, Launches Social Action Campaign to Collect #1000BlackGirlBooks

By goodblacknews on January 25, 2016
Marley Dias Book Drive 1,000 Black Girl Books
11 year-old Marley Dias at Lingelbach Elementary School in Germantown, collecting books as part of her #1000BlackGirlBooks social action project. (JANICE DIAS/FOR PHILLYVOICE)
In the past year, Philadelphia native Marley Dias has successfully written a proposal for (and received) a Disney Friends for Change grant, served food to orphans in Ghana and recently launched a book club.
Dias is 11 years old.
“I’m hoping to show that other girls can do this as well,” Dias told PhillyVoice. “I used the resources I was given, and I want people to pass that down and use the things they’re given to create more social action projects — and do it just for fun, and not make it feel like a chore.”
Dias’ latest social action project is the #1000BlackGirlBooks book drive. Frustrated with many of the books she’s assigned in school, she confessed to her mother during dinner one night that she was unhappy with how monochromatic so many stories felt.
“I told her I was sick of reading about white boys and dogs,” Dias said, pointing specifically to “Where the Red Fern Grows” and the “Shiloh” series. “‘What are you going to do about it?’ [my mom] asked. And I told her I was going to start a book drive, and a specific book drive, where black girls are the main characters in the book and not background characters or minor characters.”
So far, she said, she’s collected about 400 books — nearly halfway to her goal of 1,000 by Feb. 1. The project is part of an annual social action effort she makes as part of the Philadelphia-founded GrassROOTS Community Foundation Super Camp for young girls, designed to empower and improve the health of ‘impoverished’ girls middle-school-aged and younger. Dias’ mother, Janice, cofounded the organization seven years ago with lead MC of The Roots, Tariq Trotter (aka Black Thought).

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Janice, who grew up in Jamaica, calls watching her daughter grow up with such an investment in giving back a surreal experience. She further explained that her daughter’s “#1000BlackGirlBooks” project has been eye-opening even for her.
“I didn’t need identification, or I didn’t desire it because I grew up in an all-black country,” Janice told PhillyVoice. “She’s not growing up in an all-black country; she’s growing up in a fairly white suburb, in a country that only has 12.6 percent of blacks. For her, identification is a bigger deal. … For young black girls in the U.S., context is really important for them — to see themselves and have stories that reflect experiences that are closer to what they have or their friends have.
“And it doesn’t have to be the only thing they get, but the absence of it is clearly quite noticeable.”
The two just wrapped up a book drive at Lingelbach Elementary School in Germantown but are still on their way to hitting the 1,000-book mark. By the end of the drive, they’ll put together a reference guide that compiles the book titles, authors and age groups. Books collected will be donated to a low-resources library in St. Mary, Jamaica, where Janice grew up — in the spirit of giving back to their roots.
And in case you’re wondering what Dias wants to be when she grows up:
“I want to be a magazine editor for my own magazine,” she explained, without hesitation. “And I’d also like to continue social action. For the rest of my life.”
Book donations can be sent to 59 Main St., West Orange, N.J., 07052, Office 323.

article by Brandon Baker via phillyvoice.com

Sean "Diddy" Combs and Mark Wahlberg to Donate 1 Million Bottles of their AQUAhydrate to Flint

By goodblacknews on January 25, 2016

Diddy and wahlberg-20130228-30
Sean “Diddy” Combs and Mark Wahlberg have pledged to donate 1 million bottles of their AQUAhydrate water to the residents of Flint, Michigan, until the city’s water problems are solved. The company says it’s sending 5,000 cases initially by Wednesday, and will continue to provide bottles to residents up to 1 million, reports the Associated Press.
High levels of lead have been detected in Flint’s water since officials switched from the Detroit municipal system and began drawing from the Flint River as a cost-saving measure.
Wahlberg and Combs first invested and became the face of the Los Angeles-based bottled water company in 2013.
Big Sean, Cher, Eminem and Wiz Khalifa are among other celebrities who have pledged support and donations to assist Flint’s water crisis.
Read more at http://www.eurweb.com/2016/01/diddy-donating-1-million-bottles-of-water-to-flint-mi-residents/#5iCdD6TjdmfVDMPJ.99

Antoine Fuqua Attached to Direct Mexican Cartel Book "Wolf Boys" for TriStar

By goodblacknews on January 24, 2016
Antoine Fuqua to Direct Cartel Book
Antoine Fuqua (REX SHUTTERSTOCK)

Following a competitive auction, TriStar Pictures has won the rights to the Mexican cartel book “Wolf Boys” with Antoine Fuqua attached to direct and produce.
Written by Dan Slater, the book follows two American teens recruited as killers for a Mexican cartel, and their pursuit by a Mexican-American detective who realizes the War on Drugs is unwinnable.
Insiders have described the book as “Goodfellas” in the Mexican cartel landscape. Given the sudden interest in cartels following the arrest of drug kingpin El Chapo, the book was in high demand after coming on the market last week.
Fuqua’s deal is still be worked out but the choice seems spot-on since his credits include “Training Day” and “The Equalizer.”  The book will be released by Simon & Schuster later this year.
Fuqua is in post-production on “The Magnificent Seven” starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt.
article by Justin Kroll via Variety.com