Remember Oakland teen Akintunde Ahmad with a 5.0 GPA and 2100 SAT score? Well, the 18-year-old, who is heading to Yale in the fall on a full scholarship, is continuing to receive recognition and rewards for his outstanding academic achievements.
On May 20, football hall of famer Willie Brown and three NFL players from the Oakland Raiders granted the young scholar with a shopping spree at the Raider Image Store, according to ABC7. In addition to a shopping spree, the teen, who was awarded $15,000 on Ellen Degeneres’ show last month, was also presented with a Windows Pro Surface computer from the team’s general manager Reggie McKenzie.
Outside of being recognized for his academic success, Ahmad, who plays three instruments as well as high school baseball, was also recently honored as Oakland region’s student athlete of the year by California’s governing body for high school sports.
article by Courtney Connley via blackenterprise.com
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It seems that 10-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, the youngest Academy Award-nominee ever, can add yet another impressive achievement to her resume: she’s the new face of Armani Junior.
The young performer appeared in a tailored satin suit accessorized with a pup on her shoulder in the kids brand’s latest ad, showing off just how adorable high fashion can be.
“I’m so happy to be chosen by Mr. Armani to be his ambassador for Armani Junior,” Wallis told The Hollywood Reporter. “I felt the same excitement when I got cast for a major film. Me? Wow!”
article by Lindsey Sirera via thegrio.com
Even in death, Michael Jackson continues to break records. His duet with Justin Timberlake, “Love Never Felt So Good,” will make the late King of Pop the only artist to score a top ten Hot 100 hit in five different decades. The musicians he surpassed include Whitney Houston, Madonna, Aerosmith, Barbara Streisand and Cher.
Watch Michael Jackson’s “Love Never Felt So Good” video
Jackson “returned” to the stage as a hologram, performing last weekend at the Billboard Music Awards. His performance ended with a standing ovation.
article by Kyle Harvey via thegrio.com
Angela Bassett will make her directorial debut with a Lifetime Original Movie based on the life of Whitney Houston, Lifetime announced Thursday.
Scheduled for a 2015 world premiere under the working title of “Whitney Houston,” the film chronicles the headline-making relationship between the iconic singer, actress, producer and model, and singer-songwriter Bobby Brown — from the time they first met at the very height of their celebrity, to their courtship and tumultuous marriage.
“I have such regard for both Whitney’s and Bobby’s amazing talents and accomplishments; and I feel a responsibility in the telling of their story,” said Bassett in a statement. “Their humanity and bond fascinates us all. I’m beyond excited to have this opportunity to go behind the camera and into their world.”
Produced by The Sanitsky Company, “Whitney Houston” will be executive produced by Larry Sanitsky. Shem Bitterman wrote the film’s script.
Bassett and Lifetime previously collaborated on last year’s original movie “Betty & Coretta.” Starring Bassett and Mary J. Blige, the Humanitas Prize finalist told the dual real-life stories of Coretta Scott King (Bassett) and Dr. Betty Shabazz (Blige), wives of Dr. Martin Luther King (Malik Yoba) and Malcolm X (Lindsay Owen Pierre), who formed an unbreakable life-long bond after their husbands’ tragic assassinations.
article by Laura Prudom via Variety.com
This week, Ruby Robinson received a special “congratulations” at her graduation ceremony from Columbia University’s Engineering School. Her father, a U.S. Army Captain, surprised Ruby on stage right after she was presented her degree from the school’s dean and the university’s president.
In video captured by the university, Captain Keith Robinson tells Ruby “Congratulations, young lady,” before giving her a massive hug. Ruby smiles widely before bursting into tears.
“To have him here in the flesh means so much to me,” Ruby told Columbia’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs following the ceremony. “I didn’t expect it all. I didn’t think it was possible. I’m so happy about it.”
Robinson told his daughter two weeks earlier he wouldn’t be able to make it. He’s been deployed for the past six months in Afghanistan, according to the school’s post.
Robinson flew 14.5 hours from Kuwait to Washington, D.C., followed by a flight to Denver, before returning to New York for the big day.
“I haven’t had time to stop and think about it myself,” Robinson said. “But when I saw her, it was like … it was all worth it.”
article via thegrio.com
Emory University has announced that Erika Hayes James will be the next dean of the Goizueta Business School, making her the first African-American female dean in the school’s history. She’s also the first among top business school programs. James will assume her role on July 15.
James is a former senior associate dean for executive education at the Darden Graduate School for Business at the University of Virginia. She earned her PhD. in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan, and her expertise is intersecting that knowledge with executive leadership. She has consulted numerous Fortune 500 companies and typically focuses on three key areas: crisis leadership, women in leadership, and commuter relationships. MBA students at Darden and Harvard Business School, where James taught as a visiting professor, gave her high praise, according to the Emory announcement.
Although there are three other minority women who are deans at American colleges of business, James will be the first at the helm of a full-time MBA program at a top-25 business school. Claire Sterk, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Emory, insisted that James’ race and gender did not impact their decision to hire her, although it is certainly an added bonus to make history. “Erika James has all of the qualities that we want for a leader at Goizueta,” says Sterk, who led the international search. “She brings a background of impressive scholarship and strong skills in academic administration, and she will work collaboratively with faculty, students, staff, alumni and supporters to take the school to the next level—all the while honoring the principled leadership of Mr. Goizueta’s legacy.”
James hopes to strengthen the connection between Goizueta and Atlanta’s business community, as well as, make use of Emory’s expertise in health care to create business solutions for the national challenge of health care delivery systems. “I believe that the Goizueta Business School is a world-renowned school that is on the verge of greatness,” she said. “And I want to be a part of helping the school reach that greatness.”
article by Natali Rivers via uptownmagazine.com
NEW ORLEANS –– There was a talent show at the White House Tuesday, and the first lady was right in the middle of it. The performers go to troubled schools that have added the arts to their core curriculum to try to turn them around. It’s an Obama administration program that has been so successful, it was expanded Tuesday to a total of 35 schools.
With so much rhythm in the room, it’s hard to imagine music nearly died at one New Orleans school. But four years ago, everything was failing at the school, now known as the Renew Cultural Arts Academy.
Fewer than 15 percent of students could read at grade level. It was one of the lowest testing schools in Louisiana. “I heard from friends that there was a lot of stuff going on, like fights, and teachers weren’t really teaching,” says seventh-grader Angela Russell. Angela didn’t want to come to the school, but she says things are different since the school decided to put more emphasis on arts education.
“I like everything about being here,” she says. “It’s, like, the first school I’ve ever really enjoyed.”
Now students like Angela count the measures in band or stand up in math class to act out a bar graph. “It’s not just to have a music education class, you know, during the school day or after school,” says Ron Gubitz, the elementary school principal. “But it’s actually to use the music and use visual arts and use theater to teach core content.”
With the new curriculum, the school has seen a 20 point rise in standardized tests over five years — plenty of room for improvement, but enough to earn recognition from the White House. Renew is one of the Turnaround schools granted funding to hire more arts teachers, tripling the time kids spend learning the arts.
“We’ve been doing that work to set a template so that any school sees that it’s possible to do this,” says actress Alfre Woodard, who volunteers at the school. “Enrollment stays steady, or it goes up, behavioral problems go down and the culture of the schools are transformed.”
It’s transformed sixth-grader Jarred Gray. “I was bad,” he admits. “I would get put out of class a lot.” With his classmates, he just took his first-ever plane ride — to the White House. Jarred says when he found out he was going to the White House, “I fainted.”
“I got home and I was like, ‘Wait, I’m going to Washington,’ and I laid in my bed and I was like, ‘Oh, goodness,'” he recalls.
Music woke him up — and brought his school back to life.
article by Michelle Miller via cbsnews.com
With so much rhythm in the room, it’s hard to imagine music nearly died at one New Orleans school. But four years ago, everything was failing at the school, now known as the Renew Cultural Arts Academy.
Fewer than 15 percent of students could read at grade level. It was one of the lowest testing schools in Louisiana. “I heard from friends that there was a lot of stuff going on, like fights, and teachers weren’t really teaching,” says seventh-grader Angela Russell. Angela didn’t want to come to the school, but she says things are different since the school decided to put more emphasis on arts education.
“I like everything about being here,” she says. “It’s, like, the first school I’ve ever really enjoyed.”
Now students like Angela count the measures in band or stand up in math class to act out a bar graph. “It’s not just to have a music education class, you know, during the school day or after school,” says Ron Gubitz, the elementary school principal. “But it’s actually to use the music and use visual arts and use theater to teach core content.”
With the new curriculum, the school has seen a 20 point rise in standardized tests over five years — plenty of room for improvement, but enough to earn recognition from the White House. Renew is one of the Turnaround schools granted funding to hire more arts teachers, tripling the time kids spend learning the arts.
“We’ve been doing that work to set a template so that any school sees that it’s possible to do this,” says actress Alfre Woodard, who volunteers at the school. “Enrollment stays steady, or it goes up, behavioral problems go down and the culture of the schools are transformed.”
It’s transformed sixth-grader Jarred Gray. “I was bad,” he admits. “I would get put out of class a lot.” With his classmates, he just took his first-ever plane ride — to the White House. Jarred says when he found out he was going to the White House, “I fainted.”
“I got home and I was like, ‘Wait, I’m going to Washington,’ and I laid in my bed and I was like, ‘Oh, goodness,'” he recalls.
Music woke him up — and brought his school back to life.
article by Michelle Miller via cbsnews.com
90-year old Mildred Morris has been a life long caregiver of children and now she’s thanking one 5-year-old for caring for her. Morris, of Asheville, N.C., fell down a flight of stairs while transporting laundry in her home, but 5-year-old Jaylee Monteith, whom Morris has watched since Jaylee was 1, called 911 as soon as she saw Morris fall.
“Jaylee called 911 and said I needed help because I had fallen down the steps,” Morris told ABC News. “Then she went next door and said, ‘Wake up, wake up’ and my neighbor came over and helped.”
Thankfully Morris only ended up needing stitches. “I think if I had stayed much longer, the blood was coming so quickly from my head, if they had not heard Jaylee, I probably would have been weakened or unconscious,” Morris said. “She’s a miraculous little girl.”
Morris says she watches Jaylee almost daily while her mother, Jazmyn Williams, studies to be a nurse. “She’s never been to kindergarten so everything she learned is from me and her mother and father,” Morris said. “I knew she was capable but I didn’t know she’d be able to think that quickly.”
Morris has some notoriety under her belt. In the 1980s she was honored by Nancy Reagan for her commitment to children. “It’s great to know that they remember something I have done for them,” Morris said of the kids she’s touched in her lifetime, which include both Jaylee and her mom. “It’s from my heart for all of them.
“You have to be sincere with kids and let them know that you love them.”
To see video of this story, click here.
article via clutchmagonline.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — As a Head Start and Yale Law School graduate, Cornell William Brooks calls himself a direct beneficiary of Brown v. Board Education. Now the lawyer and activist is taking over as the next national president and CEO of the NAACP, whose legal arm brought that landmark legal case challenging segregation in public schools.
On the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision that said separating black and white children was unconstitutional, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization announced Brooks’ selection. The NAACP’s board made the final decision Friday night, and chair Roslyn Brock told The Associated Press about Brooks’ new position on Saturday morning. Brooks will be formally presented to the Baltimore-based organization’s members at its national convention in Las Vegas in July.
“I am a beneficiary, an heir and a grandson, if you will, of Brown versus Board of Education,” Brooks told the AP.
“My life is the direct product, if you will, of the legacy of the blood, sweat and tears of the NAACP and so today I’m particularly mindful that the NAACP has made America what it is, and certainly made my life possible and we are all grateful heirs of that legacy.”
Brooks, 53, of Annandale, New Jersey, will become the NAACP’s 18th national president, replacing interim leader Lorraine Miller. Miller has served in that position since Benjamin Jealous ended his five-year tenure last year.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to be entrusted with the opportunity to lead this powerful historic organization,” Brooks said in an interview. “In our fight to ensure voting rights, economic equality, health equity, and ending racial discrimination for all people, there is indeed much work to be done.”
Brooks, a minister, is originally from Georgetown, South Carolina. He currently is president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, a Newark, New Jersey-based urban research and advocacy organization. He graduated from Jackson State University, received a Master of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology and got his law degree from Yale.
Brooks has worked as a lawyer for the Federal Communication Commission and the Justice Department. He also ran for Congress as a Democrat in Virginia in 1998. He still owns a home in Woodbridge, Virginia.
“Mr. Brooks is a pioneering lawyer and civil rights leader who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the association,” Brock said. “We look forward to leveraging his legal prowess, vision and leadership as we tackle the pressing civil rights issues of the 21st century.”
The organization had hired The Hollins Group Inc., of Chicago to lead its search for a new CEO, and Brooks was selected from more than 450 applications, Brock said. The organization held more than 30 interviews, she said.
Brooks said he would start talking to and listening to the NAACP’s membership to plan for the organization’s future.
He said he would present his vision for the NAACP at the organization’s convention after he’s held conversations with the members.
“As long as America continues to be a great, but imperfect nation, there will be a need for the NAACP,” Brooks said.
Jealous called Brooks’ selection “the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for the NAACP.”
article via newsone.com
Spike Lee is revisiting his debut feature, 1985′s She’s Gotta Have It, on the small screen. Showtime has put in development a half-hour series adaptation that updates the film, with Lee set to write and attached to direct. The project is taking a new, contemporary look at the characters and will
explore Lee’s unique and provocative points of view about race, gender, sexuality, relationships, and the gentrification in Brooklyn.
Showtime is a fitting home for the project as the pay cable network has built a whole slate of half-hour series that straddle comedy and drama in the tone of She’s Gotta Have It.
Lee made his breakthrough with She’s Gotta Have It, which he shot in 12 days during the summer of ’85 on a budget of $175,000. The film, starring Tracy Camilla Johns as a young, sexually independent Brooklynite who juggles three suitors (Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Lee), ended up grossing $7,137,502 at the U.S. box office. It helped usher in the American independent film movement of the 1980s and paved the way for other black filmmakers.
article by Nellie Andreeva via Deadline.com