Natasha Trethewey, the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University in Atlanta, was reappointed to another term as Poet Laureate of the United States. She is also serving a four-year term as the poet laureate of the state of Mississippi.
James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, stated, “The Library and the country are fortunate Natasha Trethewey will continue her work as Poet Laureate. Natasha’s first term was a resounding success, and we could not be more thrilled with her plans for the coming year.”
Professor Trethewey is the author of four collections of poetry. Her collection, Native Guard, won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize. Her fourth collection, Thrall, was published late last year by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She is also the author of Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (University of Georgia Press, 2010).
A native of Gulfport, Mississippi, Professor Trethewey is a graduate of the University of Georgia. She holds a master’s degree from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
article via jbhe.com
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department says former Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx has been sworn in as President Barack Obama’s new transportation secretary.
Foxx was sworn in during a private ceremony with his wife and two children Tuesday at the department’s headquarters. The department says he’s spending his first day focusing on transportation safety and preparedness for hurricanes and severe weather.
Foxx says under his tenure, safety will remain the department’s top priority. He says he’ll work on efficiency and infrastructure needed to make sure the nation’s transportation system works for future generations. Foxx’s background includes stints as a Justice Department attorney and a Democratic aide to the House Judiciary Committee. The Senate voted unanimously last week to confirm Foxx. The 42-year-old replaces outgoing secretary Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman.
article by Josh Lederman, AP via thegrio.com; Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
The Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade released a fitness app called “Dwyane Wade Driven” while his team was simultaneously celebrating its third NBA championship with a parade and rally. The app offers customized training programs and videos for basketball players and other athletes.
“It shows people ways to work out, a lot of different ways to work out, whether it’s basketball drills or not,” Wade told The Associated Press. “A lot of people work out at home. A lot of people don’t have access to a gym. A lot of people don’t have trainers. So it’s kind of like I’m the personal trainer for basketball and fitness and I’ll show them a lot of things I do with my body and for my body.”
The app was available for download starting Monday. It includes basketball drills and a fitness routine, along with ways for users to track their progress. Driven Apps, the publisher, plans to release additional bundles for users to download once they have mastered or completed the initial Wade program.
“It shows people ways to work out, a lot of different ways to work out, whether it’s basketball drills or not,” Wade told The Associated Press. “A lot of people work out at home. A lot of people don’t have access to a gym. A lot of people don’t have trainers. So it’s kind of like I’m the personal trainer for basketball and fitness and I’ll show them a lot of things I do with my body and for my body.”
The app was available for download starting Monday. It includes basketball drills and a fitness routine, along with ways for users to track their progress. Driven Apps, the publisher, plans to release additional bundles for users to download once they have mastered or completed the initial Wade program.
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A woman who could be considered Africa’s Oprah Winfrey is launching an entertainment network that will be beamed into nearly every country on the continent with programs showcasing its burgeoning middle class.
Mosunmola “Mo” Abudu wants EbonyLife TV to inspire Africans and the rest of the world, and change how viewers perceive the continent. The network’s programming tackles women’s daily life subjects — everything from sex tips to skin bleaching.
“Not every African woman has a pile of wood on her head and a baby strapped to her back!” the glamorous Abudu, 48, told The Associated Press from a hotel’s penthouse floor against a backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean and high-rise buildings flanked by palm and almond trees.
“We watch Hollywood as if all of America is Hollywood,” she said. “In that same vein we need to start selling the good bits of Africa.”
Months of work to provide original content includes the flagship program “Sistaz!” about two Greek-Nigerian sisters and a British-born Nigerian friend who check into the Eko Hotel for a holiday reunion and rediscover the passion of sisterhood and the vibrant city of Lagos.
The life of Medgar Evers was cut far too short 50 years ago, when the civil rights activist and war veteran was assassinated at just 37-years-old by a White supremacist. Although Evers would not live to see the Civil Rights Movement blossom, he helped plant early seeds of change in the Deep South that eventually took hold. Born in the small town of Decatur, Miss., on July 2, 1925, Evers was one of five children to his parents,James and Jesse.
The family lived on a small farm, while James worked in a nearby sawmill. Young Medgar would have to walk 12 miles to school each day, eventually earning his high school diploma. In 1943, Evers was drafted into the U.S. Army and fought in World War II in the countries of France and Germany. Discharged honorably in 1946 after earning the rank of sergeant, Evers entered into Alcorn College (now Alcorn State University) to study business administration.
During his senior year, Evers would marry fellow student Myrlie Beasley (now Evers-Williams) and the couple went on to have three children, Darrell, Reena, and James. Evers graduated from Alcorn College in 1952. The young couple moved to Mound Bayou in Mississippi, and Evers worked for notable civil rights activist T.R.M. Howard as an insurance salesman. Evers also served as the president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL). The RCNL staged boycotts in the state against gas stations that denied Black patrons from using their restrooms.
Prada, a label known for rarely casting models of color, has selected a black model for a new print campaign. For first time in 19 years, a woman of African decent will be a major face of the luxury fashion brand in a Fall/Winter 2013 advertisement.
Malaika Firth, a bi-racial black woman who is half Kenyan and British, was born in the Kenyan city of Mombasa and raised in the United Kingdom. The 19-year-old, who also boasts Ugandan, Swiss, and Seychellois ancestry, appears in the latest Prada seasonal ad series with 44-year-old supermodel Christy Turlington among other faces.
Fellow supermodel Naomi Campbell was the last black woman to be featured in a Prada ad campaign in 1994.
Firth told The Telegraph that she is “extremely proud and happy” to be following in the footsteps of the pioneering black supermodel. Naomi Campbell was one of the first black models to receive international recognition.
An Ohio high school has agreed to remove part of its dress code after parents complained it was discriminatory. In the dress code sent out to parents June 14, Horizon Science Academy (HSA) noted that “Afro-puffs and small twisted braids–with or without rubberbands–are NOT permitted.”
After receiving a number of complaints, the school sent out an updated dress code Saturday, removing the Afro-puffs ban. The school’s dean of students Jayson Bendik issued an apology for anyone offended by the dress code, noting the inclusion as an error. “We had no intention of creating any bias,” Bendik said. “We made a mistake and we fixed that mistake immediately.”
Bendik noted that other concept schools have been informed of the change. According to him, a committee oversees the dress code for the school, but overlooked the ban. “As soon as we found out, we took the necessary action and made a correction,” he said. According to its 2011-2012 annual report, 26 percent of the school’s K-7 students are African-American.
James Knight, an advisory-board member for the school, said the ban was targeted at the school’s Black male students in an effort to improve their appearance. “It had nothing to do with young ladies, young African-American ladies. It was really more so addressing young African-American men here at this school,” he told the Huffington Post. “We want to maintain a certain type of college prep culture here, and we just want the young men to be well-groomed.”
“This information has offended many people and by no means did we have any intention of creating bias toward any of our students,” a member of the HSA administration told The Morning Journal. “Furthermore, we are taking the matter seriously and again apologize for any offense it may have caused.”
article by Hannington Dia via newsone.com
What a giving man Shawn Carter is. Let’s bypass the fact that he is putting out his latest studio album, “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” on July 4. Jay-Z is about to shut down New York City with a free concert.
Jay-Z has been pushing to have a free concert on the marquee of the “Late Show With David Letterman” since 2010. City officials turned the idea down when taking traffic and public safety into account. This time around, Mayor Bloomberg approved the request and granted the music mogul permission.
The free concert will take place on July 8 on the marquee of the “Late Show With David Letterman” and will also appear on the show. City officials are expected to shut the area down surrounding the theater, which is near West 53rd and 54th Streets and north of Times Square.
Jay-Z has been pushing all marketing limitations with the promotion of his forthcoming album. Are you ready for “Magna Carta Holy Grail?” Check out one of Jay-Z’s commercials for “Magna Carta Holy Grail.”
article by Bria Feliu via urbandaily.com
According to Rolling Stone, soul star Stevie Wonder is working on a new album called Gospel Inspired By Lula. During an interview with the magazine, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said his upcoming gospel album is a tribute of his late mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, who is credited as a co-writer on many of his classic hits including “I Was Made to Love Her” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours.”
“I promised her I would do it,” he said. “She always wanted me to do it before she passed away, the untimely passing away. We’ve been working on some songs and some ideas.”
Although the project will include traditional tunes, Wonder said he want the music to cross religious lines.
Composer and educator Adolphus Hailstork has established an endowed scholarship fund at historically Black Norfolk State University in Virginia. The fund will support undergraduate music students at the university, where Hailstork taught from 1977 to 2000.
Professor Hailstork is a 1963 graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C. A piece he composed for his master’s degree thesis was performed by the Baltimore Symphony in 1966. Over the years his musical works include compositions for piano, organ, band, orchestra, chorus, and solo voice performances. His 2007 opera, Rise for Freedom about the Underground Railroad, had its first performance with the Cincinnati Opera Company.
article via jbhe.com