May 9, 2026
Joshua Smith, a 9-year-old boy from Detroit, Mich., has made national headlines over his ambitious efforts to help his hometown rise out of its ever-sinking debt.
He started off with a goal of selling $1000 worth of popcorn and lemonade and delivering a check of the said amount to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s office.
“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”
–Rosa Parks, seamstress, writer and civil rights activist
BET founder and chairman of the RLJ companies, Robert Johnson, is developing a faith-friendly channel on YouTube. ALRIGHT TV will produce entertainment, comedy, reality, self-help, music, talk programs and hopes to provide inspirational content to viewers of all ages.
“Don’t let your dreams be dreams.”
— Jack Johnson, the world’s first African-American heavyweight boxing champion
“Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it, and you’ll start believing in it.”
— Jesse Owens, four-time Olympic gold medal winner
Serena Williams demolished Russia’s Maria Sharapova 6-0 6-1 to grab Olympic tennis singles gold on Saturday, becoming the first player in the sport to win all four grand slams and an Olympic title in both singles and doubles. Having completed the career “golden slam”, the unstoppable American, who dropped just 17 games in her six Olympics singles matches, is now making plans away from tennis. “I’ve won everything. Now I can go to Disneyworld,” said the 30-year old, laughing.
Strive Masiyiwa, founder and chair of Econet Wireless, has established the Ambassador Andrew Young International Scholars program. Masiyiwa, a native of Zimbabwe has invested $6.4 million in the program that will send 40 African students to Morehouse College in Atlanta. The students will receive full, four-year scholarships.
“Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go–purge yourself. I did that. I had nothing, but I had my freedom… [W]hatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.”
— Tina Turner, Pop, Rock and R&B singing legend
You have to like any award that links Abbas Kiarostami to Sylvester Stallone, Agnes Varda to Al Pacino and, now, Spike Lee — even if it’s one of those career achievement prizes determined more by who’s going to be in town than anything else. Lee, it was announced today, will be the latest recipient of the splendidly named Jaeger-Le Coultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award (named for a film by its inaugural recipient, Takeshi Kitano) at the Venice Film Festival later this month.
