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Posts published in “Commemorations”

LL Cool J Named Harvard University's Artist of the Year

By goodblacknews on February 19, 2014

According to the Boston Globe, Rapper-actor LL Cool J has been named Harvard’s 2014 Artist of the Year, and will be honored at the annual Cultural Rhythms Festival on Feb. 22. In making the announcement Wednesday, Harvard Foundation director S. Allen Counter had this to say about Ladies Love Cool James (aka Todd Smith): “His pioneering contributions to a new genre of music and distinguished history of creativity have been lauded by young people around the world, and he is greatly admired for his excellent humanitarian efforts through the Jumpstart program,” an initiative that enhances early education programs in low-income neighborhoods. In recent years, the Harvard Foundation has honored Shakira, Quincy Jones, Queen Latifah, Sharon Stone, Andy Garcia, Will Smith, Matt Damon, Halle Berry, Jackie Chan, and Denzel Washington.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Playboy Jazz Festival to Celebrate George Duke; Entire Lineup Announced

By goodblacknews on February 18, 2014

george duke
Singer Al Jarreau and bassist Stanley Clarke will celebrate the legacy of their friend and musical partner George Duke on the opening day of the 36th annual Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, which is presenting the festival for the first time, announced the lineup for the June 14-15 event on Monday, reports the AP. George Benson and fellow smooth jazz guitarist Earl Klugh will headline the closing concert.
Saturday’s concert will pay tribute to Duke, the keyboardist, singer, composer and producer who headlined last year’s Playboy opener and was a frequent participant in the Los Angeles area’s biggest jazz event. Duke, 67, died of leukemia last August shortly after releasing his chart-topping contemporary jazz CD “Dreamweaver,” which included a straight-ahead acoustic jazz track featuring Clarke.
Jarreau first performed with Duke in the house band at San Francisco’s Half Note Club in the late ’60s and the keyboardist was featured on the singer’s 1981 album “Breakin’ Away.” Clarke and Duke recorded three groove-oriented albums together, including 1981′s “Clarke/Duke Project” with the R&B hit single “Sweet Baby.”
Comedian George Lopez said he’s “thrilled” to be hosting the Playboy festival again after taking over from long-time emcee Bill Cosby last year.  “This year’s lineup of talent is unparalleled, and it’s going to be a great weekend of music,” Lopez said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.  Saturday’s lineup includes singer Dianne Reeves, who featured her cousin Duke on several of her albums; pianist Kenny Barron’s trio with guest saxophonist Ravi Coltrane; trumpeter Arturo Sandoval’s big band and British singer-pianist Jamie Cullum.

BAFTA Awards: "12 Years a Slave" Wins Best Film, Best Actor Prizes

By goodblacknews on February 16, 2014

12 Years A Slave
According to Variety.com, the 2014 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Film went to 12 Years a Slave.  In his speech, helmer-producer Steve McQueen said that there were “21 million people living in slavery as we sit here now.” McQueen was joined at the event by fellow producers Anthony Katagas, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.
The leading actor award went to Chiwetel Ejiofor for his performance in 12 Years a Slave. He paid tribute to McQueen, and said that the award really belonged to the director. “It’s yours. I’m going to keep it, but it is yours,” he said.  Although 12 Years A Slave‘s Lupita Nyong’o lost out to Jennifer Lawrence for Best Supporting Actress, the award for Supporting Actor was picked up by Barkhad Abdi for Captain Phillips. He thanked the performers who played the other pirates in the film. “We came from nothing and I got this (the BAFTA),” he said.

Pro Golfer Cheyenne Woods Emerges from Tiger’s Shadow With Australian Ladies Masters Win

By goodblacknews on February 16, 2014
Cheyenne Woods
Cheyenne Woods

Comparisons to her uncle Tiger may be inevitable, but Cheyenne Woods is coming out from under her famous relative’s shadow with a win at the Australian Ladies Masters on Sunday.  ESPN.com reports that Woods earned her first her first major professional tour victory by holding off 17-year-old Australian amateur Minjee Lee by two strokes.  The 23-year-old golfer closed with a 4-under 69 at Royal Pines to finish at 16-under 276. Lee also shot 69 in the event sanctioned by the European and Australian tours. Woods’ two-stroke lead came when she birdied the par-5 15th, hitting a wedge from about 120 yards to 4 feet. On the par-5 18th, she holed out from 1½ feet as she matched Lee with a birdie.

Speaking of the impact of winning a Ladies European Tour event, an emotional Woods labeled the moment as “a huge accomplishment for me.”  “The European Tour has been great to be able to play this past year, she said while acknowledging her fellow golfers. “I’ve been able to see all of these great players, play with Solheim Cup members. … To be able to come out here and compete with them and come out on top was huge for me.”

Read MLK’s Love Letter To Coretta Scott King

By goodblacknews on February 14, 2014

coretta-and-dr-king-6
We all know Martin Luther King Jr. was quite the speaker but, apparently, he was also something of a poet. On this Valentine’s Day, take a look back in time at his and Coretta Scott King’s incredible love story through a love letter he wrote her in the summer of 1952, a year before they were married. From Stanford University’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers Project:

Dearest,
Fortunately, I am in a better mood today. your letter was sweet and refreshing to my heart, which had well-nigh grown cold toward you. Of course I have become convinced in the last few days that my love for you is based on such a solid foundation that the stormy winds of anger cannot blow it assunder. Love is such a dynamic force isn’t it? It is the most inexplicable and yet the most beautiful force in life. O how joyous it is [to?] be in it.
Darling I miss you so much. In fact, much to much for my own good. I never realized that you were such an intimate part of my life. My life without you is like a year without a spring time which comes to give illumination and heat to the atmosphere which has been saturated by the dark cold breeze of winter. Can you imagine the frustration that a King without a throne would face? Such would be my frustration if I in my little kinghood could not reign at the throne of Coretta. O excuse my darling. I didn’t mean to go off on such a poetical and romantic flight. But how else can we express the deep emotions of life other than in poetry. Isn’t love to ineffable to be grasped by the cold calculating heads of intellect?
Read more.

article via newsone.com

First Lady Michelle Obama's Valentines Day Message to the President on Instagram

By goodblacknews on February 14, 2014

Michelle Obama Sends Valentines Day Message to the President Obama on InstagramHappy Valentine’s Day from America’s first couple!  The Oval Office is decidedly more heart-shaped today as Michelle Obama posted a Valentine’s Day message to her husband on Instagram.   “Hey Barack, I’ll always be your valentine! #HappyValentinesDay,” she wrote, next to three photos of herself and the president laughing and embracing.
The president and first lady are famously affectionate with each other year-round. But this year, they’re actually not planning anything major for Valentine’s Day – mostly because Michelle’s 50th birthday celebrations last month were so extensive.
“He celebrated me so well – he did a great job,” Michelle told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show this week. “I had a great couple of weeks, so I think we’re going to low-key it for Valentine’s Day. It feels like we just finished celebrating my birthday so I think we’ll low-key it.”

article by Tim Nudd via people.com

High School Crowns Transgender Student Blake Brockington Homecoming King

By goodblacknews on February 11, 2014

blake brockington
Blake Brockington, who was born a girl but identifies as a male, made history at his high school in North Carolina when he became the first transgender teen to be crowned homecoming king.  According to WCNC, Brockington was nominated by students at East Meck High School and there were 13 other students in the running.  In order to win the honor, Brockington had to participate in a fundraiser for Mothering Across Continents, an international non-profit working to build schools in South Sudan. Brockington raised $2,335.55 with the help from Time Out Youth, a local LGBT youth services agency.
From WCNC:

Brockington is no stranger to adversity.  He says he is living with foster parents because his father is unable to accept his gender identity.
His foster parent, Donald Smith, told NBC Charlotte Brockington has the perseverance to overcome the challenges he faces.  “He really is hoping that it helps those behind him going through the same challenges and struggles,” he said.
Teacher Bill Allen is the student advisor for the Gay-Straight Alliance on campus.  He says East Meck is known as a school of diversity. He says Brockington’s achievement is the first step in representing what many of the students believe.
“Our young people understand we are all different. We have all races, genders and religious backgrounds. We have kids representing 30-40 languages in this school and people learn to accept each other as they are, and I think this is an example of what is going to be happening in North Carolina,” he said.

Brockington plans to attend University of North Carolina-Charlotte in the fall.
article by Yesha Callahan via clutchmagonline.com

First African-American State Treasurer Denise Nappier Honored by Black Enterprise

By goodblacknews on February 11, 2014

Denise Nappier is the first African American woman elected to serve as a state treasurer in the United States and the first African American woman elected to a statewide office in Connecticut.  Elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2002, 2006, and 2010, Nappier is also the only woman to be elected treasurer in Connecticut history. Nappier oversees $52 billion in state funds, including the $25.9 billion Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds and a $19 billion debt portfolio.
Read more at: Connecticut Treasurer Denise Nappier Honored by Black Enterprise.

Pharrell Williams to Perform Oscar-Nominated Song "Happy" at Academy Awards

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2014

Pharrell Williams

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that Pharrell Williams will perform his Oscar-nominated song “Happy” at the 2014 Oscars.
“Happy,” which Williams wrote and produced for the animated film Despicable Me 2, is nominated for the original song category alongside “Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, “Let it Go” from Frozen and “The Moon Song” from Her.
“I wanted to send a reminder: There are lots of reasons to smile,” the 40-year-old told the Los Angeles Times in an interview in December on his nominated song. “You can be resilient with your smile. Why is it so cool to be mad all the time? Some songs, everybody’s so upset.”
The song “Happy” has a “lyric version” — a video featuring the film’s minions making mischief around the song’s words in bold fonts. It also has a website launched for the song, 24hoursofhappy.com, where the song is played on repeat for 24 hours straight.
“Each take starting every hour is me,” he told The Times. “So I did 24 four-minute takes of ‘Happy.’ From 1:00-1:04, I perform ‘Happy.’ Then at 1:04, the next person does it. We picked all kinds of people, all types. Every hour is 15 takes.”
Williams, a seven-time Grammy Award winner, was named Billboard’s producer of the decade in 2010. Most recently, he collaborated on two of 2013’s top Billboard hits: Robin Thicke‘s “Blurred Lines,” which he co-wrote and produced, and Daft Punk‘s “Get Lucky,” which he co-wrote and also sang.
The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will be held March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and broadcast live on ABC.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-pharrell-williams-oscars-20140204,0,5694271.story#ixzz2sONfjm7t

Apply Now! Here Are The Top Black History Month Scholarships

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2014

Shutterstock
Great news for students! For Black History Month many companies — through their foundations — have announced scholarship programs. Dallas Weekly recently highlighted the top 10. Act fast–the deadlines are in February.  Here are five of the newspaper’s choices for the college-goer in your life to consider:
1) The Frito-Lay “Create to Celebrate” Black History Month Art Contest: Do you have artistic talent? Show it off here by submitting an original piece of art. The piece, which can be in any medium (video, song, photo, sculpture, painting, etc), must celebrate African-American achievement.
2) The Coca-Cola Pay It Forward Scholarship Program: This program offers once-in-a-lifetime apprenticeship experiences to African-American youth.
3) The RBC Black History Month Student Essay Competition: This Royal Bank of Canada scholarship is strictly for Canadian students. Applicants must write a 750-words or less essay on how black Canadians have contributed toward the heritage of Canada.
4) The 100 Black Men of America Future Leader Scholarship Program: Based on academic achievement and community service, this scholarship is open to high school seniors along with college freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.
5)  The Jerry Bartow Scholarship Fund: The Black Executive Exchange Program awards three scholarships each year for HBCU  undergraduate students majoring in business, engineering, technology, or education.
To find other 2014 scholarships, click here.
See more at: http://madamenoire.com/345755/apply-now-top-black-history-month-scholarships/#sthash.l9t3x37S.dpuf