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Posts published in “Commemorations”

Jamaica's Tessanne Chin Wins Season 5 of "The Voice"

By goodblacknews on December 17, 2013

2D10158191-131217-ent-voice-tessanne.blocks_desktop_smallJamaican reggae singer Tessanne Chin was declared the winner of the fifth season of NBC’s The Voice tonight.  “Jamaica is celebrating with the United States,” said host Carson Daly after the big reveal, as fireworks exploded in the background.    Sharing Tessanne’s victory was her coach, Adam Levine — the second time one of his artists has claimed the top prize.   “It’s been nothing but a joy to work with you,” she told her mentor moments before learning about her win. “You’ve been a shoulder to cry on, you’ve been a friend, you’ve been invested, you’ve been true. I love you, I trust you.”
Tessanne’s emotional journey tugged at the heartstrings of fans, especially after her stunning, tearful performance of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” last week.  Alluding to the personal circumstances affecting his mentee, Adam explained at the time, “The things that [are] upsetting you are very intense and very serious, and we all respect that, but I know what you’re going through.”
But on Tuesday, everyone on The Voice stage was smiling — including the singers Tessanne defeated. Sixteen-year-old Jacquie Lee, coached by Christina Aguilera, was the runner-up, while musician Will Champlin — also from Team Adam — came in third place.   But Jacquie and Will didn’t walk away empty-handed. In fact, they drove away: At a special tour of Universal Studios’ back lot, all three finalists learned that they had each won a brand-new Kia car.
The two-hour live telecast also featured performances by Lady Gaga (teaming up with Christina, whom she’d just met), Celine Dion (dueting both with Tessanne and, later, Ne-Yo), Alloe Black (with Will), Paramore (with Jacquie) and OneRepublic.

Black Santa Brings Spirit and Cheer at South Los Angeles Mall

By goodblacknews on December 17, 2013

Jahleel Logan, 3, poses with Santa, a.k.a. Langston Patterson, 77, of Rudolph Holiday Photo, at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, Dec. 7, 2013. Patterson has been Santa at the Plaza since 2004, with African American families coming at specific times of the day, just to visit him. "I just don't want him to think that all greatness comes from a different race," said Logan's godmother, Arlene Graves, 45. "There are Santa Clauses his color doing good work too." (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Jahleel Logan, 3, poses with Santa, a.k.a. Langston Patterson, 77, at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, Dec. 7, 2013. Patterson has been Santa at the Plaza since 2004, with African American families coming at specifically just to visit him. “I just don’t want him to think that all greatness comes from a different race,” said Logan’s godmother, Arlene Graves, 45. “There are Santa Clauses his color doing good work too.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Dressed in a red Santa suit, white beard and rimless glasses balanced on his nose, Langston Patterson sits on a velvet couch and waits for his adoring fans.  Some call first to make sure he will be there. They come from Palmdale, Thousand Oaks and San Bernardino, driving past many shopping malls with Santas, but none that look like him.  For nearly a decade, Patterson has been the main attraction at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza during Christmastime: a rare black Santa Claus in a sea of white ones.

The mall, located in the heart of black Los Angeles, is one of the few in the country with a black Santa Claus. Some say Patterson is the only black shopping-mall Santa Claus in the Los Angeles area.  As visitors approached him on a recent afternoon, it was hard to tell who was more excited: the youngsters or the adults. The parents are the most loyal. They return with grandchildren, passing on a family tradition with a deep personal meaning.
“We need our kids to understand that good things happen in chocolate skin,” said Til Prince, 50, of Palmdale, watching her granddaughter, niece and her niece’s son pose with Patterson. “We are often bombarded with the opposite. We’re not trying to exclude anybody, but [instead] celebrate our chocolate skin.”

Beyoncé Breaks iTunes Records, Sells 828,773 Albums in Just Three Days

By goodblacknews on December 16, 2013
PHOTO: Beyoncés visual album broke iTunes records after its Dec. 13, 2013 release.
Beyoncé’s visual album broke iTunes records after its Dec. 13, 2013 release.
(iTunes|Getty Images)

Of course, the fact that the album was available exclusively through iTunes and not via any other digital music service helped push along the sales. Additionally, fans couldn’t buy single songs for the usual 99 cent price; instead they were forced to buy the whole album for $15.99.  The album, however, included more than just 14 songs. It also came with 17 videos. You could watch only 30 second snippets of each video clip on YouTube. Called Beyoncé’s first visual album, it also included tracks from her husband Jay-Z, R&B singer Frank Ocean and rapper Drake. Another big draw? The closing track, “Blue,” features her daughter Blue Ivy in the video.

Vice Admiral Michelle Howard Nominated for Appointment to Rank of Admiral

By goodblacknews on December 15, 2013

Howard, MichelleSecretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced today that the president has nominated Navy Vice Adm. Michelle J. Howard for appointment to the rank of admiral and assignment as vice chief of naval operations, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Howard is currently serving as deputy chief of naval operations for operations, plans, and strategy, N3/N5, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
On March 12, 1999, Vice Adm. Michelle Howard took command of USS Rushmore, becoming the first African-American woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy. In 2006, she was selected for the rank of rear admiral lower half, making her the first admiral selected from the United States Naval Academy class of 1982 and the first woman graduate of the academy selected for admiral. She was promoted to three-star rank in 2012.
VADM Howard’s initial sea tours were aboard USS Hunley and USS Lexington. While serving aboard Lexington, she received the Secretary of the Navy/Navy League Captain Winifred Collins Award in May 1987. This award is given to one woman officer a year for outstanding leadership. In January 1996, she became executive officer of USS Tortuga and deployed to the Adriatic in support of a peacekeeping effort in the former Republic of Yugoslavia.

Florida State's Jameis Winston Wins Heisman Trophy

By goodblacknews on December 15, 2013

Jameis Winston set Football Bowl Subdivision freshman records for touchdown passes, with 38, and passing yards, with 3,820. (Julio Cortez/Associated Press)

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston spent the past week on college football’s postseason awards circuit, cycling through banquets and red carpets and trophy presentations. That culminated Saturday in Manhattan, where Winston won the Heisman Trophy, his sport’s pre-eminent honor.

Winston wrapped his arms around the Heisman Trophy late Saturday, after an hourlong television special in which the only suspense centered on how much he would win by. The assembled cheered loudly, and Winston hugged his parents and thanked God.  At his news conference, Winston said that he had expected to win but that doubt had remained until he heard his name called.

Last December, a college student accused Winston of rape after a party. The accuser’s lawyer came forward a year later to say that the Tallahassee Police Department had pushed her not to press charges, and the lawyer held a news conference Friday to skewer the investigation. Winston’s lawyer has said that Winston and the accuser engaged in consensual sex.

Winston was not charged after a rape accusation that had clouded his season.  Wherever Winston traveled, an accusation of rape clouded the celebration. Florida officials said this month that Winston would not be charged in the year-old case. But as the Seminoles wrapped up an undefeated season and their spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game, scrutiny of the investigation only intensified.

"12 Years a Slave" Leads Golden Globes Nominations; Idris Elba and Kerry Washington also Among Honored

By goodblacknews on December 13, 2013

ejiofor-12years
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association yesterday announced the nominees for the 71st annual Golden Globes. Fox Searchlight’s 12 Years A Slave garnered seven nominations (tied with American Hustle), including Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Best Director (Steve McQueen), Best Screenplay (John Ridley), Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o) and Best Motion Picture – Drama.  Ejiofor also picked up a nod for his performance in the miniseries Dancing on the Edge, competing in that category with this year’s other double nominee, Idris Elba, who was recognized for his work in Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom as well as his television series Luther.
Other television nods went out to Kerry Washington for her work on ABC’s Scandal, and Don Cheadle for his leading role on Showtime’s House of Lies.  The 2014 ceremony will again be hosted by “Parks and Recreation’s” Amy Poehler and “30 Rock’s” Tina Fey and held January 12, 2014.  The full list of nominees follows:

"12 Years a Slave" and "Lee Daniels’ The Butler" Among Top SAG Awards Nominees

By goodblacknews on December 11, 2013

Chiwetel Ejiofor in '12 Years a Slave'
Chiwetel Ejiofor in ’12 Years a Slave’ (Fox Searchlight)

The Screen Actors Guild released their list of award nominees this morning — one day before the Golden Globes announces their selections of the year’s best television shows and motion pictures.  Among the top nominees for the 20th annual SAG awards were 12 Years a Slave and Lee Daniels’ The Butler – which solidified their status as front-runners for the Oscars.
12 Years a Slave led the pack with four nominations: outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role (Chiwetel Ejifor), outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role (Michael Fassbender) and outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role (Lupita Nyong’o).  The film also scored big among other awards ceremonies after the Boston Society of Film Critics awarded the film its top prize while the New York Film Critics Online named it best picture of the year.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler was also a top contender with three nominations. Oprah Winfrey was nominated for outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role and Forest Whitaker was among the nominees for outstanding performance by male actor in a leading role. The film was also nominated for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture.
Meanwhile, in television Kerry Washington and Angela Bassett and Don Cheadle all earned nominations for their work this year, Washington for lead actress in the ABC drama Scandal, Bassett for her turn as Coretta Scott King in the Lifetime television movie Betty and Coretta, and Cheadle for his Showtime comedy series House of Lies.

Mel Watt Confirmed as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Regulator

By goodblacknews on December 11, 2013
Mel Watt is pictured. | AP Photo
Watt was nominated in May to be the regulator of Fannie and Freddie. | AP Photo
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Rep. Mel Watt to be the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, ending a months-long confirmation battle over President Barack Obama’s choice to oversee taxpayer-owned mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The vote was 57-41, with just two Republicans, Rob Portman of Ohio and Richard Burr of North Carolina, voting in support of Watt (D-N.C.).

Watt was nominated in May to be the regulator of Fannie and Freddie, a decision that drew fierce opposition from Senate Republicans who argued someone with technical expertise in mortgage finance markets not a politician should lead the agency.

In October, Watt failed to clear a 60-vote threshold necessary for his nomination to advance. But a recent controversial Senate rule change, which requires only a simple majority vote to get around procedural hurdles, cleared the way for Watt’s confirmation.

Spelman's Dr. Beverly Tatum Becomes 1st HBCU President to Receive $500,000 Carnegie Grant

By goodblacknews on December 11, 2013

Beverly Tatum spelman
Spelman President Beverly Daniel Tatum was announced Monday as one of four recipients of the 2013 Academic Leadership Award, from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The honor makes Tatum the first ever HBCU president and first president in the state of Georgia to earn the prize.  Carnegie said each winner is an exceptional president of a U.S. college or university, and that the award is in the form of a $500,000 grant to be used in support of each honoree’s academic initiatives.
The other 2013 honorees are Richard H. Brodhead, President, Duke University; Michael M. Crow, President, Arizona State University; and John L. Hennessy, President, Stanford University.
The award honors university presidents who are not only resourceful administrators and managers, but also have a keen interest in the liberal arts and a commitment to excellence and access, curricular innovation, reform of K-12 education, international engagement, and the promotion of strong links between their institutions and their local communities, Carnegie said.

Jesse Owens’ Olympic Gold Medal Sells for Record $1.4 Million

By goodblacknews on December 10, 2013

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (AP) — An Olympic gold medal won by Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Games has sold for a record $1.4 million in an online auction.  SCP Auctions said Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle paid $1,466,574, the highest price for a piece of Olympic memorabilia. The online auction ended Sunday.
“We just hope that it’s purchased by an institution where the public could have access to it, a museum or something like that,” Owens’ daughter, Marlene Owens Rankin of Chicago, told The Associated Press before the sale.  The auction house said Burkle, who also owns William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize for literature, has plans for an educational tour of the historic pieces. He wasn’t available for comment Sunday.  The Los Angeles billionaire investor’s holdings include retail, food and entertainment companies.
Owens won gold in the 100- and 200-meters, 400 relay and long jump at the games attended by Adolf Hitler, who used the Olympics to showcase his ideas of Aryan supremacy.  According to the auction house based in Laguna Niguel, Calif., the medal is unidentifiable to a specific event. It said Owens gave the medal to his friend, dancer and movie star Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, as thanks for helping Owens find work in entertainment after he returned from Berlin.
The medal was sold by the estate of Robinson’s late widow, Elaine Plaines-Robinson. SCP Auctions Vice President Dan Imler said the Owens family confirmed the medal is original; the whereabouts of the other three is unknown.  A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the medal will be donated to the Jesse Owens Foundation. The Robinson family had declined to comment on the auction, but Imler said they also plan to use the proceeds to pay college tuition.