WASHINGTON (AP) — Describing them as teachers, President Barack Obama said Wednesday that two dozen recipients of national medals for contributions to the arts and humanities have created works that will last for American life.
At a White House ceremony, Obama awarded medals to 23 singers, dancers, poets, producers, playwrights, scholars and others, and one performing arts organization. As applause and cheers rippled across the stately East Room, Obama joked that the audience was doing so “Because I’ve bought their books, I’ve seen their movies, I buy their records. So we’re major contributors here.”
Turning more serious, he praised the medal recipients for using their talents “To open up minds and nourish souls, and help us understand what it means to be human, and what it means to be an American.” “We celebrate people like our honorees here today not just because of their talent, but because they create something new. They create a new space and that becomes a lasting contribution to American life,” Obama said.
Among those receiving a National Medal of Arts are Herb Alpert, of Malibu, Calif., the musician behind the Tijuana Brass phenomenon and co-founder of A&M records; filmmaker George Lucas, of San Anselmo, Calif., and the Washington Performing Arts Society, of Washington, D.C.
Recipients of the National Humanities Medal include author Joan Didion, sportswriter Frank Deford and Robert B. Silvers, editor and co-founder of The New York Review of Books. All three are from New York.
Posts published in “Commemorations”
Rose gave fans a hint on Instagram last week that their marriage was near when she posted a photo of Wiz with the caption, “My soon to be husband…. I Love his crazy hair @mistercap :-)”
However, many wondered whether or not they held secret nuptials without anyone ever knowing back in January when the then-pregnant Rose used the H-word after a videographer in Los Angeles gave her a Ninja Turtles ice cream bar.
“My husband loves Ninja Turtles! That’s really cute, thank you,” she told him. Wiz popped the question back in March 2012, and announced the happy news on Twitter. “She Said Yes!!!” the rapper wrote, and included a pic of his fiancée’s hand flashing a gorgeous and blinding engagement ring.
Shortly after, Rose tweeted, “He has made me the Happiest Woman in the World!!!!”
The couple welcomed their first child together, a son named Sebastian ‘The Bash’ Taylor Thomaz, in February. “He’s a good boy,” Rose gushed with a smile.
article by Bruna Nessif via eonline.com
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant is engaged to Minnesota Lynx guard Monica Wright. Wright confirmed the engagement following Minnesota’s 91-59 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday night.
Durant, who was selected with the second overall pick in the 2007 draft, just completed his sixth season in the NBA. The 24-year-old forward averaged 28.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists last season. Wright is in her fourth season in the WNBA. She played her college ball at Virginia and turns 25 on July 15.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press via thegrio.com
Not exactly a Scandal, but this is certainly a surprise! Kerry Washington married San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha on June 24 in Blaine County, Idaho, E! News exclusively confirms. According to sports gossip site TerezOwens.com, which was first to get wind of the happy news, Asomugha has been dating Vanity Fair‘s August 2013 cover girl since last summer.
The 31-year-old three-time Pro Bowl star played with the Oakland Raiders, who drafted him following his graduation from UC Berkeley in 2003, for eight seasons and the Philadelphia Eagles for two before signing with the 49ers in April. The bookish athlete is no stranger to showbiz, either, having scored acting gigs on The Game, Friday Night Lights and Leverage in recent years.
Like his bride, Asomugha is also a dedicated activist and philanthropist and he has participated in the Clinton Global Initiative every year since 2009. This is the first marriage for Washington, 36, who went from generally lovely actress to mega-star over the past year thanks to her breakout roles playing not-to-be-messed-with political fixer Olivia Pope on ABC’s Scandal and Jamie Foxx‘s enslaved wife Broomhilda von Shaft in Django Unchained.
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
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.
Bridget Terry Long, the Xander Professor of Education and Economics at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has been appointed academic dean of the school. Dr. Long joined the faculty at the school in 2000 as an assistant professor and was promoted to full professor in 2009. Her research deals with the transition from high school to college focusing on college access, financial aid, and academic preparation.
Professor Long is a faculty research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and was appointed by President Obama to serve on the National Board of Education Sciences.
Dr. Long is a graduate of Princeton University and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.
article via jbhe.com
As the company continues early production of its important new full-size pickup trucks, Akerson has elevated Alicia Boler-Davis to senior vice president of global quality and global customer experience. She had been a vice president of global quality and U.S. customer experience, reporting to Mary Barra, GM’s senior vice president of global product development.
Boler-Davis will now report directly to Akerson. The promotion came a week after GM earned the top spot among major auto manufacturers in the widely watched J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study that measure customer problems in the first 90 days of ownership.
Akerson made the announcement before a crowd of about 2,000 GM employees on Wednesday at the automaker’s Warren Technical Center to celebrate GM’s performance in the annual survey.
GM was the best-performing major auto manufacturer overall in the consumer study for the first time in its history and individual models from its brands took the top spot in eight of the vehicle market segments. The Chevrolet brand beat stalwarts like Toyota and Honda.
Calling the celebration his “most memorable day” since becoming CEO in September 2010, Akerson urged employees to guard against complacency. “This award gives us a glimpse of what it’s like to be on top,” he said.
Robert Calvin “Bobby” Bland (January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013, né Brooks), also known as Bobby “Blue” Bland, was an American singer of blues and soul. He was an original member of the Beale Streeters, and was sometimes referred to as the “Lion of the Blues”. His storied career came to an end this weekend, when he passed away at the age of 83 due to complications from an ongoing illness.
Bland was also known as the “Sinatra of the Blues” because of his super-suave persona and his flawless 1961 album Two Steps From the Blues, which should be required listening for anyone who appreciates soul. Along with such artists as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Junior Parker, Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. His music was also influenced by Nat King Cole.
Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and received theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.
To learn more about his life and music, click here. To see him do his thing, click below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn1lZP5uPXw&w=420&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Visionary “Star Wars” filmmaker George Lucas wed Ariel Investments president Mellody Hobson before an intimate gathering at Skywalker Ranch, in Marin County, California, at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 22.
This is the first marriage for Hobson, 44, who wore a white dress by Peter Soronen and changed skirts between the ceremony and the party. Lucas, 69, has been married once before, to film editor Marcia Griffin. They adopted a daughter together, and Lucas adopted two more children after they divorced, in 1983. Lucas’ son, Jett, was his best man, and his daughters, Katie and Amanda, served as bridesmaids.
In addition to serving as president of Ariel Investments, Hobson is chairman of Dreamworks Animation and a financial contributor with CBS.